Identifying refugia for invertebrate conservation in biodiversity hotspots: examples from a new genus of dragon pseudoscorpions (Pseudotyrannochthoniidae: Karrichthonius)

Danilo Harms; Jane McRae; Michael Curran; Mark Harvey

Just Accepted

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Identifying refugia for invertebrate conservation in biodiversity hotspots: examples from a new genus of dragon pseudoscorpions (Pseudotyrannochthoniidae: Karrichthonius)

Danilo Harms , Jane McRae, Michael Curran, Mark Harvey

Abstract

Conservation management in ancient landscapes has shifted in recent years from the protection of single species to the broader management of areas of high biodiversity. One of the landscapes which has most benefited from this shift is the southwest of Western Australia, an internationally recognised biodiversity hotspot and one of the oldest and most stable landscapes on Earth. Significant progress has been made in recent years to identify refugia in the southwest and prioritise them for invertebrate protection but more studies are still needed to assist practical conservation management. Here, we describe a new genus of pseudoscorpions from southwestern Australia (Pseudoscorpiones: Pseudotyrannochthoniidae: Karrichthonius gen. nov.) that has speciated extensively within mesic refugia. Karrichthonius is endemic to the High Rainfall Province of the biodiversity hotspot and features often-localised populations in spatially isolated mesic habitats. Through a combination of DNA barcoding, morphological features and spatial mapping, we infer twelve species: Karrichthonius giganteus (Beier, 1971) comb. nov., K. booraraensis, sp. nov., K. buzattoi, sp. nov., K. dalei, sp. nov., K. farquhari, sp. nov., K. heatherae, sp. nov., K. leniae, sp. nov., K. porongurupensis, sp. nov., K. pyungurupensis, sp. nov., K. rixi, sp. nov., K. talyuberlupensis, sp. nov., and K. toolbrunupensis, sp. nov. All species are short-range endemics and occur in landforms that are either known refugia for invertebrate conservation, or inferred here as potential refugia to be recognised and analysed further. By mapping species distributions and providing species diagnoses, we contribute to an understanding of invertebrate biodiversity in the southwest, and strengthen the concepts that are underlying conservation management practices in biodiversity hotspots.

IS25028 Accepted 31 July 2025