Another piece to the Hoplisoma paleatum puzzle, with a discussion on the monophyly of Hoplisoma

In this work, we revisited the taxonomy of Hoplisoma paleatum, a species with one of the most extensive taxonomic histories within the genus Hoplisoma. The analysis of the type-specimens of H. microcephalus and non-type specimens from Tres Arroyos, Argentina, led us to propose this species as a junior synonym of H. paleatum. Additionally, considering that the monophyly of Hoplisoma and generic placement of H. paleatum and its closest relatives were recently contested, a broad discussion on the systematics of the genus is provided herein. Considering the potential taxonomic instability related to the recent proposal of Urkumayu, and in light of the large dataset supporting a monophyletic Hoplisoma, we herein consider Urkumayu to represent a junior synonym of Hoplisoma, pending further analysis. A discussion on the taxonomic status of the species in Urkumayu, H. steindachneri and H. osvaldoi is also provided.