Indohya damocles Harvey & Volschenk, 2007

Harvey, Mark S., Burger, Mieke A. A., Abrams, Kym M., Finston, Terrie L., Huey, Joel A. & Perina, Giulia, 2023, The systematics of the pseudoscorpion genus Indohya (Pseudoscorpiones: Hyidae) in Australia, Zootaxa 5342 (1), pp. 1-119 : 33-34

Indohya damocles Harvey & Volschenk, 2007

( Figs. 1–3 , 5 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:1195D9CF-4E03-484D-8007-F2F1B5594882

Indohya damocles Harvey and Volschenk 2007: 387–390 , figs. 5–9, 14, 17–25.

Material examined. Holotype male. AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: Camerons Cave (C-452), Cape Range , 21°58′S, 114°07′E, 21 May 1995, under rock, calcite pool chamber, dark zone, J.M. Waldock ( WAM T33235 , formerly 97/1).

Paratypes. AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: all from Camerons Cave (C-452): 1 tritonymph, 12 August 1993, W.F. Humphreys, R. D. Brooks, BES 2525 ( WAM T44320 ); 2 ♀, 28 August 1993, R. D. Brooks ( WAM T28500– 28501 , formerly 93/1816–1817); 1 Ô, 12 April 1994, R. D. Brooks ( WAM T44318 ); 1 tritonymph, 12 April 1994, R. D. Brooks ( WAM T44319 ); 1 Ô, 26 October 1994, R. D. Brooks ( WAM T33239 , formerly 97/5); 1 tritonymph, 10 May 1995, W.F. Humphreys et al. ( WAM T33236 , formerly 97/2); 1 deutonymph, 10 May 1995, W.F. Humphreys et al. ( WAM T33237 , formerly 97/3); 1 ♀, 10 May 1995, B. Vine ( WAM T33238 , formerly 97/4) .

Other material. AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: 1 specimen, Camerons Cave Waters & Rivers bore, 21°57′49″S, 114°07′18″E, 10 May 2015, W.F. Humphreys, R . D. Brooks ( WAM T136618 ) .

Diagnosis. Indohya damocles belongs to a group of Indohya species that have 12 setae on the carapace and no eyes. It differs from I. anastomosa , I. aquila and I. humphreysi by the presence of 4 setae on tergite I (only 2 setae in I. anastomosa , I. aquila and I. humphreysi ). It differs from I. arnoldstrongi , I. cockingi , I. finitima by having numerous pointed teeth on the fixed chelal finger, and from I. cribbi and I. lynbeazleyae by the partially granulate pedipalpal femur and smooth patella (femur and patella granulate in I. cribbi and I. lynbeazleyae ). It differs from I. jessicae , I. sagmata and I. scanloni by its larger size [e.g. chela (with pedicel) 2.22–2.32 (Ô), 2.22–2.55 (♀) mm, vs. less than 1.81 mm].

It also differs from all other Indohya species for which sequence data are available by three synapomorphies in COI mtDNA: at base 100 there is a substitution to A; at base 281 there is a substitution to C; and at base 433 there is a substitution to C. The single sequenced specimen differs from all other sequenced specimens of Indohya by 16.1–28.7% (Table 2).

Description (adult). See Harvey and Volschenk (2007).

Description (tritonymph). See Harvey and Volschenk (2007).

Description (deutonymph). See Harvey and Volschenk (2007).

Distribution and remarks. Indohya damocles has only been recorded from Camerons Cave, situated on the outskirts of the Exmouth townsite ( Fig. 5 ).

Conservation assessment. Indohya damocles is listed as Critically Endangered by the Biodiversity Conservation Act. The cave is also regarded as a Threatened Ecological Community (the Camerons Cave Troglobitic Community) by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Threats to the cave “include uncontrolled access to the cave and its surrounds, altered water levels or quality, pollution, and dumping of waste in the cave” (see https:// www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/plants-animals/tecs/Camerons%20Cave.pdf; accessed 15 May 2022).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Maximum likelihood phylogeny of Hyidae and other neobisioids, based on alignment of concatenated COI, 18S and 28S. Ultrafast bootstrap values are presented for nodes greater than 80%.

FIGURE 2. Maximum likelihood phylogeny of Australian Indohya, using COI, 18S and 28S concatenated dataset. Bootstrap values are presented for all nodes. The genes amplified for each specimen are depicted with black squares in the gene matrix.

FIGURE 3. Maximum likelihood phylogeny of Australian Indohya, using COI. Bootstrap values are presented for all nodes.

FIGURE 5. Maps of north-western Australia depicting recorded distributions of the subterranean species of Indohya from the Pilbara and Cape Range region.