Cave-dwelling species of Brasineura Silva-Neto & García Aldrete, 2015 (Psocodea: Ptiloneuridae) from southwestern Brazil: new species, wing variation, and new geographic and troglophile status records

  • Natália Soares Reategui Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia – INPA, CPEN – Programa de Pós-Graduação em Entomologia, Campus II, Caixa postal 478, CEP 69011-97, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9286-0109
  • Antoniel Francisco Pereira Laboratório de Entomologia, Centro de Estudos da Biodiversidade, Universidade Federal de Roraima (UFRR), Campus Paricarana, 69310-000, Boa Vista-RR, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2972-7978
  • Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira Centro de Estudos em Biologia Subterrânea, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Campus Universitário, 3037 Minas Gerais, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3288-4405
  • Rafael Boldrini Laboratório de Entomologia, Centro de Estudos da Biodiversidade, Universidade Federal de Roraima (UFRR), Campus Paricarana, 69310-000, Boa Vista-RR, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1119-7577
  • José Albertino Rafael Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia – INPA, CPEN – Programa de Pós-Graduação em Entomologia, Campus II, Caixa postal 478, CEP 69011-97, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0170-0514
  • Alberto Moreira da Silva-Neto Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia – INPA, CPEN – Programa de Pós-Graduação em Entomologia, Campus II, Caixa postal 478, CEP 69011-97, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4522-3756
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2026.1034.3149
Keywords: troglophilic, free-living lice, Neotropical, Psocomorpha

Abstract

Three new troglophilic species of Brasineura Silva-Neto & García Aldrete, 2015 are described and illustrated herein: Brasineura hpba Reategui, Pereira, Rafael & Silva-Netosp. nov., B. renaissance Reategui, Pereira, Rafael & Silva-Neto sp. nov., and B. vicentoi Reategui, Pereira, Rafael & Silva-Neto sp. nov. Intraspecific variation in wing venation is documented for the newly described taxa. Additionally, we report for the first time the occurrence of B. serranortensis Silva-Neto, García Aldrete & Rafael, 2016 and B.spinosa Silva-Neto, García Aldrete & Rafael, 2018 within cave environments. An updated distribution map of the species of Brasineura in Brazil is provided, along with an identification key based on male morphological characters. With the inclusion of these new records, the number of the species of Brasineura known from Brazil rises to ten. This study significantly advances the understanding of the diversity and distribution of free-living lice associated with Brazilian cave ecosystems.

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Published
2026-01-15
How to Cite
Reategui, N. S., Pereira, A. F., Ferreira, R. L., Boldrini, R., Rafael, J. A., & da Silva-Neto, A. M. (2026). Cave-dwelling species of Brasineura Silva-Neto & García Aldrete, 2015 (Psocodea: Ptiloneuridae) from southwestern Brazil: new species, wing variation, and new geographic and troglophile status records. European Journal of Taxonomy, 1034(1), 103–118. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2026.1034.3149
Issue
Vol. 1034 (2026)
Section
Research article

Copyright (c) 2026 Natália Soares Reategui, Antoniel Francisco Pereira, Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira, Rafael Boldrini, José Albertino Rafael, Alberto Moreira da Silva-Neto

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