The tropical and subtropical rainforests of Australia’s eastern mesic zone have given rise to a complex and highly diverse biota. Numerous old endemic, niche-conserved groups persist in the montane rainforests south of Cooktown, where concepts of serial allopatric speciation resulting from the formation of xeric interzones have largely driven our biogeographic understanding of the region. Among invertebrate taxa, studies on less vagile arachnid lineages now complement extensive research on vertebrate taxa, and phylogenetic studies on mygalomorph spiders in particular are revealing significant insights about the biogeographic history of the Australian continent since the Eocene. One mygalomorph lineage entirely endemic to Australia’s tropical and subtropical eastern rainforests is the open-holed trapdoor spider genus Namea Raven, 1984 (family Anamidae). We explore, for the first time, the phylogenetic diversity and systematics of this group of spiders, with the aims of understanding patterns of rainforest diversity in Namea, of exploring the relative roles of lineage overlap versus in situ speciation in driving predicted high levels of congeneric sympatry, and of broadly reconciling morphology with evolutionary history. Original and legacy sequences were obtained for three mtDNA and four nuDNA markers from 151 specimens, including 82 specimens of Namea. We recovered a monophyletic genus Namea sister to the genus Teyl Main, 1975, and monophyletic species clades corresponding to 30 morphospecies OTUs, including 22 OTUs nested within three main species-complex lineages. Remarkable levels of sympatry for a single genus of mygalomorph spiders were revealed in rainforest habitats, with upland subtropical rainforests in south-eastern Queensland often home to multiple (up to six) congeners of usually disparate phylogenetic affinity living in direct sympatry or close parapatry, likely the result of simultaneous allopatric speciation in already co-occurring lineages, and more recent dispersal in a minority of taxa. In situ speciation, in contrast, appears to have played a relatively minor role in generating sympatric diversity within rainforest ‘islands’. At the population level, changes in the shape and spination of the male first leg relative to evolutionary history reveal subtle but consistent interspecific morphological shifts in the context of otherwise intraspecific variation, and understanding this morphological variance provides a useful framework for future taxonomic monography. Based on the phylogenetic results, we further provide a detailed taxonomic synopsis of the genus Namea, formally diagnosing three main species-complexes (the brisbanensis-complex, the dahmsi-complex and the jimna-complex), re-illustrating males of all 15 described species, and providing images of live spiders and burrows where available. In doing so, we reveal a huge undescribed diversity of Namea species from tropical and subtropical rainforest habitats, and an old endemic fauna that is beginning to shed light on more complex patterns of rainforest biogeography.

The genus Lamprohaminoea includes species of colourful haminoeid snails associated with coral reefs and rocky shores in the tropical Indo-West Pacific. In this work, we revise the diversity and systematics of Lamprohaminoea species based on a phylogenetic hypothesis and on a detailed morphological analysis of specimens. Shells, external features of the animals and anatomical characters from the jaws, radula, gizzard plates, and male reproductive system were studied by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, a molecular species delimitation analysis based on the Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery method using DNA sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I was implemented. Five species were recognised, three of them new to science, namely L. cymbalum, L. ovalis, L. vamiziensis sp. nov., L. evelinae sp. nov., and L. mikkelsenae sp. nov. Morphologically, these species can be separated by subtle differences of their external colouration and by features of the male reproductive system. Lamprohaminoea vamiziensis sp. nov. is known only from the western Indian Ocean and L. evelinae sp. nov., from the west Pacific, whereas the other three occur across the Indo-West Pacific realm.

Accurate species delimitation is essential for the study of biodiversity, but morphological approaches often provide a limited ability to connect different life stages, sexes or other phenotypic variants in eriophyoid mites because many species possess two phenotypically distinct forms: protogynes and deutogynes. In this study, we analysed the morphological variation in 26 populations of the eriophyoid mite, Epitrimerus sabinae Xue & Hong, 2005 s.l., from sites across its entire known distribution and revealed three morphotypes (LNS: large, normal palp seta d; MBS: medium, bifurcated palp seta d; SBS: small, bifurcated palp seta d) distinguished by body size and structure of dorsal pedipalp genual seta. Five lines of evidence (morphometrics, DNA-based species delimitation, phylogenetics, haplotype network, mitochondrial genome architecture) indicated that the MBS and SBS groups were very distinct from LNS (E. sabinae s.s.). In fact, the MBS and SBS morphotypes are properly placed in the genus Leipothrix with the MBS lineage representing the protogyne of L. juniperensis, sp. nov., whereas the SBS lineage is its deutogyne. By expanding the approaches used to link protogynes and deutogynes of eriophyoid mites, this study provides a way to accelerate the delineation of species boundaries in this important group of plant pests.

The Doryctinae is one of the most specious subfamilies of the mainly parasitoid wasp family Braconidae. Members of this subfamily are characterised by having a very heterogeneous external morphology, which has made establishing the limits of several of its genera extremely difficult. The Neotropical Callihormius Ashmead, Platydoryctes Barbalho & Penteado-Dias, and Aphelopsia Marsh are prime examples of this, since they show extensive interspecific morphological variation but lack consistent diagnostic features among them. We carried out a comprehensive phylogenetic study among several representative species belonging to the above genera as well as other morphologically similar doryctine taxa based on three nuclear and two mitochondrial (mt)DNA sequence markers. Based on the relationships recovered, we assessed the generic limits among the examined taxa and investigated the times of origin and diversification in this group. Our best estimate of phylogeny did not recover Callihormius as monophyletic, and thus we propose a taxonomic arrangement where we elevate the status of Ca. (Dmitriohormius) Belokobylskij, Zaldívar-Riverón & Coronado-Blanco to genus level, stat. nov., and also describe four new genera: Macrometasoma, gen. nov., Caputlenis, gen. nov., Platyhormius, gen. nov. and Caputrugosus, gen. nov.Platydoryctes is delimited morphologically, and the body flatness is proposed to have independently evolved more than once within the group of genera examined. Aphelopsia was not recovered as monophyletic, though the relationships involved were weakly supported and therefore we maintain its species composition. Panama Marsh, stat. rev., which was considered a junior synonym of Leluthia Cameron, is resurrected. Basal relationships in the phylogeny had very short branch lengths, which could be due to ancient rapid radiation events that occurred during the early evolution of the group. The estimated times of divergence showed that the clade containing Callihormius and its related genera originated between the late Oligocene and middle Miocene, whereas its early diversification events probably occurred between the middle to late Miocene.