Nerudiella portai, Porto & Derkarabetian & Giribet & Pérez-González, 2024

Porto, Willians, Derkarabetian, Shahan, Giribet, Gonzalo & Pérez-González, Abel, 2024, Systematic revision of the South American “ Nuncia ” (Opiliones, Laniatores, Triaenonychidae), ZooKeys 1207, pp. 1-149 : 1-149

Nerudiella portai sp. nov.

Figs 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , 138 , 139

Material examined.

Holotype. ♂ Chile. Petorca: Cachagua, Quebrada El Tigre , E. Maury coll. 08. XI. 1988 ( MNHNCL) . Paratypes. Chile. Petorca: Cachagua, Quebrada El Tigre , E. Maury coll., 08. XI. 1988, 10 ♂, 12 ♀, 2 imm. ( MACN) . Same data, 6 ♂ ( MACN) .

Additional material.

Chile. Quillota: Olmue, La Campana, S. Peck, J. Peck coll., 02. XII. 1984, 4 ♂ 3 ♀ 4 imm. ( FMNH). Valparaíso: Petorca: Zapallar - 32.551318 °, - 71.459492 ° 200 m (GE), Tullgren Berlese, park bordering the beach, A. Porta coll., 28. XII. 2017, 2 ♂, 20 imm. ( MACN).

Etymology.

Patronym in honor of Argentine arachnologist, acarologist, and mathematician Andrés Porta.

Diagnosis.

This species can be distinguished from the other species in the genus by the morphology of the male genitalia, which includes the robust capsula externa with a U-shaped slit in the middle of the capsula externa; and wide capsula interna with an apical constriction.

Distribution.

Chile: Valparaíso Region (Fig. 4 F ).

Description of male holotype.

Measurements: Total length 4.00, carapace length 1.05, dorsal scutum length 2.1, carapace max. width 1.34, mesotergum max. width 1.91. Appendage measurements. Pedipalps. Trochanter length 0.18, femora length 0.93, patella length 0.52, tibia length 0.68, tarsus length 0.65. Leg I: trochanter (tr) 0.21, femora (fe) 0.95, patella (pa) 0.52, tibia (ti) 0.70, metatarsus (mt) 0.82, tarsus (ta) 0.69. II: tr 0.20, fe 1.29, pa 0.61, ti 0.88, mt 1.14, ta 1.38. III: tr 0.30, fe 0.75, pa 0.41, ti 0.57, mt 0.68, ta 0.82. IV: tr 0.36, fe 1.18, pa 0.55, ti 1.00, mt 1.025, ta 0.90.

Dorsum (Fig. 134 , 135 ). Eta (η) hourglass-shaped dorsal scutum. Ocularium low, rounded. Dorsal scutum microgranulate, without prominent tubercles.

Chelicerae (Fig. 136 A, B ). Segment I with a small tubercle on the dorso-distal surface. Segment II bearing sparse small setiferous tubercles, with one triangular tubercle prominent from the others in frontal view.

Pedipalps (Fig. 136 C, D ). Trochanter with a small dorsal and ventral tubercle. Femora bearing two parallel dorsal rows of setiferous spines, the ectal row has stronger spines than the mesal, it also has two proximal spines. Patella with a ventral-ectal setiferous tubercle and two ventral-ectal spines. Tibia covered in small ventral tubercles and two mesal spines. Tarsus with three mesal and ectal spines with subdistal setae in addition to setae and few granules.

Legs (Fig. 137 ). Coxa I with nine or ten setiferous tubercles, IV with six or seven tubercles connected to opisthosoma. Spiracles not obstructed by bridges. Smooth surface occupying 1 / 3 of leg II, ¾ of III and <1 / 3 of IV. Leg II smooth with two or three small tubercles with subdistal setae on each side. Sternum arrow-shaped. Legs covered in small tubercles, astragalus longer than calcaneus on all legs. Tarsal count: 3–6 – 4 – 4.

Penis (Figs 138 , 139 ). Pars distalis with a ventral plate bearing a cleft dividing the plate into two halves. Each half has three pointed macrosetae on the ventral surface and one macroseta on the dorsal surface; capsula externa covering dorsal surface, bearing a U-shaped slit halfway up plate; there is a dorsolateral plate attached to the pars basalis. Capsula interna slightly longer than the capsula externa, without rigid structures. The apical area of the structure is irregularly shaped and does not have a visible stylus.

Female. Similar to male, with shorter pedipalpal femora.

Female measurements. Total length 4.11, carapace length 1.02, dorsal scutum length 2.15, carapace max. width 1.33, mesotergum max. width 1.99. Appendage measurements: Pedipalps. Trochanter length 0.30. Femora length 0.87, patella length 0.41, tibia length 0.64, tarsus length 0.66. Leg I: trochanter (tr) 0.24, femora (fe) 0.95, patella (pa) 0.54, tibia (ti) 0.59, metatarsus (mt) 0.78, tarsus (ta) 0.71. II: tr 0.27, fe 1.23, pa 0.54, ti 0.93, mt 1.09, ta 1.25. III: tr 0.28, fe 0.75, pa 0.38, ti 0.55, mt 0.71, ta 0.69. IV: tr 0.28, fe 1.28, pa 0.69, ti 0.93, mt 1.25, ta 0.87.

Figures

Figure 3. Phylogenetics relationships of Triaenonychidae, with clade names as discussed in the main text. Phylogeny is derived from the IQ-TREE analysis. Nodes without circles have < 95 % bootstrap support to AH-aLR and UFBoot.

Figure 4. Maps showing the distribution of the species used in this work. South America (Chile and western Argentina inset). Chile in green, Argentina / South America in grey. Terrestrial ecoregions (following Olson et al. 2001) highlighted in yellow (Chilean Matorral) and orange (Valdivian temperate forests).

Figure 134. Nerudiella portai sp. nov. habitus, male A dorsal view C lateral view E ventral view. Female B dorsal view D lateral view F ventral view. Scale bars: 1 mm. Species of Clade C, see Fig. 3.

Figure 135. Nerudiella portai sp. nov. male, SEM images of habitus A dorsal view B lateral view C, D ventral view. Scale bars: 500 µm.

Figure 136. Nerudiella portai sp. nov. chelicerae: mesal A ectal B pedipalps: mesal C ectal D. Scale bars: 200 µm (A, B); 500 µm (C, D).

Figure 137. Nerudiella portai sp. nov. legs I A II B III C IV D. Scale bars: 200 µm (A); 500 µm (B – D).

Figure 138. Nerudiella portai sp. nov. penis: ventral A, B apical C lateral D, E dorsal F, G. Scale bars: 200 µm (A, D, F); 100 µm (B, C, E, G).

Figure 139. Nerudiella portai sp. nov. penis: ventral A apical B lateral C dorsal D. Colors: ventral plate (yellow), capsula externa (blue), capsula interna (red). Scale bars: 100 µm (A – C); 200 µm (D).