Pseudoscorpiones (Dippenaar-Schoeman & Harvey, 2000)

Haddad, Charles, Prendini, Lorenzo, Neethling, Jan-Andries & Dippenaar-Schoeman, Anna Sophia, 2023, The non-acarine Arachnida of the Amathole Mountains, South Africa, Bothalia (a 13) 53 (1), pp. 1-33 : 12

Pseudoscorpiones (false scorpions)

Pseudoscorpions are a morphologically homogenous group, with small differences in body shape, proportions and fine structures often determining their taxonomic placement ( Figure 7 ). There are currently 165 species of pseudoscorpions described from South Africa (Dippenaar-Schoeman & Harvey 2000; Harvey et al. 2016; Neethling & Haddad 2016; Neethling & Neethling 2023), with the Amathole Mountain range containing 18 described species, representing 16 genera and nine families. An additional three species and two families are represented by possibly undescribed species ( Table 4; Supplementary Table 1).

As elsewhere in South Africa, data on pseudoscorpion diversity are somewhat limited for the Amathole Mountains. The area is of particular historical significance with regard to South African pseudoscorpion taxonomy, however, as many of the earliest species descriptions came from material collected by Reverend Robert Godfrey, a missionary and naturalist stationed at the Pirie Mission near Qonce, then known as King William’s Town (Ellingsen 1912). Indeed, eight of the area’s described species have type localities at, or around, the Pirie Mission (Supplementary Table 1). For the Amathole region , historical records are concentrat- ed around the Pirie Forest area, whereas modern sampling has only recently been conducted in the forests around Hogsback, Fort Fordyce, Katberg and Stutterheim. Barely any data are available on the presence of species outside these forests .

The indigenous forests around Hogsback are of particular interest. Not only do 11 described species occur there, but recent sampling has yielded as of yet unidentified species of Ectactolpium Beier, 1947 ( Olpiidae ), Ectromachernes Beier, 1944 ( Withiidae ), and Parallowithius Beier, 1955 ( Withiidae ). Another three new species of Gymnobisium Beier, 1931 ( Gymnobisiidae ) ( Figure 7D, E ) were recently described ( Neethling & Neethling 2023).

Afrowithius paradoxus (Ellingsen, 1912) FA Ectromachernes sp. LL Parallowithius sp. LL As forest-dwellers, most pseudoscorpions occur in leaf litter, under dead logs or stones. Others are arboreal, hiding in holes or crevices in the trunks or under loose bark. Many of the species, in particular those of the families Chthoniidae , Feaellidae , Pseudotyrannochthoniidae and Tridenchthoniidae , are ecologically stenotopic, having adapted to the humid environment of the forest floor, whereas Ellingsenius sculpturatus (Lewis, 1903) ( Cheliferidae ) are found exclusively on bees or in beehives ( Hewitt & Godfrey 1929). Arboreal or semi-arboreal species, such as the families Atemnidae , Cheliferidae , Olpiidae , Pseudochiridiidae and Withiidae , are more widespread, as many have thicker cuticles and can tolerate a greater range of environmental conditions (Beier 1947). Some pseudoscorpions disperse via phoresis, enabling them to establish populations in a greater variety of habitats.

Figures

Figure 7. Selected Pseudoscorpiones from the Amathole Mountains, Eastern Cape, South Africa; A, Catatemnus sp., female (Atemidae); B, unidentified species of Cheliferidae, female; C, Afrogarypus triangularis, female (Geogarypidae); D, Gymnobisium cuneatum, female (Gymnobisiidae); E, Gymnobisium hogsbackense, male (Gymnobisiidae); F, Afrochthonius godfreyi, female (Pseudotyrannochthoniidae); G, Afrochthonius aff. inequalis, female (Pseudotyrannochthoniidae); H, Anaulacodithella mordax, female (Tridenchthoniidae); I, unidentified species of Withiidae, female. Photos: C. Haddad.