New characters for defining North American genera of Microcreagrinae (Pseudoscorpiones: Neobisiidae)

The Pseudoscorpion family Neobisiidae occurs throughout the northern hemisphere, with members often found in leaf litter and caves. In North America, the subfamily Microcreagrinae consists of a dozen genera, yet compared to the rest of the microcreagrine fauna, these North American genera are poorly diagnosed and it is often difficult to assign new species to an existing genus given the current generic descriptions. Problems with the current descriptions stem from small sample sizes, characters with high variation, and a fixation on only a few characters, such as setal patterns on genital operculae. Here, species groups corresponding to new morphological and molecular data are presented and putative generic designations are discussed.