Monoscutum
Monoscutum is a genus of harvestmen in the family Neopilionidae. The genus is monotypic, containing a single species, Monoscutum titirangiense, which is endemic to New Zealand.
Description
In the original description, Forster described the genus and species as below:Forster's type description appears to be based on male individuals only. Female individuals are more rugose, have more denticles on their opisthosoma, lack a denticle pattern, and have large median tubercules on their third segments. The species can be distinguished from the genera Acihasta and Templar due to the presence of complex ornamentation covering the species' dorsum.
Taxonomy
Both the genus and species were described by the same paper by Ray Forster in 1948, who used the spelling Monoscutum titirangiensis. The holotype was collected by Forster himself from Titirangi, Auckland, on 13 December 1945, and is kept at Te Papa. The name was amended to Monoscutum titirangiense by Vladimír Šilhavý in 1970. The species was redescribed in 2008 by Christopher Taylor, including the first description of the female of the species.Phylogenetic analysis indicated the closest relatives to Monoscutum are the genera Templar, Megalopsalis and Mangatangi.