Taxonomic revision of the genus Mayazomus Reddell & Cokendolpher, 1995 (Schizomida: Hubbardiidae), with description of five new species from Chiapas, Mexico

Abstract

The genus Mayazomus currently contains two species from southeastern Mexico. It was originally characterized by a strongly elongated pedipalp trochanter, united in its entire width to the femur; the patella strongly curved; the tibia with a large mesal apophysis opposable to tarsus; the spermathecae with two pairs of thin lobes subequal in length; and the presence of four or more setae on tergite II. In the present contribution, the species of the genus Mayazomus are revised and new diagnostic characters for the genus are proposed, including the correction that the female flagellum bears three rather than two annuli. The two known species are redescribed based on examination of the holotypes, plus newly acquired material representing both sexes (female previously unknown for one). Five new species from the Mexican state of Chiapas are described, based on adult males and females: Mayazomus tzotzil new species, Mayazomus aluxe new species, Mayazomus kaamuul new species, Mayazomus yaax new species, and Mayazomus loobil new species. Dimorphism in male pedipalps is reported for the first time for the genus. A dichotomous key is provided for identification of the seven species in the genus; and a distribution map is included.

Systematics of the genusMayazomus(Arachnida: Schizomida): the relevance of using continuous characters and pedipalp setae patterns to schizomid phylogenetics

“…General nomenclature follows Reddell & Cokendolpher (); nomenclature of setae on chelicerae follows Lawrence (); nomenclature of setae on flagellum follows Cokendolpher & Reddell (), as modified by Harvey (); nomenclature of the spermathecae follows Moreno‐González et al . (); nomenclature of setae on pedipalps follows Monjaraz‐Ruedas & Francke (). The photographs were taken with a Nikon Coolpix S10 VR camera with a Martin Microscope Co. adaptor, and were edited using Adobe Photoshop CS5.…”

“…The ingroup consisted of the seven described species of the genus Mayazomus , five of them recently described by Monjaraz‐Ruedas & Francke () and the two previously described species, Mayazomus infernalis and Mayazomus hoffmannae (). Owing to the lack of prior evidence or previous phylogenetic analyses of the relationships amongst the genera of the family Hubbardiidae, the selection of an outgroup was complicated.…”

“…According to Nixon & Carpenter (), outgroups should be based on synapomorphies or similarities, and thus should be taxa that permit comparisons and testing of the hypothesis of monophyly. For these reasons, the outgroups employed here were selected based primarily on three criteria: first, recent evidence found by Monjaraz‐Ruedas & Francke () showed that the females of all species of Mayazomus present a flagellum with three annuli, which is a characteristic not shared with any other genus in Mexico, but is a common characteristic in Central and South American schizomids. Second, based on observations by Rowland (), Reddell & Cokendolpher (), and Reddell & Cokendolpher (), we selected the most geographically proximal and morphologically similar genera.…”

“…The order currently comprises two families: Protoschizomidae and Hubbardiidae Cook, 1899, with 59 genera and 339 species (Harvey, , ; Moreno‐González, Delgado‐Santa & de Armas, ; Monjaraz‐Ruedas & Francke, ). In the New World 27 genera have been reported, 12 of which are monotypic.…”

“…Later, Reddell & Cokendolpher () transferred S. infernalis and S. hoffmannae to a new genus, Mayazomus . Recently Monjaraz‐Ruedas & Francke () revised that genus and proposed new diagnostic features: (1) females with three annuli on the flagellum [erroneously reported as two annuli in the original description (Rowland, )]; (2) male pedipalps dimorphic (homeomorphic and heteromorphic), which is a characteristic that generated conflict in the group placement proposed by Rowland () and Rowland & Reddell (); (3) pedipalp femur with an apophysis on the mesal surface; (4) first ( Fv1 ) and second ventral setae ( Fv2 ) of the femur modified to become spiniform setiferous tubercles. In addition, they corroborated the characteristics proposed by Reddell & Cokendolpher (), which are: (5) second tergite with more than three setae; (6) pedipalp patella curved; (7) pedipalp tibia with an apophysis opposable to the tarsus; (8) female spermathecae with paired, subequal lobes.…”