Newportia (Newportia) spelaea sp. n.

(Figures 1–2, 3 D)

Type material. Holotype: ISLA 4992 from Toca do Gonçalo Cave (10º30'41"S, 40º53'39.8"W), Campo Formoso, Bahia, Brazil, 08/I/2014, leg. Ferreira, R. L. WWF Ecoregion NT1304 Caatinga.

Etymology. The Latin word spelaea, meaning “cave”.

Diagnosis. Cephalic plate covering half of tergite 1; antennae reaching the end of tergite 8; pretergites visible; prefemur of ultimate leg with 5–7 ventral spinous processes and femur with 2 medial spinous processes.

Description. Body length 19 mm, maximum width of tergites 0.8 mm, mid-body legs with maximum length 2 mm and the ultimate legs 10 mm. Body, antennal articles, legs whitish yellow, head and the first two tergites a darker yellow.

Antennae with 17 elongated articles, reaching the end of tergite 8 (Figure 1 A); articles 1–8 increasing in length and reducing in width with subsequent articles about same length; articles 4–12 showing dorsal and ventral concavities, which give them a dorso-ventral "flattened" aspect (Figure 1 B–C). This condition is more developed in articles 4–5, which feature large concavities; articles 1–4 with a high density of lanceolate setae; articles 3–17 densely pilose; a row of long bristles surrounding the proximal part of all antennal articles.

Cephalic plate: 1.3 times longer than wide, reaching middle of the first tergite with rounded posterior corners, convex sides, anterior apex slightly indented; paramedian sutures reaching middle of cephalic plate (Figure 1 F).

Forcipular segment: coxosternite with short chitin-lines; anterior margin convex; with two convex chitinous lobes; trochanteroprefemoral process absent (Figure 1 G).

Tergites: tergite 1 with an anterior transverse convex suture hidden by cephalic plate (Figure 1 D); tergites 5–7 with pretergites; tergites 1–22 with complete paramedian sutures; tergites 4–22 with lateral longitudinal sutures; tergites 1–22 without lateral margination with reduced and scattered setae (Figure 1 E); tergite of ultimate legbearing segment without sutures, posterior margin convex (Figure 2 A).

Sternites: sternites 2–21 with a longitudinal sulcus and two incomplete lateral depressions; setae distributed more dense on the lateral, anterior and posterior edges; sternite of ultimate leg-bearing segment, trapeziform, with the posterior margin straight.

Legs: long and thin, on average 3 times as long as the corresponding tergites (2–4 times), increasing in relative length posteriorly; ventral surface of prefemur, femur, tibia and tarsus with long setae, dorsal surface with small setae; legs 2–22 with a lateral and ventral spurs on the tibia and one ventral spur on the tarsus; pretarsus of legs 1–22 with a pair of accessory spines 3/4 the size of the claws; legs 1–22 with indistinct division between tarsus 1 and 2.

Coxopleuron: covered by pores of the same size; coxopleural process shorter than tergite of ultimate legbearing segment, with a small terminal spine. Coxopleural surface without setae; posterior margin of ultimate pleuron forming an obtuse angle forming a low process (Figure 2 B).

Ultimate legs: elongated, 10 mm long, width of prefemur 0.2 mm (Figure 2 C); right ultimate leg with 7 ventral spinous processes on prefemur (IIIiIII) and 2 ventro-medial on femur (Ii), left ultimate leg with 5 ventro-medial spinous processes on prefemur (IIIII) and 2 ventral basal on femur (iI) (Figure 2 D); tibia the same length as the prefemur and femur; tarsus divided; tarsus 1 3 times shorter than the tibia, and tarsus 2 not divided into distinct articles (Figure 2 C); tarsus 1 and 2 with long setae; pretarsus absent.

Natural history and threats. The Toca do Gonçalo cave occurs in limestone of the Caatinga group (of Quaternary age) (Figure 3A –C). For more information on natural history, see Ázara & Ferreira 2014. Coincidently, in the same visit to the cave, a single specimen of another troglobitic centipede recently described, Cryptops (C.) spelaeoraptor, was also found (Ázara & Ferreira, 2014). Our team has visited the cave several times (since 1998) and only one specimen was found (Figure 3 D), which indicates its extreme rarity.