Posição Sistemática e História Natural de Três Novas Espécies de Archembiidae (Embioptera) do Brasil

Abstract

The order Embioptera in"ludes web-spinning inse"ts known for their ability to produ"e and weave silk. In Brazil, this order is represented by five families, with Ar"hembiidae being the most diverse in terms of spe"ies ri"hness. Des"ribed by Ross (2001) without the use of phylogeneti" analyses, the monophyly of the family was later supported primarily by "hara"ters of the male terminalia. Despite re"ent advan"es in resear"h, there are still gaps in the original spe"ies des"riptions, "lassifi"ation, behavior, and development of the family’s spe"ies, whi"h limit the exe"ution of more in-depth future studies. This work des"ribes three new spe"ies of Ar"hembiidae, whi"h, although sharing some "hara"teristi"s with other spe"ies of the family, exhibit a unique set of morphologi"al traits that do not align with any previously des"ribed genus. This parti"ularity "ompli"ates the identifi"ation and in"lusion of these spe"ies at the genus level, highlighting the need for a thorough phylogeneti" analysis to determine their appropriate pla"ement within the family. The goal of this study is to delimit the systemati" position of these three new spe"ies of Ar"hembiidae and des"ribe their natural history. For this, we used two studies as the basis, Szumik (2004) and Andrade et al. (2023), in"orporating 27 new "hara"ters, ex"luding 12 "hara"ters, and modifying nine, resulting in a matrix with 118 "hara"ters and 37 spe"ies. Clothodidae was used as the outgroup, and Ar"hembiidae (in"luding Ar"hembiinae and S"elembiinae) as the ingroup. We performed three analyses by modifying only the "on"avity values, and as a result, we observed the monophyly of Ar"hembiidae and the two subfamilies (Ar"hembiinae and S"elembiinae). The three new spe"ies were "lassified as new monophyleti" genera. Males and females of all three new spe"ies were des"ribed, as well as the behavior of two of these spe"ies. The formalization of these des"riptions not only "ontributes to the in"rease of knowledge about the biodiversity of Ar"hembiidae, but is also essential for understanding the evolution and diversity of the order, providing new insights into their natural history and evolutionary relationships