Rhaucus Simon 1879
Creators: name: García, Andrés F.
name: Kury, Adriano B.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Opiliones
Cosmetidae
Rhaucus

description: Rhaucus Simon, 1879
Rhaucus Simon, 1879: 213; Pickard-Cambridge, 1905: 572; Roewer, 1912a: 77; 1923: 349; Mello-Leitão, 1923: 113; Mello- Leitão, 1926: 334; Mello-Leitão, 1932: 57; Mello-Leitão, 1933: 106; 110; Mello-Leitão, 1935: 113; Roewer, 1943: 13; Kury, 2003: 83.
Rhaucus (Rhaucus): Sørensen in Henriksen, 1932: 352.
Cynorta [part.]: Goodnight & Goodnight, 1953: 37.
Neorhaucus Pickard-Cambridge, 1905: 572; Roewer, 1912a: 24; Roewer, 1923: 305; Mello-Leitão, 1926: 331; Roewer, 1927: 548; Mello-Leitão, 1932: 89; Mello-Leitão, 1933: 107; Mello-Leitão, 1935: 114; Kury, 2003: 73. New synonymy
Pararhaucus Pickard-Cambridge, 1905: 572; Roewer, 1912a: 101; Roewer, 1912b: 142; Roewer, 1923: 378; Mello-Leitão, 1926: 335; Roewer, 1928: 551; Mello-Leitão, 1932: 88; Mello-Leitão, 1933: 107; Mello-Leitão, 1935: 114 [junior subjective synonym of Paecilaema C. L. Koch, 1839 by Goodnight & Goodnight (1953b: 54)]. New synonymy Megarhaucus Mello-Leitão, 1941: 169; Kury, 2003: 67. New synonymy
Etymology. From Greek Ῥαῦκος (name of two cities in Crete). Gender masculine.
Type species. Type of Rhaucus Simon, 1879: Rhaucus vulneratus Simon, 1879, by subsequent designation of Pickard-Cambridge (1905).Type of Neorhaucus Pickard-Cambridge, 1905: Neorhaucus aurolineatus Pickard- Cambridge, 1905, by monotypy. Type of Pararhaucus Pickard-Cambridge, 1905: Pararhaucus obscurus Pickard- Cambridge, 1905, by monotypy. Type of Megarhaucus Mello-Leitão, 1941: Megarhaucus robustus Mello-Leitão, 1941, by original designation.
Diagnosis. DS alpha type (in Cynorta, Eulibitia and Flirtea beta type), tegument granular (Figs 3a, 10a) (in Eulibitia, Flirtea and Metarhaucus smooth). Mesotergum clearly delimited, divided into four areas by well-marked grooves. Area III with a pair of tubercles varying between acuminate, dome-shaped or mammilliform (Figs 6c, 12c, 15c) (in Cynorta and Flirtea acuminate medium/high spines; in Eulibitia, very short tubercles). Pedipalpal tibia wide, spoon shaped (Figs 4b, 8b) (in Cynorta, Erginus, Eulibitia and Flirtea elongated, in Roquettea spatulate). Coxae IV with prominent multi-tuberculated clavi inguines (Figs 4h–i) (in Cynorta and Flirtea one large apophysis, in Eulibitia two irregular tubercles, in Taito wrinkled granules) and a multicapitate apophysis (mca) of at least seven tubercles (Fig. 4i) (in Cynorta three fused tubercles, in Taito two tubercles, in Platymessa two fused tubercles). Legs III–IV curved, robust and very granular, with a pair of ventral rows of spines from Fe to Ti (Figs 3d–e, 7d–e) (in Cynorta, Erginus, Eulibitia and Flirtea straight, thin and mostly smooth). Femur IV shorter than DS length (longer in Cynorta, Erginus, Eulibitia and Flirtea). VP of penis short (in Flirtea very elongated), with two lateral patches of type 4 microsetae not reaching the center of the VP in ventral view (Figs 5c, 8h) (in Cynorta covering the entire surface, in Eulibitia covering only lateral margins, in Flirtea smooth). VP of penis with two large MS A (Figs 5b, 11g, 14i) (in Cynorta one MS A extremely reduced, in Flirtea one MS A larger).
Included species. Rhaucus vulneratus Simon, 1879; Rhaucus quinquelineatus Simon, 1879 comb. rest.; Rhaucus serripes (Simon, 1879) comb. rest.; Rhaucus robustus (Mello-Leitão, 1941) comb. nov.; Rhaucus florezi sp. nov.
Geographical distribution and habitat. Kury (2003) correctly stated that Rhaucus inhabits Andean highlands in Colombia, near Bogotá (and not Brazilian Amazon), but also gave an isolated record from Monterredondo (Cauca, 1400 m a.s.l.). This record is probably a mistake and should refer to Monterredondo, a locality in the road from Bogotá to Chingaza National Natural Park (Fig. 21b) very close to where R. robustus, R. quinquelineatus, and R. vulneratus have been collected. Ranges of species of Rhaucus show a significant degree of overlap (Figs 22, 23). They seem to be endemic to the Northern Andes in Colombia, from areas of Santander, Boyacá and Cundinamarca over 2300 m a.s.l. where montane forests and páramos from the Eastern mountain chain are dominant.
description: Published as part of García, Andrés F. & Kury, Adriano B., 2017, Taxonomic revision of the Andean harvestman genus Rhaucus Simon, 1879 (Arachnida, Opiliones, Cosmetidae), pp. 401-440 in Zootaxa 4338 (3) on pages 403-404, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4338.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1036862