Genus Paronella Schött, 1893

Diagnosis. Specimens pigmented. Scales present, heavily ciliate, covering head, trunk, ventral face of manubrium and dentes. Th. III and Abd. I without mac. Antennae shorter than half body, Ant. IV not annulated or subdivided, without apical bulb. Ant. I shorter than head length. Eyes 8+8. Ungues normal, unguiculi lanceolate. Trochanteral organ well developed, with several spine-like chaetae. Collophore anterior face with 7+7 enlarged distal chaetae. Abd. II to IV bothriotricha formula as 2+2/3+3/2+2. Manubrium (Fig. 4) and dens with two rows of strong smooth dark spines; mucro short with 3–4 teeth (adapted from Mitra 1992, 1993a).

Remarks on Brazilian fauna. No nominal species of Paronella has been registered from Neotropical Region, only morphospecies (as sp.) from Mexico, Cuba, Paraguay and Brazil (Mari Mutt et al. 2016). Since Paronella is currently a restrict genus from Africa, it is quite possible that all Neotropical records are actually Trogolaphysa species (a related genus widely distributed in Neotropical Region) and at least some species present small spinelike chaetae on manubrium (see the description of T. ernesti sp. nov. and Fig. 84). The record by Bellini (2014) from Piauí State, Brazil reinforce such hypothesis since it is actually of a Trogolaphysa species with such morphology (material is insufficient to determine the species). The differential diagnosis of Paronella regarding Trogolaphysa is: presence of strong smooth conical manubrial spines (absent in Trogolaphysa) and 2+2 abdominal bothriotricha (3+ 3 in Trogolaphysa).