Taxonomic analysis uncovers two new Opilio harvestman species in Russia and Kyrgyzstan, indicating underestimated arachnid biodiversity across poorly surveyed Palaearctic regions.
Two new species of Opilio Herbst, 1798 (Opiliones: Phalangiidae), O. kyrgyzstanicus sp. nov. from Kyrgyzstan and O. zhiguli sp. nov. from Russia, are described based on morphological characters of both sexes. Both species are diagnosed and illustrated in detail, including the structure of the penis, pedipalps, chelicerae, and body armature. The discovery of these new species indicates that the diversity of the genus in the Palaearctic remains considerably underestimated, particularly in poorly studied regions of Central Asia and the Middle Volga.
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Nataly Snegovaya (2026) studied this question.
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