Ernstmayria uenizelosi Ćurčić, Dimitrijević and Trichas, 2007

Ćurčić, Božidar P. M., Dimitrijević, Rajko N., Trichas, Apostolos, Tomić, Vladimir T. & Ćurčić, Srećko B., 2007, A new neobisiid pseudoscorpion species from Crete (Greece), with notes on its morphology, distribution, evolution, and phylogeny, Journal of Natural History 41 (13 - 16), pp. 751-769 : 753-758

Ernstmayria uenizelosi Ćurčić, Dimitrijević and Trichas , new species

( Figures 1–7 ; Table I; Map 1 )

Material examined

Holotype male and paratype male, from Rouvas (ca 1500 m a.s.l.), Crete, Greece, 27 November 1990, collected by Dr. Apostolos Trichas ( Map 1 ).

The specimens analysed are housed in the collections of the Institute of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Belgrade, Serbia ( IZB 1010–1011 ) .

Etymology

After the name of Eleftherios Venizelos, a noted Cretan humanist and politician. Description

Carapace slightly longer than broad ( Table I); epistome as in Figure 2 . The carapacal formula is 6+8+8+10532 setae. With two pairs of eyes, anteriors larger than posteriors ( Figure 3 ).

Tergal formulae: 12-12-15-16-16-14-13-13-13-11 and 12-12-14-17-16-15-14-13-13- 12.

Sternite II with seven or eight setae (in two groups, 4+3 and 4+4), sternite III with 22 or 23 anterior and posterior setae, and two suprastigmatic microsetae on either side; sternite IV with 11 or 12 posterior setae and two microsetae along each stigma ( Figure 6 ). Sternites V–X with 18-17-17-17-14-14 and 17-18-19-18-15-15 setae, respectively. Of these, two median setae on each of the sternites are somewhat anterior—at a distance of 2.20–3.50 diameters of their bases—to other posterior setae.

The movable and fixed cheliceral finger carry 11–12 and 14–16 small teeth, apically rounded. On the movable finger these teeth end well below the galeal setae. A single chaeta is borne on the movable finger, and six such setae are present on the fixed cheliceral finger ( Figure 7 ). Flagellum eight-bladed, characteristic of the genus.

Apex of pedipalpal coxa with five long and acuminate setae. Form of pedipalpal articles as in type species ( Ćurčić et al. 2006). Pedipalpal femur with some interior and lateral granulations ( Figure 4 ) and with few interior and distal larger tubercles ( Figure 4 ; open arrow). Pedipalpal chela granulated interiorly and distally; a sickle-shaped swelling on the base of the fixed pedipalpal finger, protruding laterally as an outstanding tubercle ( Figures 1, 4 ; open arrow).

Fixed chelal finger with 58, movable finger with 54 small and contiguous teeth only. Small chitinous points on tibial and chelal palm handle present, similar to those in E. apostolostrichasi .

Fixed cheliceral finger with eight, movable finger with four trichobothria ( Figure 1 ). Pedipalpal femur is 3.91–4.00 times as long as broad, pedipalpal patella is 2.56–2.58 times longer than broad, pedipalpal chela length to breadth ratio is 3.81–3.85, and pedipalpal chela is 1.935–1.96 times shorter than carapace+abdomen ( Table I). Chelal fingers slightly longer than chelal palm ( Figure 1 ; Table I).

Tibia IV and metatarsus IV each carry a long tactile seta, but tarsus IV has two such setae ( Figure 5 ; Table I).

All measurements of different body structures and morphometric ratios are presented in Table I.

Differential diagnosis of E. venizelosi n. sp.

These two congeners clearly differ in the total number of carapacal setae (28 in E. apostolostrichasi versus 32 in E. υenizelosi n. sp.). Additionally, the new species of Ernstmayria is easily distinguished from E. apostolostrichasi by the number of posterior carapacal setae (10 versus 12), by the number of setae on sternite II of the male (seven or eight versus four), by the number of pedipalpal chelal teeth of the male (fixed finger: 58 versus 66 teeth; movable finger: 54 versus 65 teeth), by the body length of the male (2.68–2.72 mm versus 3.095–3.57 mm), by the carapace length of the male (0.60– 0.62 mm versus 0.825–1.06 mm), by the length of the male (2.08–2.10 mm versus 2.27–2.51 mm), by the pedipalpal abdominal length of the male (3.85–3.89 mm versus 4.90–5.115 mm), by the pedipalpal chelal length to breadth ratio of the male (3.81–3.85 versus 2.74–3.51) and by the leg IV length of the male (2.97–3.03 mm versus 3.79–3.915 mm); in addition, all bold numbers refer to distinct characters of E. υenizelosi n. sp. in relation to different samples (males) of E. apostolostrichasi from all available collecting sites ( Table I).

Distribution

This new species is an endemic inhabitant of the epigean and mountainous areas in Crete, Greece. It might also represent an ancient vestige of the once existing tropical and/or subtropical Tertiary or even pre-Tertiary fauna in SE Europe ( Map 1 ).

Figures

Map 1. Distribution of Ernstmayria υenizelosi n. sp. (1) and E. apostolostrichasi Ćurčić and Dimitrijević (2) on the island of Crete, Greece.

Figures 1–7. Ernstmayria υenizelosi n. sp., holotype male, from Rouvas, Crete, Greece. (1) Pedipalpal chela. (2) Epistome. (3) Carapace. (4) Pedipalp. (5) Leg IV. (6) Genital area. (7) Chelicera. Scale bars: 0.50 mm (1, 3–6); 0.25 mm (2, 7).