Integrative Systematics Reveals Cryptic Diversity in <i>Paraphrynus</i> Whip Spiders (Amblypygi: Phrynidae) from Southwestern North America
2024
Nicolas Cazzaniga | Lorenzo Prendini
Due to their continuous growth, reclusive nature, and low vagility, the distributions and species limits of many whip spiders (Amblypygi Thorell, 1883) remain poorly understood, and much cryptic diversity remains unrecognized. Past attempts to separate the historical “forms” of <i>Paraphrynus</i> Moreno, 1940 into morphologically diagnosable species resulted, for example, in the division of <i>Paraphrynus mexicanus</i> (Bilimek, 1867) into three species—the nominotypical form, <i>Paraphrynus cubensis</i> Quintero, 1983, and <i>Paraphrynus carolynae</i> Armas, 2012. Nevertheless, the limitations of conservative morphology continue to hinder progress towards clarifying the diversity of <i>Paraphrynus</i>. One such example concerns <i>P. carolynae</i>, distributed from Arizona to central Mexico as currently defined. Through the acquisition of new, freshly collected material, the discovery of novel morphological characters, and molecular systematics analyses, it became apparent that <i>P. carolynae</i> comprises at least two morphologically diagnosable species. In this present contribution, the northernmost population of <i>P. carolynae</i> occurring in Arizona and California is described as a new species, <i>Paraphrynus tokdod</i>, sp. nov., raising the number of species in the genus to 22. This investigation also revealed more variation than expected in the secondary spine counts of the pedipalps and the trichobothrial counts of leg IV, previously used for species delimitation in <i>Paraphrynus</i>, suggesting that such characters should be used with caution.
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