A new species and the phylogenetic placement of the Neotropical genus Gephyrellula Strand, 1932 (Araneae, Philodromidae)

Gephyrellula Strand, 1932 is a genus of small flat pale spiders from the running crab spider family Philodromidae, which currently includes the type-species Gephyrellula violacea (Mello-Leitão, 1918), and the recently described G. lavidabonita Galvis et al., 2024. The genus has appeared in phylogenetic analyses as a member of the subfamily Philodrominae, but there are conflicting hypotheses regarding its closest relatives.

One analysis placed Gephyrellula among the Hawaiian genera Pedinopistha Karsch, 1880 and Pagiopalus Simon, 1900, whereas the other placed it among species of Philodromus Walckenaer, 1826. To further investigate the topic, we conducted new phylogenetic analyses using four molecular markers and including two terminals of Gephyrellula. The resulting trees support the division of the family into two subfamilies Thanatinae and Philodrominae, with Gephyrellula as a member of the latter.

Our results place Gephyrellula neither as a member of the Hawaiian clade nor among the genus Philodromus, but instead as a separated lineage. In addition to the phylogenetic analysis, we describe a new species of the genus named Gephyrellula condeuba sp. nov., and provide new records of G. violacea, expanding the known distribution of the genus.