Garrett B. Hughes

The family Neobisiidae is found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. They can be found in caves, leaf litter, and soil. Today there are approximately 550 species in 29 genera and 2 subfamilies: Neobisiinae and Microcreagrinae (Harvey 2011). Currently, the only distinction between these subfamilies is the presence of well-developed, often branched galea in Microcreagrinae instead of simple nub-like galea in Neobisiinae. However, the presence of a well-developed galea is the plesiomorphic state, making the entire subfamily of Microcreagrinae defined by a plesiomorphy rather than an apomorphy (Murienne et al 2008). Additonally, there are two microcreagrines that also have reduced galea like the neobisiines: Roncocreagris iglesiasae Zaragoza (2003) and R. murphyorum Judson (1992). The first molecular phylogeny of Pseudoscorpiones inferred a paraphyletic Microcreagrinae, with North American microcreagrines forming one clade, and one European microcreagrine at the base of the neobisiine clade (Murienne et al. 2008). Because that phylogeny only included 8 of the 29 neobisiid genera, it remains to be seen where other genera will fall out among those two clades and whether other clades will also emerge. I plan to collect more representatives from other neobisiid genera. Genera of particular interest include Roncocreagris, Trisetobisium, and Parobisium.

 

The type genus for the subfamily Microcreagrinae is the genus Microcreagris, the type species of which is Microcreagris gigas Balzan 1892. As with many older species descriptions, the description of M. gigas was vague and held very little useful information. To compound the problem, the type specimen was lost, which prevented future workers from being able to compare specimens and determine whether establishing new species or genera was justified. Because the type locality was also vague (“China”), other researchers could not confidently obtain topotypes. In 1979, the type of M. gigas was thought to have been discovered and that specimen was described in more detail by Mahnert. Following this publication, over 10 new genera were created in descriptions of North American microcreagrines between 1978 and 1989. In 2001, the true type of M. gigas was discovered and redescribed by Ćurčić. With the original type available for examination, existing genera of microcreagrines must be reevaluated so that new diagnoses can be created to reflect their morphological relationships to Microcreagris. Additionally, many of the North American genera erected in the 1980s are so poorly diagnosed that assigning new species to existing genera is often problematic (Harvey & Muchmore 2010). I plan to collect intensively in the United States to obtain representatives of as many species of North American microcreagrines as possible. I will use molecular data extracted from these individuals to infer the relationships of the North American Microcreagrinae. These specimens will also help test whether the North American Microcreagrinae form a monophyletic group. After phylogenetic relationships have been inferred, I will use the trees to guide my search for morphological characters that unite the various clades and will revise the genera accordingly. I will also use the resulting phylogeny to explore some natural history traits in an evolutionary context. I am particularly interested in the biogeography of this group and the history of and radiation of the cave fauna.