Alessandro Giupponi

• PhD
• Technologist in Public Health at Oswaldo Cruz Foundation

Twelve larvae of unidentified species of Odontacarus Ewing, 1929 (Acari: Leeuwenhoekiidae) were found parasitising an adult male whip spider Charinus brasilianus Weygoldt (Charinidae) in Santa Teresa, mountainous region of Espirito Santo state, southeastern Brazil. These larvae occurred in the intersegmental membrane of prosoma and legs. This is th...

The genus Charinus currently includes nine described Neotropical species, of which five are from Brazil (WEYGOLDT, 1972a, 1972b, 1998; QUINTERO, 1983). They are typically rare arachnids, known only from a few specimens, although recently larger series have been reported (PINTO-DA-ROCHA, MACHADO & WEYGOLDT, 2002. A survey in a cave in the State of B...

A new species of Charinus is described from 2 caves in Serra do Ramalho, Carinhanha, Bahia, Brazil. Hitherto six other species were known from this country. The new species is the first troglobiont Charinus from Brazil and the largest of all known species. It has no median eyes, a small whitish spot at each side of the carapace in place of the late...

A new synthesis of the geographical distribution of the genus Ananteris Thorell, 1891 (Scorpiones, Buthidae) in Brazil is proposed. Three new species, Ananteris chagasi sp. n., Ananteris kuryi sp. n., and Ananteris bernabei sp. n. are described from the States of Bahia, Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais. Only isolated records of Ananteris species whe...

A new genus and species of troglobitic buthid scorpion are described on the basis of a single specimen collected in Brazil. This is the first cavernicolous scorpion ever found in Brazil, and only the second to be found in South America. Some considerations on troglobitic scorpions are proposed.

Two new whip spider species of the genus Charinus Simon, 1892, are described based on seven specimens collected in Guadeloupe (Grande-Terre) and three specimens collected in northern Martinique. The new taxa described here, Charinus grandisterrae n. sp. and C. marechali n. sp., raise the number of currently recognized species for the genus Charinus...

Asymmetrical rates of cladogenesis and extinction abound in the Tree of Life, resulting in numerous minute clades that are dwarfed by larger sister groups. Such taxa are commonly regarded as phylogenetic relicts or "living fossils" when they exhibit an ancient first appearance in the fossil record and prolonged external morphological stasis, partic...

Fossil whip scorpions (Thelyphonida) are extremely rare in the Crato Formation strata, Araripe Basin, Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) of Brazil. Only four specimens of whip scorpions have been described in this unit so far. All specimens have been assigned to the genus Mesoproctus Dunlop and only one species has been formally proposed, M. rowlandi Dunlop...

Epiperipatus ohausi (Bouvier, 1900) is the first species known from Rio de Janeiro, and more than 120 years later a new species is described in the state of Rio de Janeiro (RJ). In this study, we describe the second species in the state of Rio de Janeiro, which we are naming in honor of the indigenous population called puri who resided in southeast...

Few cases of insects as parasites of the Order Opiliones have been recorded so far, most of them involving Diptera. Only three cases have been recorded of phorids as parasitoids of the harvestmen family Gonyleptidae. Seven first-time events of Phoridae immatures on harvestmen (Cranaidae) are reported here. The cases describe puparia of Phoridae on...

Asymmetrical rates of cladogenesis and extinction abound in the Tree of Life, resulting in numerous minute clades that are dwarfed by larger sister groups. Such taxa are commonly regarded as phylogenetic relicts or "living fossils" when they exhibit an ancient first appearance in the fossil record and prolonged external morphological stasis, partic...

The whip spider family Charinidae Quintero, 1986 is the most speciose and widely distributed in the arachnid order Amblypygi Thorell, 1883. It comprises three genera and 95 species distributed across all tropical continents and the eastern Mediterranean. Despite recent advances in the taxonomy of the family, a global revision of all its species, ne...

The whip spider family Charinidae Quintero, 1986 is the most speciose and widely distributed in the arachnid order Amblypygi Thorell, 1883. It comprises three genera and 95 species distributed across all tropical continents and the eastern Mediterranean. Despite recent advances in the taxonomy of the family, a global revision of all its species, ne...

The present contribution addresses the phylogeny and biogeography of the pantropical whip spider family Charinidae Quintero, 1986, the most species-rich in the arachnid order Amblypygi Thorell, 1883, based on morphology and multilocus DNA sequences, analysed simultaneously using parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. The morphologica...

The present contribution addresses the phylogeny and biogeography of the pantropical whip spider family Charinidae Quintero, 1986, the most species-rich in the arachnid order Amblypygi Thorell, 1883, based on morphology and multilocus DNA sequences, analysed simultaneously using parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. The morphologica...

Two new species of Geckobia Mégnin, 1878, Geckobia andina n. sp. and Geckobia circumdata n. sp., ectoparasites commonly reported on geckos, are described from the host species Phyllodactylus gerrhopygus (Wiegmann). The specimens were collected in the subtropical region of the Andean Pacific of Peru. The geographic distribution of species of Geckobi...

Schizomida is an arachnid order widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, commonly found in humid and warm environments such as leaf litter, on the underside of rocks, and in caves. Stenochrus portoricensis has been observed in association with termite and ant nests. In this study, we report for the first time S. portoricensis living...

The genus Typopeltis Pocock, 1894 is poorly known regarding its systematics, natural history, and distribution , despite important taxonomic advances during the 1990s. Currently, only 13 species are known from East Asia, including areas in south China, Japan, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Taiwan. In this work, we describe and illustrate a new specie...

Two new species of Diplura C. L. Koch 1850 are described from Brazil: Dipluramapinguarisp. n. , from the state of Rondônia in southeastern Amazonia, northern Brazil, and Diplurarodrigoisp. n. , known from southeastern and central west regions of Brazil. Diplurarodrigoisp. n. is morphologically similar to D.lineata (Lucas, 1857), D.sanguinea (F. O....

Amblypygi Thorell, 1883 has five families, of which Phrynichidae is one of the most diverse and with a wide geographic distribution. The genera of this family inhabit mostly Africa, India and Southeast Asia, with one genus known from the Neotropics, Trichodamon Mello-Leitão, 1935. Trichodamon has two valid species, T. princeps Mello-Leitão, 1935 an...

The modestly diverse order Amblypygi Thorell, 1883 includes five families, of which Charinidae Quintero, 1986 is the most diverse and with the widest geographical distribution. The family currently comprises three genera, Catageus Thorell, 1889, Charinus Simon, 1892 and Sarax Simon, 1892, the first known by one species from a single locality in Mya...

In this chapter, the state of art of the arachnid fauna of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest is presented, emphasizing diverse aspects of their systematics, morphology, natural history, distribution and conservation. Almost all groups of extant arachnids are present in this biome, such as mites, whip-spiders, spiders, scorpions, whip-scorpions, schizom...

Eukoenenia roquettei has been cited as Eukoenenia roquetti [sic], an incorrect subsequent spelling. A critical evaluation of the bibliography and of the original label (which was written by the author) showed the correct way of writing and the precise type locality, which is presented here for the first time.

The Rowlandius dumitrescoae species group is reviewed and rediagnosed, and its composition is revised. The group now includes R. cousinensis, R. decui, R. dumitrescoae, R. insignis, R. linsduarte, R. monensis, R. peckorum, R. potiguar, R. sul, R. ubajara, and R. pedrosoi sp. n. A new species is described from a cave in northeast Brazil (Santa Quité...

A new species of Charinus is described and illustrated from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Charinus ruschii sp. n. is found in Santa Lúcia reserve, Espírito Santo state, and is sympatric with C. brasilianus and C. montanus. The new species can be easily distinguished from the other species of the genus by the combination of the following characters...

A new species of Charinus is described from Israel and new localities for C. ioanniticus are reported. Charinus israelensis sp. nov. is a cave dwelling species with extremely small median eyes, no median tubercle and reduced lateral eyes. It is similar to C. ioanniticus, which occurs in nearby areas, but can be differentiated by the shape of the ca...

Charinus taboa sp. n. comprises the twenty-second species of the genus described for Brazil. The new species belongs to the eastern Brazilian group, in which all species have sucker-like gonopods. Charinus taboa sp. n. has a marked sexual dimorphism in the pedipalps as do other members of the genus in the country. The description of Charinus taboa...

Central America is rich in whip spider species, mainly of the genera Phrynus and Paraphrynus (Phrynidae), but also includes few registers of Charinus (Charinidae) with no description of taxa. In this paper two new species of Charinus from Belize are described and illustrated (Charinus belizensis sp. nov. and Charinus reddelli sp. nov.) being the fi...

Eight new species of Charinus Simon, 1892 are described for the Brazilian Amazon, from the states of Pará (C. bichuetteae sp. n., C. bonaldoi sp. n., C. carajas sp. n., C. ferreus sp. n., C. guto sp. n. and C. orientalis sp. n.) and Amazonas (Charinus brescoviti sp. n. and C. ricardoi sp. n.). All new species can be differentiated from the other sp...

The homology of three somatic systems in Schizomida is studied yielding the following results: (1) proposal of homology and chaetotaxy of abdominal setae in Surazomus; (2) revision of the cheliceral chaetotaxy in Schizomida, with suggestion of new homology scheme between Hubbardiidae and Protoschizomidae, description of a new group of setae in Hubb...

The stomach contents of culicids from the Atlantic Forest in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, were analyzed using the precipitin technique to evaluate the feeding patterns of the species. Sampling was performed from February 2012 to December 2013, using CO2-baited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention traps to catch mosquitoes from 15 00 to 07 00...

New records of Stenochrus portoricensis Chamberlin, 1922 are given, the first south-american record in caves and the first to Goiás state in the Cerrado phytogeographical domain. Records of nine specimens (all females) in isolated regions from surface environment and deep zones in the cave suggest the status of troglophile (facultative cave-dwellin...

As a result of an expedition to Ecuador in 2014, a new species of mite harvestman was discovered. This new species belonging to the genus Metagovea Rosas Costa, 1950 – Metagovea ligiae sp. n. – is described, based on male and female specimens from Napo Province, Ecuador. This is the fourth species described for the genus and the second from Ecuador...

As a result of an expedition to Ecuador in 2014, a new species of mite harvestman was discovered. This new species belonging to the genus Metagovea Rosas Costa, 1950 – Metagovea ligiae sp. n. – is described, based on male and female specimens from Napo Province, Ecuador. This is the fourth species described for the genus and the second from Ecuador...

The objective of the present study was to identify mosquito fauna and to evaluate whether different light bulb colors influence the attraction of light traps in the Guapiaçu Ecological Reserve. Samples were obtained monthly during the period of February, 2012 to January, 2013. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) light traps with incandescent light bu...

A new species of the genus Charinus Simon 1892 from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, is described. Charinus jibaossu sp. n. is morphologically close to C. mysticus Giupponi & Kury 2002 and shows both a marked secondary sexual dimorphism in the pedipalps and an interesting polymorphism in the spines of the distitarsus. The new species is endangere...

Amblypygi is a small order with a worldwide distribution. The family Phrynichidae is one of the most diverse of the order. The genera of Phrynichidae inhabit Africa, India, Southeast Asia, and the neotropics. Trichodamon is the only representative of the family in the New World, and is composed by two valid species, T. princeps and T. froesi, which...

A new species of the genus Charinus Simon, 1892 is described from caves in the Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. This is the first record of the genus for the state. This paper presents a map of the Charinus species distribution in Brazil with new records and a map of potential distribution of the genus in South and Central Americas. An updated key for...

Three new species of the genus Ananteris Thorell have been discovered in Brazil. Ananteris desiderio sp. n., Ananteris camacan sp. n. and Ananteris infuscata sp. n. are respectively described from specimens collected in the regions of São Desidério, Camacã, Rebio UNA and Jequié in the state of Bahia, and Grão Mogol and Novo Horizonte in the state o...

The genus Heterophrynus is for the first time recorded from Transandean areas. Heterophrynus boterorum sp. nov. and Heterophrynus silviae sp. nov. are described respectively from Tolima and Valle del Cauca departments, Colombia, based on material from the 2006 Arachnological Expedition of Museu Nacional to Colombia. Heterophrynus nicefori Amado & M...

A new species of Charinus Simon, 1892 is described from French Guyana, raising the number of species in the genus to 48 (27 for the Neotropical region and 19 for South America). Charinus bromeliaea sp. n. is distinguished from the other species in the genus by morphological characteristics and unique ecology. Adapted to live in Achmea bromeliads on...

A new species of the genus Sarax Simon, 1892 is described from Panay Island, Philippines. Sarax curioi sp. n. is the second species of the genus from the country and can be distinguished from the other Philippine species (Sarax brachydactylus Simon, 1892) by the sclerotized granules of the pedipalp surface, the spines of the pedipalp distitibia, th...

Four new species of chactid scorpions belonging to the genera Broteochactas Pocock, 1893, Brotheas C. L. Koch, 1837, Teuthraustes Simon, 1878 and Chactopsis Kraepelin, 1912 are described from a single location in the upper Rio Negro region, Brazilian Amazonia. These descriptions provide further confirmation of the high biodiversity and the importan...

A new species of the genus Charinus—C. vulgaris— is described from Porto Velho, Rondônia. This is the first record of the family Charinidae from the Brazilian Amazonia and of a synanthropic species in South America. Additionally, two new records of the genus for Brazil are made and a key to the Brazilian species of the genus is given.

A check list of the Araneae type specimens deposited in the Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, is given, including also all the type specimens of species described by Mello-Leitão without a clear repository. From a total of 923 type lots (which comprises 813 valid species names) cited in the list, 667 are available, 239 were no...

The Tocantins 2007 Expedition of the Project “Aracnídeos e Miriápodes da Mata Atlântica” (AMMA)produced many new records of arachnids and centipedes, with 61 morphotypes identified. Among the resultsare: OPILIONES: 30 morphotypes with six new records of families and one of subfamily from Tocantinsstate; discovery of two undescribed species of Roque...

A new species of the genus Mastigoproctus Pocock, 1894 is described from Falcon state in northwestern Venezuela. This is the third Mastigoproctus species recorded for this country, the northernmost record of the genus in South America and the first record of the order for Falcon state. Una nueva especie del género Mastigoproctus Pocock, 1894 es de...

A new Amazonian genus and species of Schizomida is described from Tobogán de la Selva, Amazonas state in Venezu-ela. Piaroa virichaj n. gen. and n. sp is the seventh species of the order described for Venezuela. Piaroa virichaj gen. and n. sp. is distinguished by having the metapeltidium entire; abdominal segment IX – XII elongated in the male; mal...

A new Amazonian genus and species of Schizomida is described from Tobogán de la Selva, Amazonas state in Venezuela. Piaroa virichaj n. gen. and n. sp is the seventh species of the order described for Venezuela. Piaroa virichaj gen. and n. sp. is distinguished by having the metapeltidium entire; abdominal segment IX – XII elongated in the male; male...

FIGURES 11. Piaroa virichaj gen. n. & sp. n., (female paratype). Habitus: lateral view. Scale bar 1 millimeter

FIGURES 1 – 2. Piaroa virichaj gen. n. & sp. n., (male holotype). 1. Habitus: Dorsal view. 2. Same: lateral view. Scale bars 1 millimeter.

FIGURES 6 – 9. Piaroa virichaj gen. n. & sp. n., (male holotype). Propeltidium, mesopeltidium and metapeltidium: dorsal view. 7. Cheliceral movable and fixed jaw. 8. Pedipalp: lateral view. 9. Leg IV: prolateral view. Scale bars 1 millimeter. 10. Spermathecae: dorsal view.

FIGURE 12. Map showing the type locality of Piaroa virichaj gen. n. & sp. n. in Amazonas State, Venezuela.

FIGURES 3 – 5. Piaroa virichaj gen. n. & sp. n., (male holotype). 3. Flagellum: dorsal view. 4. Same ventral view. 5. Same: lateral view. Scale bars 1 millimeter.

Charinus quinteroi nom. nov. is proposed as a replacement name for Charinus guianensis (Quintero, 1986), originally described in Tricharinus, preoccupied by Charinus guianensis (Caporiacco, 1947), originally described in Oligacanthophrynus. Abstract Se propone Charinus quinteroi nom. nov. como nombre de sustitución para Charinus guianensis (Quinter...

A new species of Charinus is described from the Olhos d'Água cave, in Itacarambi, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Hitherto seven other species were known from this country. The new species is the second troglobiont Charinus from Brazil. It has only tiny median eye spots (sometimes absent), reduced lateral eyes, the ventral corner of the prolateral face of fe...

Resumen Se establecen dos nuevas sinonomias en el género neotropical Heterephrynus. Se propone a Heterephrynus lengimanus Piza, 1938 como sinónimo posterior de Heterophrynus batesisí (Butler, 1873) y Heterephrynus brevimanus Mello-Leitao 1931 como sinónimo posterior de Heterophrynus longicornis (Butler, 1873).