Charinus caribensis ( Quintero, 1986 )

Miranda, Gustavo Silva de, Giupponi, Alessandro P. L., Prendini, Lorenzo & Scharff, Nikolaj, 2021, Systematic revision of the pantropical whip spider family Charinidae Quintero, 1986 (Arachnida, Amblypygi), European Journal of Taxonomy 772, pp. 1-409 : 22-23

Charinus caribensis ( Quintero, 1986)

Figs 12 , 17–19 ; Table 1

Tricharinus caribensis Quintero, 1986: 209 , 211–212, figs 18–21, 27–28

Tricharinus caribensis – Weygoldt 1994: 244; 2000a: 25, 43, 129. — Ávila Calvo & Armas 1997: 31. — Weygoldt et al. 2002: 295. — Armas 2004: 38.

Charinus caribensis – Harvey 2002b: 455; 2003: 5. — Armas 2004: 38; 2006b: 226, figs 6, 7a. — Teruel & Questel 2015: 47. — Miranda et al. 2016: 555, 557.

Diagnosis

Charinus caribensis may be differentiated from all other Caribbean and Central American Charinus by the leg IV basitibia with two pseudo-articles and by the following combination of characters: median eyes and median ocular tubercle absent; lateral eyes reduced and pale; female genitalia cushion-like ( Fig. 17A–D ); male genitalia distal margin of fistula on apex of lateral lobe 1 strongly sclerotized; prolateral surface of cheliceral basal segment with transverse row of six small setae, from ventral to dorsal surface; cheliceral basal segment with small tooth in retrolateral row; cheliceral claw with row of setae on retrolateral surface, basally to apically (dorsal side); cheliceral claw with five teeth; secondary sexual dimorphism of pedipalps absent; pedipalp coxa with two dorsal setae encircled by round carina and two on its margin; pedipalp femur with three dorsal spines and three ventral spines (one specimen with four ventral spines); pedipalp femur with setiferous tubercle proximal to ventral spine 1; pedipalp patella with three dorsal spines and two ventral spines; pedipalp tibia with three long ventral setae between spine I and distal margin; pedipalp tarsus with two dorsal spines, distal spine two-thirds length of tarsus and proximal spine half length of distal spine; leg I with 21 tibial and 37–39 tarsal articles; leg IV distitibia with two pseudo-articles; trichobothrium bt situated in proximal third; trichobothrium bc situated closer to sbf than to bf (bc was equidistant or closer to bf than to sbf in material examined); sc and sf series each with five trichobothria.

Etymology

Adjective referring to the Caribbean, where the species occurs ( Quintero 1986).

Type material

Holotype JAMAICA • ♀; Parish of St. Catherine, Cave in Luidas Vale; [18°07′31.47″ N, 77°08′49.48″ W]; 16 Jul. 1957; C.B. Lewis leg.; Institute of Jamaica [not examined].

Additional material

JAMAICA • 3 ♀♀, 1 ♂; Parish of St. Catherine, Cockpit Country, Windsor ; 18°21′30.05″ N, 77°39′02.61″ W; 15 Apr. 1993; G. Bäuele leg.; under stones, Kegelkarstgebiet forest; SMNS.

Supplementary description

CARAPACE. Six anterior setae; frontal process triangular. Small granules densely scattered between ocular triads and among sulci. Median eyes and median ocular tubercle absent. Lateral eyes well developed, seta posterior to each lateral ocular triad; lateral ocular triad well separated from carapace margin.

STERNUM. Tritosternum projected anteriorly with typical setation, long,surpassing base of pedipalp coxae; other sternal plaques small, rounded and divided, with pair of setae on lateral margins; pentasternum without seta adjacent to membranous region and two setae posteriorly.

OPISTHOSOMA. Ventral sacs and ventral sac cover absent.

GENITALIA. Female genital operculum with slender setae posteromedially and some smaller setae near margin ( Fig. 17A–C ); gonopod cushion-like, with closed atrium aperture ( Fig. 17A, C–D ), base of gonopods sclerotized; genital operculum with smooth surface in dorsal view between gonopods and posterior margin ( Fig. 17B ). Male gonopod with long median lobes and short fimbriate lateral lobe 2 ( Fig. 18A–B, F ); dorsal lobe with denticulated surface ( Fig. 18D–E ); apex of fistula and base of lateral lobe 2 strongly sclerotized.

CHELICERAE. Small, flat tooth on retrolateral surface of basal segment, opposite to bifid tooth; small row of setae on retrolateral surface of cheliceral claw; claw with five teeth; row of four setae on prolateral surface of basal segment; bifid tooth with dorsal cusp larger than or equal to ventral cusp.

PEDIPALPS. Coxal dorsal carina with two setae on anterior border and one seta encircled by round carina. Femur with three dorsal spines and three ventral spines; two prominent setiferous tubercles between dorsal spine 1 and proximal margin; setiferous tubercle between ventral spine 1 and proximal margin. Patella with three dorsal spines; prominent setiferous tubercle distal to spine I, one-third length of spine I; patella with two ventral spines; setiferous tubercle between spine I and distal margin. Tibia with ventral spine distally and three setae between spine and distal margin. Tarsus with two dorsal spines, proximal spine half length of distal spine and distal spine half length of tarsus; cleaning organ with 28–32 setae in ventral row.

LEGS. Tibia of leg I with 21 articles; tarsus I with 34–39 articles; first tarsal article twice length of second article; tarsal organ close to claw ( Fig. 19A, C–D ); rod sensilla with four setae in shallow groove ( Fig. 19B, E ). Leg IV basitibia with two pseudo-articles, without sclerotized, denticulate margin projecting from apex of articles; trichobothrium bt situated in proximal third of pseudo-article; distitibia trichobothrium bc situated closer to bf than to s bf; sc and sf series each with five trichobothria.

Measurements

See Table 1 .

Distribution

Known only from the type locality and a new locality record, Windsor.

Natural history

Can be found inside caves and under stones in Kegelkarst forest areas.

Remarks

The material examined are the only known specimens besides the holotype ( Armas 2004).

Figures

Fig. 12. Map plotting known distributions of species of Charinus Simon, 1892 in the Caribbean and Central America.

Fig. 17. Charinus caribensis (Quintero, 1986) (SMNS), female gonopod. A. Gonopod, ventral view. B. Genital operculum between gonopods. C. Gonopod, posterior view. D. Sinistral gonopod.

Fig. 18. Charinus caribensis (Quintero, 1986) (SMNS), male gonopod. A. Ventral view. B. Posterior view. C. Dorsal view. D. Dorsal lobe. E. Lateral lobe 1 and dorsal lobe. F. Lateral lobe 2.

Fig. 19. Charinus caribensis (Quintero, 1986) (SMNS), antenniform leg I. A. Apex of distal article. B. Distal segment of tarsus, lateral view. C. Apex of distal article of tarsus showing claw and tarsal organ. D. Detail of claw tarsal organ. E. Rod sensilla and part of olfactory setae.