Revision of the Ephippiochthonius complex in the Iberian Peninsula, Balearic Islands and Macaronesia, with proposed changes to the status of the Chthonius subgenera (Pseudoscorpiones, Chthoniidae)
Author
Zaragoza, Juan A.
text
Zootaxa
2017
4246
1
1
221
journal article
36212
10.5281/zenodo.437611
3ff74501-6241-43b2-a52f-0e7580bb2f45
1175-5326
437611
D8594E96-D561-4A37-9073-B138EC7E95A7
Ephippiochthonius ibiza
n. sp.
(
Figs 154–158
)
Type
locality.
Spain
,
Balearic Islands
,
Ibiza
,
Portinatx
,
Cova
de sa
Caperulla
(
39°06′14″N
,
01°32′07″E
;
111 m
a.s.l.
).
Distribution.
Spain
:
Balearic Islands
.
Etymology.
The species name is a noun in apposition from the island on which the
type
locality is situated.
Diagnosis (
♀
).
A large, microphthalmic, strongly troglomorphic
Ephippiochthonius
species of the
tetrachelatus
-group. Movable cheliceral finger without isolated subapical tooth (
di
) and spinneret prominent in female, unknown for male, lyrifissure
ldb
present; anterior eyes with weakly convex lens, posterior eyes absent; 1– 2 preocular microsetae on each side, posterior margin of carapace with 2 macrosetae; chelal hand weakly depressed at level of
ib
/
isb
, with distinct, short and weakly conical, hump distad of
ib
/
isb
and gentle slope between trichobothria
ib
/
isb
and
eb
; fixed chelal finger with 33–34 teeth; movable chelal finger with 32–33 teeth, without marginal lamina; pedipalpal femur (
♀
) 9.8–9.9 times longer than broad, length
1.57–1.58 mm
; chela (
♀
) 6.2–6.6 times longer than deep, length
2.06–2.07 mm
; ratio movable chelal finger/chelal hand (
♀
) 1.4; all chelal lyrifissure patterns present with their standard complements, lyrifissures
fd
and
hd
with increased number.
Type material examined.
♀ holotype,
1 ♀
paratype
(both
DEUA
),
Spain
,
Balearic Islands
,
Ibiza
,
Portinatx
,
Cova
de sa
Caperulla
(
39°06′14″N
,
01°32′07″E
;
111 m
a.s.l.
),
25.II.2007
, leg.
A. Sendra
.
Description (
♀
;
♂
unknown).
Large, hypogean species, strongly troglomorphic. Integument depigmented; hispid granulation on lateral surfaces of carapace, on cheliceral hand and weakly on bases of chelal fingers.
Carapace (
Fig. 155
) distinctly longer than broad and strongly constricted posteriorly; medial part of anterior margin distinctly prominent, without a well-defined epistome, and strongly dentate (
Fig. 154
); anterior eyes with small and weakly convex lens (diameter
0.025–0.030 mm
) and far from anterior margin of carapace (
0.065–0.070 mm
), posterior eyes absent. Chaetotaxy: 18 macrosetae and 1‒2 preocular microsetae on each side, macrosetal formula 4:6:4:2:2, anteromedial setae
0.16–0.17 mm
long, sublateral ocular setae
0.08 mm
long, ocular medial setae even longer than the anteromedial; 4 lyrifissures anteriorly and 2 posteriorly.
Chelicera (
Figs 156, 157
) with 6 setae and 2 lateral microsetae on hand, seta
vb
short (length
0.075–0.090 mm
); hand with 5 dorsal and 1 ventral lyrifissure, lyrifissure
ldb
present. Fixed and movable fingers with strongly worn teeth of unrecognizable number in bot
holotype
and
paratype
, two distal teeth distinctly larger than others in the fixed finger, one in the movable finger. Movable finger without an isolated subapical tooth (
di
); spinneret prominent, of medium size and rounded in female (
Fig. 157
), unknown for male; seta
gl
0.58 from base of movable finger. Rallum with 11 blades. Serrula exterior with 17–18 blades, serrula interior 13 blades.
Chaetotaxy of tergites 4:4:4:4:6:6:6:6:1T2T1:4:1T2T1:0; tergites IX and XI each with 2 sublateral tactile setae (0.31 and
0.41 mm
long, respectively). Chaetotaxy of sternites 10–11:(3)10(3):(2)7(2):8:6:6:6:6:2T1T2:0:2, lateral setae on sternite III microsetal in size, sternite X with 2 submedial tactile setae.
Pedipalpal coxa with 5 setae (including 2 on manducatory process), distal marginal seta of disk
0.17–0.19 mm
long; coxa
I 3
+ 3 marginal microsetae, distal marginal seta
0.11 mm
long;
II 4
+ 9–13 bipinnate coxal spines,
III 5
+ 4–8 bipinnate coxal spines and
IV 6
; intercoxal tubercle bisetose.
Pedipalp with femoral chaetotaxy 3:6:2:7–8:1. Chela (
Fig. 158
) with hand weakly depressed at level of
ib
/
isb
, with distinct, short and weakly conical, hump distad of
ib
/
isb
and gentle slope between trichobothria
ib
/
isb
and
eb
; dorsal-antiaxial surface of the chelal hand between the hump and trichobothria
eb
/
esb
flattened, limited by a marked edge; ventral intercondylar bow-like protuberance (
ip
) present; chaetotaxy 4:5:3, seta
ph3
lacking, setae
ih1
,
ih3
and
ih4
approximately level with trichobothria
ib
/
isb
; distal end of hand and bases of chelal fingers with sclerotized condylar complex. Fixed finger with 33–34 teeth, most pointed and all with dental canals, of these the 7–9 proximal teeth progressively decreasing in size, dental row reaching halfway between sensilla
pc
and trichobothrium
b
, 4–5 microtubercles at base; tip of finger with an accessory tooth (
td
) on antiaxial face; one pair of long antiaxial sensory setae (
as
) at the finger base,
0.060–0.075 mm
long, distance between them
0.080–0.095 mm
, finger depth 0.105 at the base; 4 teeth at level of
est
/
it
occupying
0.1 mm
, distance between successive apices
0.025–0.030 mm
. Movable finger with 32–33 teeth, most with dental canals, the distal one very tiny, up to halfway between trichobothria
st
and
sb
teeth are pointed and well developed, decreasing in size proximally and becoming rounded, becoming flattened at the proximal end, all with dental canals except 5 proximal teeth, dental row reaching up to proximad of sensilla
pc
being slightly shorter than the fixed finger dental row; basal apodeme long and apically indented; coupled sensilla
pc
halfway between
sb
and
b
, slightly closer to
b
. Trichobothria as in
Fig. 158
; trichobothrium
ist
slightly proximad of
esb
and well proximad of lyrifissure
fb
; distance between
ib
/
isb
and
esb
1.0–1.1 times longer than that between
ib
/
isb
and the base of the hand; distance between
st
and
sb
1.5–1.6 times longer than that between
sb
and
b
. All chelal lyrifissure patterns present, most with their standard complements, except female
holotype
with 4 lyrifissures
fd
on one chela and the normal number of 3 on the other chela and both females with duplicated lyrifissure
hd
.
FIGURES 154–158.
Ephippiochthonius ibiza
n. sp.
, female holotype. 154, anterior margin of carapace, partial view; 155, carapace; 156, left chelicera; 157, fingers of left chelicera, partial view; 158, left chela, antiaxial view.
Measurements and ratios
. Female
holotype
, followed, when different, by female
paratype
in square brackets: Body 2.24 [2.14]. Carapace 0.82/0.66 (1.2) [0.76/0.65 (1.2)]. Chelicera 0.72/0.31 (2.3) [0.71/0.30 (2.4)], movable finger 0.38. Pedipalp: femur 1.57/0.16 (9.8) [1.58/0.16 (9.9)], patella 0.58/0.24 (2.4) [0.59/0.22 (2.6)], chela 2.07/ 0.32 (6.6) [2.06/0.33 (6.2)], hand 0.85 (2.7) [0.84 (2.5)], movable finger 1.15 [1.18]; ratio movable finger/hand 1.4, femur/movable finger 1.4 [1.3], femur/carapace 1.9 [2.1], chela/carapace 2.5 [2.7], chela/femur 1.3.
Remarks.
Ephippiochthonius ibiza
n. sp.
is distinctly larger and more slender than the other microphthalmic species of the
tetrachelatus
-group, namely
E. nerjaensis
(Carabajal Márquez, García Carrillo & Rodríguez Fernández, 2001)
. They share the absence of an isolated subapical tooth (
di
) on the movable cheliceral finger and only 2 setae on the carapacal posterior margin, but
E. ibiza
n. sp.
strongly differs from
E. nerjaensis
in the number of teeth on the movable chelal finger, having about 30 as opposed to about
7 in
the latter. Additionally, the position of trichobothrium
ist
is proximad of
esb
in
E. ibiza
n. sp.
, whereas in
E. nerjaensis
it is distinctly distad.