Avima troglobia (Pinto-da-Rocha, 1996)

Garcia, Andres F., Vargas, Alex Gonzalez & Estrada, Miguel Gutierrez, 2022, New records and a new cave-dwelling species of Agoristenidae (Arachnida, Opiliones) from Colombia, Zoosystematics and Evolution 98 (1), pp. 55-63 : 55

Avima troglobia (Pinto-da-Rocha, 1996)

Figs 4 , 6A

Trinella troglobia Pinto-da-Rocha, 1996: 321, figs 4, 8, 15-16; Kury, 2003: 34.

Avima troglobia (Pinto-da-Rocha, 1996): Villarreal & Kury, 2009: 67.

Type material.

VENEZUELA• 1 ♂ holotype and 3 ♀ paratypes: Zulia, rio Socuy, cueva de Los Laureles; [10.751 -72.462]; 750 m a.s.l.; 20 Dec. 1990; J. Camacho and A. Viloria leg.; MBUZ• 2 ♀ paratypes; same data as previous [in the original label says Sierra de Perijá]; MZSP-1457 • paratype; same data as previous; 16 Dec.1992; P. Gnaspini and E. Trajano leg.; MZSP-14578• 2 ♀ paratypes; same data as previous, Cueva La Carlotica; 760 m a.s.l., 21 Dec.1990; J. Camacho, A. Viloria and T. Barros leg.; MBUZ• 1 ♀ paratype; same data as previous; MNRJ 5472!.

New records.

COLOMBIA• 3 ♀: La Guajira, Barrancas, corregimiento San Pedro, Las Pavas; Cueva, finca La Fortuna; 10°50'04.8"N, 72°40'34.4 ’’ W, [10.834667 -72.676222]; 1731 m a.s.l.; 8 May 2018; Miguel Gutiérrez leg.; ICN-Ao-1978• 1 ♂ 1 ♀; same data as previous; MNRJ 59052. First records for the country.

Complementary description.

Body. DS Epsilon type 1. Ocularium low, domed, smooth, and without eyes (Fig. 4D, F ) Mesotergum divided into four ill-defined areas, smooth; (Fig. 4A-C ). Areas I-IV with a pair of minute paramedian granules; area I divided into two halves; area II-IV undivided (Fig. 4A, D ). Posterior border of scutum substraight. Free tergites I-III with some tubercles. Venter. Stigmatic area with a few granules. Stigmata large, oval and oblique (Fig. 4E ). Legs. Increasing in thickness from leg I to leg IV, but legs III and IV at least twice as thick as legs I and II, unarmed. Leg I filiform. Leg IV with darker coloration than the others. Fe IV length four times DS length (Fig. 4D ). Penis. LP small and depressed, crescent-shaped, with anterolateral rounded corners apically pointed (Fig. 4G, I ). Hammer (malleus) cylindrical, carrying MS-A-B (two pairs of MS-A and one pair of MS-B, all branched) (Fig. 4G, I ); MS-C absent; two pairs of short MS-D located in a keel between the LP and the base of the stylus (Fig. 4G ). MS-E1 large and triffid, MS-E2 short and conical, located slightly distal to MS-E1 on the ventral side of the LP (Fig. 4G, I ). Stylus straight, elongated, surpassing the LP (Fig. 4G, I ), with the tip ventrally curved (Fig. 4H ) and a rectangular dorsal keel (Fig. 4G ). Coloration (in alcohol). Carapace Brilliant Yellow (83) (anterior border) and Brilliant Orange Yellow (67) (posterior border and laterals). Free tergites and chelicerae Brilliant Orange Yellow (67). Pedipalps and legs I-III Brilliant Yellow (83). Leg IV Deep Orange Yellow (69). Sexual dimorphism. Chelicerae hypertelic in males.

Natural history.

A. troglobia was collected exclusively in a cave and shows troglomorphisms (e.g., depigmentation, lack of eyes (Fig. 4F )), in the same way as the individuals from the Venezuelan caves, corroborating the idea that it is an obligatory cave-dwelling species (Pinto-da-Rocha, 1996).

Figures

Figure 4. Avima troglobia (Pinto-da-Rocha, 1996) (MNRJ 59052), male. Habitus in dorsal (A), frontal (B), lateral (C), panoramic (D), and ventral (E) views; detail of ocularium showing the eye absence (F). SEM of the penis in lateral (G) and ventral (I) views; detail of the tip of the stylus (H). Scale bars: 2 mm (A-F); 50 µm (G, I), 2 µm (H). Macrosetae colors: A. = green, B. = blue, D. = orange, E. = magenta.

Figure 6. Geographic distribution of Avima venezuelica, Avima troglobia and Avima wayuunaiki sp. nov. in Northern South America. A. Map with previous and new records of the species in Colombia and Venezuela (colored areas represent the WWF ecoregions (Olson et al. 2001 )); B. Banaderos cave in La Guajira (Colombia), habitat of A. wayuunaiki sp. nov.; C. Living specimen of A. wayuunaiki sp. nov. Photographs by Miguel Gutierrez Estrada (B), and Alex Gonzalez Vargas (C).