Cryptic sheet web-building spiders (Cyatholipus Simon, 1894): Denizens of the Afromontane regions of South Africa (Araneae, Cyatholipidae)

The forest biota of Africa is a biological diversity hotspot reflecting a heterogeneous landscape, suggesting centers of endemism and strong selective gradients in species richness. The existence of a disjunct, cool-temperate and tropical montane region has been described as ‘archipelago-like’, which has led to high endemic diversity across many organisms including the spiders within the family Cyatholipidae. The afrotropical fauna compromises fifteen genera, where here we focus specifically on the South African genus Cyatholipus, which encompasses 6 described species. Ranging from 1-2mm in body size, Cyatholipus are generally rare, but are found in sheet webs or by general collecting methods. Integrating taxonomic and phylogenetic information, this project aims to describe, resolve, and understand relationships within Cyatholipus. To provide a detailed visualization of morphological characteristics, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), digital imaging, and male genitalia expansion methods were implemented.  Representatives of populations of all described species were sequenced.  Phylogenetic analyses of 3 molecular markers (H3, CO1, 28S) through Bayesian, Maximum Likelihood, and Parsimony were also used to enable further resolution of the interspecific phylogenetic divergence within Cyatholipus. This study provides fundamental insight to understand and conserve taxa in this highly diverse region of Africa.