To boldly go: On invasive goblin spiders in Brazil (Araneae, oonopidae)

Abstract

Twelve non-native species of the spider family Oonopidae are recorded in Brazil: Brignolia dasysterna Platnick, Dupérré, Ott & Kranz-Baltensperger, 2011, B. parumpunctata (Simon, 1893), Triaeris stenaspis Simon, 1892, Ischnothyreus peltifer (Simon, 1892), I. velox Jackson, 1908, Opopaea concolor (Blackwall, 1859), O. deserticola Simon, 1892, Pelicinus marmoratus Simon, 1892, Heteroonops spinimanus (Simon, 1892), Gamasomorpha parmata (Thorell, 1890) (herein restored to its original combination in Xestaspis), Orchestina pavesiiformis Saaristo, 2007 and O. dentifera (Simon, 1893). Among these species, six new synonyms were detected: Hytanis oblonga Simon, 1893, Xestaspis bipeltis Thorell, 1895, Gamasomorpha insularis Simon, 1907 and Opopaea lutzi Petrunkevitch, 1929 with Xestaspis parmata Thorell, 1890; Gammasomorpha humilis Mello-Leitão, 1920 with Opopaea concolor (Blackwall, 1859) and Gamasomorpha rufa Banks, 1898 with Opopaea deserticola Simon, 1891. Since Hytanis oblonga is the type species of the genus, its synonymy with Xestaspis parmata imply in the synonymy of Hytanis Simon, 1893 with Xestaspis Simon, 1884. The partenogenetic species T. stenaspis is the most distributed synanthropic oonopid in Brazil, occurring all over the country, mainly in urban areas. Some species are reported here to occur in the interior of natural caves, a finding that should raise conservation concerns.