Abstract
The monophyletic agelenid genus Barronopsis Chamberlin & Ivie is revised to include 6 species. The Cuban species B. campephila Alayón and B. cesari Alayón are synonomized under B. barrowsi (Gertsch) and B. jeffersi (Muma), respectively, and B. stephaniae new species is described. Natural history observations, distribution maps, diagnoses and descriptions, and a species identification key including B. texana (Gertsch), B. arturoi Alayón, and B. floridensis (Muma) are provided. Detailed descriptions of the male palpus and female genitalia, a review and evaluation of historical terminology used to describe agelenid palpal bulbs, and a discussion of the utility of certain male palpal characters in resolving phylogeny within Agelenidae are provided. Based on the morphology of the male and female genitalia and morphometric data, two species groups are recognized: a large-bodied B. texana species group (B. texana, floridensis, arturoi, jeffersi) and a small-bodied B. barrowsi species group (B. barrowsi, B. stephaniae). A cladistic analysis of Barronopsis, using Tortolena glaucopis (F. O. P.-Cambridge), Melpomene singula (Gertsch & Ivie), and species of Agelenopsis Giebel as outgroups identified three most parsimonious trees of 37 steps. The strict consensus tree yielded the following species relationships: (Agelenopsis (((B. texana, B. jeffersi), B. floridensis, B. arturoi), (B. barrowsi, B. stephaniae))))).Key words: Agelenopsis, revision, taxonomy, phylogenetic analysisReferences
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