Opiliones (Arachnida) in a mixed forest in southern Minas Gerais state, Brazil

Abstract

The Opiliones are an order that provides relevant environmental services to different ecosystems, but there is little information on these arachnids for many Brazilian environments. In the Minas Gerais state, Southeastern Brazil, there is no data for Mixed Forests, the dominant phytophysiognomy of the Atlantic Forest domain. To address this issue, we aimed to assess the opilionid fauna in Mixed Forest environments. This study took place at the Parque Estadual Serra do Papagaio state park between November 2017 and April 2018, with a total 57 hours of sampling effort. We recorded 17 species, including a Spinopilar species unknown to Science. Despite the low species richness when compared to other assessments, we found the Opiliones fauna of the Mixed Forest to be noteworthy due to their endemic status.