Hubeicampa aff. melissa Sendra & Lips, 2021

Sendra, Alberto, Komerički, Ana, Lips, Josiane, Luan, Yunxia, Selfa, Jesús & Jiménez-Valverde, Alberto, 2021, Asian cave-adapted diplurans, with the description of two new genera and four new species (Arthropoda, Hexapoda, Entognatha), European Journal of Taxonomy 731, pp. 1-46 : 14-18

Hubeicampa aff. melissa Sendra & Lips gen. et sp. nov.

Material examined

CHINA • 3 ♂♂ (6.6 to 8.0 mm), 1 ♀ (9.6 mm), 1 juv. (5.5 mm); Hubei, Banqiao, Kedu Dong ( Grotte des Têtards ); 6 Aug. 2009; Josiane Lips leg.; Coll. AS.

Remark

Specimens from Kedu Dong are considered as H. aff. melissa gen. et sp. nov. due to the specimens’ bad condition which does not allow us to clearly observe any variations in the taxonomical features. Nevertheless, they have the same important traits as the new species, but there is no dorsal macrosetae on the femur, except in a juvenile.

Taxonomic affinities

Hubeicampa melissa Sendra & Lips gen. et sp. nov. is closely related to another cave-adapted species, Hubeicampa lipsae ( Condé, 1993) , which is a new combination of Plusiocampa (Dydimocampa) lipsae Condé, 1993 , and thus leads us to propose Hubeicampa as a new genus for both species that live in karst regions of the Chinese province of Hubei. The new genus is distinguished by the pretarsus, which has lateral crests and a laminar lateral process covered by spiniform formations and micro-barbs, pubescent setae and macrosetae ( Figs 36–39 ), as well as by 1+1 macrosetae on the eighth urosternite.

A significant number of taxonomic characters separates H. melissa gen. et sp. nov. from H. lipsae . The most relevant differences are in the number of macrosetae on the mesonotum ( Fig. 30 ) (with 1+1 medial anterior, 1+1 lateral anterior and 1+1 medial posterior macrosetae in H. melissa gen. et sp. nov. instead of 1+1 medial anterior and 2+2 lateral posterior macrosetae in H. lipsae ), and the number of macrosetae on metanotum (with 1+1 medial anterior macrosetae and none or 1+1 medial posterior submacrosetae instead of 1+1 medial anterior and 1+1 lateral posterior in H. lipsae ). Other important features are the larger lateral crests in the pretarsus of H. melissa gen. et sp. nov. ( Figs 36–37 ) the presence of one dorsal macroseta on the metathoracic femora, and one ventral macroseta on the metathoracic tibia in H. melissa gen. et sp. nov. instead of two dorsal femora and two ventral tibia macrosetae in H. lipsae . Finally, there are 4+4 posterior macrosetae on V–VII urotergites in H. melissa gen. et sp. nov. ( Fig. 40 ) instead of 3+ 3 in H. lipsae .

Remarks

Hubeicampa melissa Sendra & Lips gen. et sp. nov. lives in the “Grotte du 8 ième Ciel Baxian Dong”, a cave situated at an elevation of 1870 m in the mountain near Banqiao village in the Hubei Province. The cave is 1703 m long and 122 m deep, with a huge entrance and giant galleries, as well as narrow passages and a narrow independent entry. The holotype of Hubeicampa melissa gen. et sp. nov. was observed and collected on the cave floor at about 300 m from the huge entry and at the top of the - 40 m deep pit on clay ground above the Saltpetre passage ( Lips et al. 2009) ( Figs 46–48 ). Some paratypes were collected in the same cave in the big chamber “Grande galerie du Va-et-Vient”.

Figures

Figs 34‒39. Hubeicampa melissa Sendra & Lips gen. et sp. nov. 34. Tarsus of metathoracic leg. 35. Medial portion of tarsus. 36. Pretarsus. 37. Detail of the posterior portion of a claw. 38. Detail of the distal part of a lateral process. 39. Detail of the lateral part of a lateral process.

Figs 30‒33. Hubeicampa melissa Sendra & Lips gen. et sp. nov. 30. Pronotum, mesonotum, and metanotum, left side, holotype (MZB (MCNB) 2020-1162). 31. Detail of the pronotum. 32. Detail of clothing setae on pronotum. 33. Detail of the surface of metanotum.

Figs 40‒43. Hubeicampa melissa Sendra & Lips gen. et sp. nov. 40. Urotergites I–VII and abdominal segment IX, left side, holotype (MZB (MCNB) 2020-1162). 41. First urosternite of a female, holotype (MZB (MCNB) 2020-1162, with glandular a 1 setae. 42. Stylus, right fifth urosternite. 43. Detail stylus, right fifth urosternite.

Figs 46‒48. Grotte du 8ième Ciel Baxian Dong, Banqiao, Hubei, China. 46. Map of the cave. 47. Main entrance. 48. Saltpetre passage with an old saltpetre oven. (Photographs Josiane Lips).