Revision of the subterranean amphipod genus Spelaeogammarus (Bogidiellidae) from Brazil, including descriptions of three new species and considerations of their phylogeny and biogeography

Three new subterranean amphipods of the genus Spelaeogammarus da Silva Brum , 1975, are described from eastern Brazil, bringing the total number of spe cies in the genus to four. Based on the examination of type-material of Spe laeogammarus bahiensis, a comparative diagnosis of all four species of Spel aeogammarus, including the new species Spelaeogammarus spinilacertus, Spela eogammarus trajanoae, and Spelaeogammarus santanensis, is given. A diagnosi s for the genus is also provided. The occurrence of these species in caves that are separated from each other in discontinuous karat areas is biogeogr aphically significant for the family Bogidiellidae in continental South Ame rica.