Marcel Santos de Araújo

• PhD in Animal Biology
• PostDoc Position at Federal University of São Carlos

Cave environments present stable abiotic conditions, including permanent darkness, high humidity, and mild temperatures, while biotic factors reflect simplified ecological networks and energy constraints. Cave invertebrates, primarily detritivores and generalists, demonstrate specific adaptations to these conditions. Predation and necrophagy are cr...

The limited temporal completeness and taxonomic accuracy of species lists, made available in a traditional manner in scientific publications, has always represented a problem. These lists are invariably limited to a few taxonomic groups and do not represent up-to-date knowledge of all species and classification. In this context, the B Brazilian meg...

The cave environment is one of the most threatened habitats in the face of mineral exploration and urban development, even though it is classified as a Brazilian cultural, biological and geological heritage. More and more on the margins of the impacts of human activities, today Brazilian caves are under high pressure for licensing, including those...

A new species of Neocarus is described from adult female and male specimens collected from an epigean and hypogean ferruginous geosystem located in southeast Brazil. The new species, Neocarus congado sp. nov., is an atypical species with the male expressing dimorphic characters in the chelicera, palp and dorsal shield, through setae with different...

Neocarus platensis is redescribed from part of the syntype series collected in Argentina and lectotype specimens are designated. The remaining syntype material from Uruguay represents a new species, herein named Neocarus paraplatensis sp. nov. Taxonomic problems within the Opilioacaridae are discussed in light of a comparative morphological discuss...

Ten Opilioacaridae species from the genera Caribeacarus and Neocarus are found in subterranean habitats in Brazil, and several new species are waiting to be described. As part of our studies on cave opilioacarid species, two new species from Peruaçu Caves National Park, Minas Gerais state, are described in the present paper. The two new species pre...

Two new opilioacarid species from Northeast and Southeast of Brazil are described. Neocarus setilatus sp. nov. from a gallery forest in Piauí and Neocarus marambaia sp. nov. from a restinga area in Rio de Janeiro. Both species have the similar starshaped integument character and smaller, broader setae. We discuss the importance of these characters...

The presence of the red palm mite Raoiella indica Hirst, was recorded on açaí, Euterpe oleracea Mart. (Arecaceae), in Porto Seguro, Bahia State, northeastern Brazil. We evaluated the population dynamics of R. indica from September 2019 to February 2020. The population outbreak and most severe damage caused by R. indica was observed in February, a p...

Neocarus jonasi n.sp. is described from three limestone caves of the Bambuí Group geomophological formation, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, with a combination of a higher number of palp genu and tibia r setae and palp tarsus sm and d setae. Its relationship to Neocarus spelaion and the importance of setae variation in Opilioacaridae is discussed. A ke...

A catalog of the described Opilioacaridae species and their type depository institutions is presented. Opilioacaridae comprises 53 valid taxa (with 2 subspecies and 3 fossil species) distributed in 13 genera. The zoogeographical distribution, described life stages and years of description are also provided and discussed. Recent work on the American...

A catalog of the type specimens of mites deposited at the Mite Collection of the Zoology and Botany Department of São Paulo State University (São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo state, Brazil) is presented. The collection of type specimens includes 120 species of 64 genera and 16 families, most of which from Brazil, but also from Angola, Australia, Co...

No living Opilioacarus species have been described from Europe for more than a century since the first finding and species description in the early twentieth century. Using the material deposited in Museo Civico di Storia Naturale of Verona, Italy, it was possible to identify and describe a new Opilioacarus species and review the genus diagnosis, u...

Neocarus coronatus n. sp., is described from caves and the surrounding epigean habitats from a karst area of São Desidério county, Bahia state, Brazil. A dissection procedure is presented for the better use of scarce Opilioacaridae material, especially to analyze gut contents. Sexual dimorphism is presented, mainly differences in the density of set...

The present study aimed at assessing the effects of climate seasonality on poneromorph ants in the Brazilian Amazon, by studying variations in composition, richness, and taxonomic and functional diversity. The study was carried out in the Tapirapé-Aquiri National Forest, southeastern Pará State. We collected poneromorph ants in three areas of nativ...

Diplothyrus lehtineni n. sp. is described from adults females and males collected on surveys in the Brazilian Amazon forest. Measurements and illustrations of both sexes are provided. The presence of two modified setae on the palp genu, the absence of fringed seta on the palp genu and the absence of complex branched outgrowths on the chelicera char...

Documenting how diversity patterns vary at fine-and broad scales may help answer many questions in theoretical and applied ecology. However, studies tend to compare diversity patterns at the same scale and within the same taxonomic group, which limits the applicability and generality of the results. Here, we have investigated whether vegetation-dwe...

Adults of Bromeliacarus cardoso gen. n., sp. n. are described from phytotelmata of Quesnelia arvensis (Vellozo) Mez. (Bromeliaceae) in the subtropical area of the Atlantic rainforest, São Paulo State, Brazil. The new genus Bromeliacarus is proposed and diagnosed, based primarily on the autapomorphic presence of 7–9 pairs of acetabula flanking the g...

Adults of Bromeliacarus cardoso gen. n., sp. n. are described from phytotelmata of Quesnelia arvensis (Vellozo) Mez. (Bromeliaceae) in the subtropical area of the Atlantic rainforest, São Paulo State, Brazil. The new genus Bromeliacarus is proposed and diagnosed, based primarily on the autapomorphic presence of 7–9 pairs of acetabula flanking the g...

Opilioacaridae atualmente conta com 44 espécies descritas, mais da metade descritas nos últimos 15 anos. A primeira espécie descrita de Opilioacaridae para as Américas foi Neocarus platensis (Silvestri 1905) (anteriormente inserido em Opilioacarus) com material procedente de Posadas (Argentina) e Salto (Uruguai). Posteriormente, uma nova ocorrência...

Como o primeiro gênero descrito das Américas, Neocarus foi criado para agrupar as espécies ali viventes e diferenciá-las do gênero encontrado no Velho Mundo, Opilioacarus. O gênero Neocarus atualmente corresponde a 14 espécies descritas, correspondendo a 30% das espécies desta família descritas do mundo. No Brasil são encontradas quatro espécies: N...

The rosette architecture of some bromeliad species traps water and organic matter from the canopy in leaf axils (forming phytotelmata) and harbors many species of invertebrate animals (Frank & Lounibos 2009). Some water mites are adapted to live in phytotelmata; typically recorded from water-filled tree holes, bromeliad tanks, and a range of plant...

A new genus and species of Opilioacaridae, Brasilacarus cocaris n. gen., n. sp., is described from adult females and males from Manaus, Brazil. Brief descriptions of damaged tritonymphs and deutonymphs are also provided. The new genus appears to be related to Caribeacarus but possess a unique group of additional strongly modified setae on the tibio...

Collections of Opilioacaridae made close to 50 years ago in Manaus in the Amazonian Region have allowed the description of a new genus and two new species from Brazil, Amazonacarus setosus n.gen, n.sp. and A. paraensis n.gen, n.sp. These species show a unique combination of characters in the Opilioacaridae: a high number of foliate setae (10) on th...