Rowlandius pedrosoi, Giupponi, Alessandro Ponce de Leao, de Miranda, Gustavo Silva & Villarreal, Osvaldo M., 2016

Giupponi, Alessandro Ponce de Leao, de Miranda, Gustavo Silva & Villarreal, Osvaldo M., 2016, Rowlandiusdumitrescoae species group: new diagnosis, key and description of new cave-dwelling species from Brazil (Schizomida, Hubbardiidae), ZooKeys 632, pp. 13-34 : 15-23

Taxon classification Animalia Schizomida Hubbardiidae

Rowlandius pedrosoi sp. n. Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Tables 3and 4

Diagnosis.

Large specimens, male body total length 4.01mm, females 3.85mm (chelicerae and flagellum not included). Spermathecae similar to Rowlandius potiguar , but stalk of LL thicker and curved in the apical third; Rowlandius pedrosoi sp. n. with stalk of LL and ML with several glandular pores. Lateral tip of chitinized arch “V-shaped”, with obtuse angle, greater than 150°, which distinguishes Rowlandius pedrosoi sp. n. from Rowlandius potiguar and Rowlandius linsduarte . Heteromorphic males present, with α (long pedipalps) and β (shorter pedipalps, but longer than those of females) heteromorphics, similar to Rowlandius potiguar . Male flagellum with setae Dm1 exactly between the main globose area of the flagellum and the stalk, such as in Rowlandius linsduarte and differently from Rowlandius potiguar and Rowlandius ubajara .

Type material.

Holotype: Brazil, Ceará, Santa Quitéria, Gruta P-08, 41529 mE / 9495881 mN SAD‘ 69S, 15-21.vii.2014, Pellegatti and Pedroso leg. (1 male, MNRJ 04266). Paratypes: same data as holotype (1 male, 7 females and 10 juveniles, MNRJ 04267); same data as holotype (1 female and 1 juvenile, CAVAISC-ARAC 0008); same data as holotype, 03-13.ii.2014 (4 females and 8 juveniles, MNRJ 04268).

Etymology.

The species name is in honor of arachnologist Denis Rafael Pedroso, friend and collector of the type series (of this and many other new species of arachnids).

Description.

Male holotype. Color (Fig. 8 E–F): live animals with abdominal tergites and sternites olive-brown; pleura white. Pedipalps reddish-brown; legs light brown with the extremities dark-brown. Prosoma light brown; ventral region lighter than the dorsal. Alcohol preserved specimens (Fig. 1) with propeltidium and chelicerae reddish-brown, meso and metapeltidium yellowish-brown (lighter than the chelicerae and propeltidium), legs light brown, abdominal tergites brown and sternites yellowish-brown, flagellum medium-brown. Ventrally coxae I-IV and sternal region yellowish. All body setation light reddish-brown.

Prosoma (Fig. 1). Anterior process of propeltidium with two setae (one behind the other) followed by two pairs of dorsosubmedian transversally oriented setae; eyespot suboval; metapeltidium divided. Anterior sternum with 11+2 setae and posterior sternum with 5 setae. Anterior process as wide as long, with a wide base, narrowing abruptly, forming an almost right triangle; the tip of the process is curved downwards.

Opisthosoma (Fig. 1). Setae: Tergite I with two pairs of anterior microsetae and one pair of large Dm setae. Tergite II with three pairs of anterior microsetae parallel to each other, and one large pair of Dm setae. Tergites III–IX and XII each with one pair of large Dm setae; VIII with small Dl2; IX without Dm, but pairs Dl1 and Dl2 present; X without dorsal setae; XI with Dl1 and without Dl2; XII with short rounded posterodorsal process and with setae Dl1 and Dl2. Abdominal apodemes with coloration identical to the rest of the sternites. Sternites I–II with many scattered microsetae. Sternite III with 22 microsetae. Sternite IV with Vl2, Vl1 and Vm2 plus four AS microsetae. Sternite V with Vl2, Vl1A, Vl1B and Vm2, plus six AS. Sternite VI with Vm1, Vm2, Vl1A, Vl1B, Vl2, plus six AS. Sternite VII with Vm2, Vl1 (A and B), Vl2, six AS and without Vm1. Sternite VIII with Vm2, Vl1, Vl2, plus six AS. Sternite IX with Vm1, Vm2, Vl1 and Vl2 plus one pair of supranumeric setae between Vl1 and Vm2. Sternite X with Vm1, Vm2, Vl1 and Vl2. Sternite XI with Vm1, Vm2 and Vl1. Sternite XII with six setae plus four microsetae.

Flagellum (Fig. 2). In dorsal view flagellum diamond shaped, as wide as long, with rounded lateral and apical tips; with three bulges: a pair positioned dorsosubmedian (each bulge seated on opposite sides), without setae, separated by a depression, and one bulge in the central distal region (posteromedian), with the setae Dm4 on its apex; the central distal bulge is not connected to the lateral ones, with a depression between them. Dm1 is exactly on the edge between the diamond-shaped part and the stalk. Dl3 is positioned distally in relation to Dm4. Ventrally, Vm5 is closer to Vl2 than to Vl1 and Vm4. Vm1 is closer to Vm4 than to Vm2. Three microsetae on the lateral of the flagellum (msp), between the pairs Dl2/Vl1 and Dl3/Vl2, closer to the latter. Dl1, Vl1 and Vl2 forming a straight line in the frontal axis. Female flagellum (Fig. 6 A–C) with four flagellomeres (I=II=III>IV), wider between the second and third flagellomeres. Dorsally with a small Dm1 close to the distal margin of the first flagellomere, placed in the middle line; a pair of larger Dl1 on the wider portion of flagellum, in the point between the second and third flagellomere; one large Dm4 in the apical portion of the third flagellomere; a pair of small Dl4 on the fourth flagellomere in mediolateral position; a pair of large Dl3 apically on the terminal position of the flagellum. Ventrally with a small basal Vm1 on the first flagellomere, positioned near the distal border; a pair of median Vm4 in the second flagellomere; one large medial placed Vm5 on the third flagellomere; a pair of a large Vl1 on wider portion of the flagellum, between the second and third flagellomeres; a pair of large Vl2 on the fourth flagellomeres, apically.

Chelicerae (Fig. 3 A–C). Movable finger sharp and curved; serrula with 16 hyaline teeth increasing in size towards distal region; guard tooth rounded. Lamella smooth. Fixed finger with bifid basal tooth, followed by four small subequal teeth; last tooth is the biggest, recurved, with an acute apex, subequal to the basal cusp of bifid tooth. Setation: G1 (setae group 1) with 3 spatulate setae; G2 with 4 feathered setae; G3 with 4 setae, all feathered dorsally and with serrated ventral surfaces; G4 with 2 setae, smooth, short and thick with thin apex; G5A with 6 similar sized feathered setae; G5B with 9 setae larger than G5A; G6 with 1 smooth setae longer than half of movable finger length; G7 with 6 setae decreasing in size from proximal to distal, feathered from the middle to its end. Setal group formula: 3 –4–4–2–6–9–1– 6.

Pedipalp (Figs 3 D–E, 4). All segments without spinose setae. Trochanter: subcylindrical in α-heteromorphic males (in lateral view), longer than wide, with apical portion curved upward; short trapezoid in β-heteromorphic males and even shorter in females (Fig. 5); without apical spur (frontal projection); one ventral row of eight large setae with an intermediate row of three small setae. Femur: subcylindrical, club-shaped, with distal portion two times wider than the basal part; in α-heteromorphic males the femur is longer than the total length of the prosoma (pro-, meso- and metapeltidium together); in α-heteromorphic males the femur is longer than the patella (in β-heteromorphic males the femur and patella are subequal and in females the patella is longer); with few setae, only one ventral and one dorsal row of setae; on the ectal surface only one apical setae; on the mesal surface, one row of three setae. Patella: subcylindrical, club-shaped, with distal portion two times wider than the basal part; more setae than the femur, with two dorsal and two ventral rows, and four setae on the ectal surface. Tibia: cylindrical, α-heteromorphic males with distal portion slightly wider; shorter than half the length of the femur and patella; in β-heteromorphic males and females, the tibia, femur and the patella have similar length. The tibia has the largest number of setae on the pedipalps, with some feather-like setae on the ventral region. Tarsus: conical, shorter than the tibia, with lots of setae in the distal third, with two dorsolateral and two ventrolateral rows of setae; two ventrodistal spines pointing forward; tarsal claw sharp and curved, slightly larger than half the tibia length; tarsal spur present.

Spermathecae of paratype (Fig. 7). Two pairs of lobes; stalk of the lateral lobe (LL) long, curved (the tips close to each other) and very light colored (almost transparent); with few granules along the structure. Tip of the LL with a wrinkled, rounded structure (resembling a walnut), brown colored (which means it is sclerotized), of about half width of the stalk. The bases of LLs are separated by a distance similar to their lengths. The median lobes (ML) are short, cone-shaped, with a wide base and thin apex; its length is less than a third the size of the LL stalk; the integument is wrinkled with folds on its surface. Bases of the two lobes in contact. The chitinized arch is wider than long, cordiform (or as a “V”, as described by Santos et al. 2013), similar to Rowlandius potiguar , however, in Rowlandius pedrosoi sp. n. the arch is strongly flattened. In Rowlandius potiguar , the vertex of the “V” has about 90-100° (a right angle tending towards the obtuse); in Rowlandius pedrosoi sp. n. the same vertex is clearly more obtuse than 150°.

Distribution

(Fig. 9). Only known from the type locality: Brazil, Ceará, Santa Quitéria.

Natural history.

The type locality is the largest cave in the state of Ceará, formed as a sloping crack (Fig. 8 A–B) and with no more than seven square meters of floor space. The specimens were found in one of the few spots with some moisture in the ground. The soil was composed of damp earth of fine sediment agglomerated with gravel, small stones, shells of gastropods and bones from small mammals (Fig. 8 C–F). When captured, the schizomids were walking on stones, gravel and debris, where the light barely reached (twilight zone).

Noteworthy of mention is a rare find of a secondary capilliconidium of a (probable) Basidiobolus sp. fungus among the cheliceral G7 setae (Fig. 3C, arrow; cf Blackwell and Malloch (1989)). The capilliconidium produces an apical droplet of extracellular material that helps the fungus to attach to and disperse with the host ( Dykstra and Bradley-Kerr 1994).