Graecophalangium marenzelleri ( Nosek, 1905 ) Mitov, 2021

Mitov, Plamen, 2021, A new member of the genus Graecophalangium Roewer, 1923 and the first generic record for the Turkish harvestman fauna (Arachnida: Opiliones), ZooNotes 2021 (178), pp. 1-4 : 1-3

Graecophalangium marenzelleri ( Nosek, 1905) comb. n.

Egaenus Marenzelleri Nosek, 1905: 152-153 ;

Egaenus Marenzelleri : Roewer 1911: 11;

Egaenus marenzelleri : Roewer 1912: 202; Roewer 1923: 869, Bayram et al. 2010: 572; Kurt et al. 2010: 36, Murányi 2015: 4-6;

Graecophalangium marenzelleri : Kurt 2014: 1622 (invalid proposal for new combination).

Diagnosis. A relatively small (body length ca. 4.0 mm) and „unarmed‟ member of genus Graecophalangium , that differs by the outline of the shaft and glans of the penis (Figs 16- 18). Chelicerae frontal with only one small, bluntly conical apophysis on the fixed finger base (Figs 10, 12). Ocularium low and smooth, with only a few denticles and short setae (Fig. 4); pedipalps unarmed, with a very weak mediodistal apophysis on the patella; tarsal segments slightly curved (Figs 13-15). Legs smooth, only with setae; femur and tibia of the first leg weakly spindle-shaped (Fig. 7).

Affinities According to the penis type (more slender and less sclerotized) and its structure, G. marenzelleri belongs most probably to the group of species related to G. cretaeum Martens, 1966 (from Crete) and G. punicum Staręga, 1973 (from Lebanon). In lateral view, the thickness of the penis trunk increases evenly (without narrowing) from the distal to the basal part, as observed in both holotypes of G. cretaeum (NHMW inv. № 4355) and G. punicum (inv. № 46/51, Museum and Institute of Zoology in Warszawa, Poland, MIZW). In the terms of its habitus G. marenzelleri is closest to G. punicum .

Redescription (Figs 1-21)

The following redescription is based on a single male specimen, labelled as the holotype of Egaenus marenzelleri Nosek, 1905 (NHMW inv. № 4355); Type locality: Turkey, Central Anatolia: “Erciyas Dag (Nordseite)” (=Mount Erciyes, 38°31′51.6″N, 35°26′49.2″E), “Ende V. 1902 ”, leg. A. Penther, det. Nosek (1905). All measurements are in mm. In square brackets are the figures from Nosek‟s (1905) original species description.

Body (Figs 1-3) length (L): 3.97 (with anterior carapace edges = 4.15) [4.3]; prosoma L: 1.6 [1.6] and width (W): 2.76 [2.8]; abdomen L: 2.4 [2.7] and W: 2.75 [3.0]; carapace armed with a few acute black-tipped tubercles (bearing strong setae) at the frontal corners, laterally and in front of ocularium; similar tubercles arranged in lines are found on meso- and metapeltidium; on abdominal dorsum they are only a few; body venter with black-brown, sparse setae. Color (after more than 100 years in alcohol): body light brown/yellow-brown, brown saddle margins are clearly visible (Fig 1); its natural color is described by Nosek (1905: 39). Supracheliceral lamellae are small, bearing one small tubercle. Ocular tubercle (Figs 3-4) is smooth with a few denticles (5/6) and short setae (3/3) only; low (height=0.26) [0.3], length-width=0.52 [0.6]; with shallow longitudinal furrow; inner distance between the eyes 0.32 [0.3]; distance from the front of cephalothorax = 0.57. Epistome (Figs 5-6) L: 0.15- 0.2; Chelicerae (Figs 8-12) light yellow-brown, frontally with brown spots and with only one small bluntly conical apophysis on the fixed finger base (Figs 5, 9-10, 12); basal segment L: 1.47 [0.5] and maximum W (in dorsal view, Fig. 11): 0.58, dorsally and ventrally with several spine-tipped tubercles; distal segment L: 1.70 [1.8] and W (in frontal view): 0.54, frontally covered with stout spine-like setae; movable finger L: 0.71 [0.5]. Pedipalps unarmed, whiteyellowish (Figs 13-15); segment lengths: trochanter (Tr): 0.60, femur (Fe): 1.28 [1.3], patella (Pa): 0.71 [0.7], tibia (Ti): 0.83 [0.7], tarsus (Ta): 1.50 [1.6], total: 5.0; patella (0.37) and tibia (0.33) maximum width, in dorsal view (Fig. 15); claw L: 0.142. All segments bear setae. Tr ventrally with spine-tipped tubercles, Fe ventrally with stout spine-like setae; Pa with a very weak mediodistal apophysis (Fig. 15); Ti ventrally with several denticles; Ta slightly curved, ventrally with a field of micro-denticles. Legs yellow with brown spots on patella and tibia; cylindrical (first leg femur and tibia weakly spindle-shaped, Figs 1, 7), smooth, with setae only; tarsi ending with a single claw. Ti I. distally on ventral side with small denticles and micro-denticles. Fe I. width (in lateral view): 0.6; segment lengths: Leg I. Tr: 0.53, Fe: 2.73 [2.5+0.2], Pa: 1.06 [1.2], Ti: 2.16 [2.1], metatarsus (Mt): 2.33 [2.4], Ta: 3.9, total: 12.71; Leg II. Tr: 0.50, Fe: 3.7 [3.5+0.3], Pa: 1.33 [1.3], Ti: 2.96 [2.8], Mt: 2.90 [3.0], Ta: 7.1, total: 18.49; Leg III. Tr: 0.43, Fe: 2.56 [2.2+0.25], Pa: 1.06 [1.1], Ti: 1.91 [1.75], Mt: 2.66 [2.9], Ta: 4.3, total: 12.92; Leg IV. Tr: 0.63, Fe: 3.83 [3.4+0.3], Pa: 1.26 [1.3], Ti: 2.6 [2.5], Mt: 4.23 [4.2], Ta: 6.0, total: 18.55. Penis (Figs 16-21) light yellow to yellow-brown, L: 2.76 (= prosoma width); shaft L: 2.71; shaft (in dorsal view) with a distinct broad basis (W: 0.36; dorsally without a pronounced ridge and furrows, Fig. 21); distal part of the shaft forms long (0.61) „ wing paddle ‟ (! not a „ spoon, ‟ such as in Rilaena ) with distal W: 0.186 (= stylus length), thereafter shaft narrows slightly towards the middle (0.13), then again widens slightly (0.17) to its extended basal part. In profile, the thickness of the penis-trunk increases evenly from its distal (0.07) towards the basal part (0.24). Glans elongated (L: 0.486), slightly concave dorsally (W: 0.114, in lateral view), with a relatively wide/thick upper (0.021) and lower (the keel) (0.027) glans wall (Fig. 18); glans with two pairs of setae (here hidden under artifacts) (Figs 18-20), distance between the base of setae ca. 0.04; stylus L: 0.186. Female is unknown.

Remarks: Graecophalangium marenzelleri is known at present only from the type locality and is the seventh member of the genus. I reported in a conference presentation ( Mitov 2008), that Eganeus marenzelleri has to be regarded as species of Graecophalangium ; however, the latter communication had not meet the criteria for publication of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (4 th edition). Kurt (2014) inadvertently included this combination (without justification) in a published checklist, which is regarded here as an invalid taxonomic act since the transfer has not been proposed in a taxonomically valid publication. Thus, the present article is the first formal transfer of this species to the genus Graecophalangium as G. marenzelleri comb. n. Kurt (2014), in the same checklist for the genus Graecophalangium , also inadvertently included a species name for Turkish material mentioned in a conference presentation by Mitov (2009), which is nomen nudum as it has not yet been formally described. Therefore G. marenzelleri is formally the first generic record for the Turkish harvestman fauna.