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The rarely encountered spider genusHexurellaGertsch & Platnick, 1979 includes some of the smallest mygalomorph spiders in the world, with four poorly known taxa from central and southeastern montane Arizona, southern California, and northern Baja California Norte. At time of description the genus was known from fewer than 20 individuals, with sparse natural history information suggesting a vagrant, web-building, litter-dwelling natural history. Here the first published taxonomic and natural history information for this taxon is provided in more than 50 years, working from extensive new geographic sampling, consideration of male and female morphology, and sequence capture-based nuclear phylogenomics and mitogenomics. Several new species are easily diagnosed based on distinctive male morphologies, while a complex of populations from central and northern Arizona required an integrative combination of genomic algorithmic species delimitation analyses and morphological study. Four new species are described, includingH. ephedrasp. nov.,H. uwiiltilsp. nov.,H. xericasp. nov., andH. zassp. nov.Females ofH. encinaGertsch & Platnick, 1979 are also described for the first time. It is predicted that additional new species will ultimately be found in the mountains of central and northwestern Arizona, northern mainland Mexico, and the Mojave Desert of California.
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This content will become publicly available on November 21, 2025
Desert diversification: revision of Agroecotettix Bruner, 1908 (Orthoptera, Acrididae, Melanoplinae) with descriptions of sixteen new species from the United States and Mexico
In this study, a morphological revision was conducted ofAgroecotettixBruner, a group of grasshoppers inhabiting open xeric desert scrub, shrublands, and plains, spanning central Texas to central Mexico. The genus was originally described by Bruner in 1908, with two taxa added by Hebard in 1922.Agroecotettixhas remained unrevised despite numerous collections. This exploration, spurred by a novel discovery of significant male genitalia variation inAgroecotettix aristus aristus, suggests undescribed species. Through morphological specimen comparisons, sixteen new species are described from biologically rich regions of the South Texas Plains, Chihuahuan Desert, and Sierra Madre Oriental. The new taxa described here areA. silverheelsisp. nov.,A. xiphophorussp. nov.,A. glochinossp. nov.,A. texmexsp. nov.,A. cumbressp. nov.,A. burtonisp. nov.,A. mooreisp. nov.,A. chiantiensissp. nov.,A. dornisp. nov.,A. chisosensissp. nov.,A. turnerisp. nov.,A. quitmanensissp. nov.,A. vaquerosp. nov.,A. forcipatussp. nov.,A. idicsp. nov., andA. kahloaesp. nov.This discovery sheds light on desert biodiversity and hints at a Pleistocene radiation akin to other melanoplines, urging further exploration to enrich our understanding of this fascinating lineage and unravel the biogeographic history within these arid landscapes.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2043909
- PAR ID:
- 10596225
- Publisher / Repository:
- Gu, Jun-Jie
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ZooKeys
- Volume:
- 1218
- ISSN:
- 1313-2989
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 177 to 230
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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