Occidenchthonius morenoi ( Carabajal Márquez, García Carrillo & Rodríguez Fernández, 2011 ) Carabajal Marquez, Garcia Carrillo & Rodriguez Fernandez, 2011

Zaragoza, Juan A., 2017, Revision of the Ephippiochthonius complex in the Iberian Peninsula, Balearic Islands and Macaronesia, with proposed changes to the status of the Chthonius subgenera (Pseudoscorpiones, Chthoniidae), Zootaxa 4246 (1), pp. 1-221 : 180-181

Occidenchthonius morenoi ( Carabajal Márquez, García Carrillo & Rodríguez Fernández, 2011) , n. comb.

Chthonius (Ephippiochthonius) morenoi Carabajal Márquez, García Carrillo & Rodríguez Fernández 2011: 116 , figs 1–5, table I.

Type locality. Spain, Andalusia, Córdoba province, Carcabuey, Cueva del Macho (37°28′38″N, 04°16′41″W; 785 m a.s.l.).

Distribution. Spain: Andalusia.

Diagnosis (♂♀). A large, hypogean, extremely troglomorphic Occidenchthonius species. Movable cheliceral finger with isolated subapical tooth (di), spinneret small in female; without eyes or eye-spots, anterior margin of carapace with 2 preocular microsetae on each side, posterior margin with 2 macrosetae; chelal hand very weakly depressed at level of ib / isb, with short and very flattened hump distad of ib / isb and extremely gentle slope between trichobothria ib / isb and eb; fixed chelal finger with 27 teeth; movable chelal finger with 20 teeth and 14 rounded vestigial teeth on weakly raised lamina; pedipalpal femur (♂) 10.8–11.7, (♀) 11.3 times longer than broad, length (♂) 1.67–1.75 mm, (♀) 1.81 mm; chela (♂) 8.4–9.6, (♀) 8.8 times longer than deep, length (♂) 2.25–2.35 mm, (♀) 2.46 mm; ratio movable chelal finger/chelal hand (♂) 1.7, (♀) 1.6.

Material. None available for this study.

Description (♂ ♀). Large, hypogean species, extremely troglomorphic. Integument depigmented.

Carapace as long as or slightly shorter than broad, constricted posteriorly; medial part of anterior margin strongly prominent, without a well-defined epistome, and strongly dentate. Without eyes or eye-spots. Chaetotaxy: 18 setae, with 2 preocular microsetae on each side, 2 setae in posterior row, formula 4:6:4:2:2.

Cheliceral hand with 7 setae and 2 lateral microsetae. Fixed finger with 12 teeth decreasing in size proximally, two distal teeth distinctly larger than others. Movable finger with an isolated subapical tooth (di), with 10 teeth decreasing in size proximally, the distal tooth larger than others; spinneret small in female.

Chaetotaxy of tergites I–IX: 4:4:4:4:6:6:6:6:6. Chaetotaxy of sternites II–IV: 9:8:8. Pedipalpal coxa with 2 setae on manducatory process), coxa II and III with 8 bipinnate coxal spines on each side.

Chelal hand very weakly depressed at level of ib / isb, with short and very flattened hump distad of ib / isb and extremely gentle slope between trichobothria ib / isb and eb; 4 proximal setae, seta ph3 present. Fixed finger with 27 teeth. Movable finger with 20 teeth and 14 rounded vestigial teeth on weakly raised lamina; dental row reaching up to proximad of trichobothrium sb; basal apodeme long; coupled sensilla pc well distad of sb. Trichobothrium ist slightly proximad of esb.

Measurements and ratios. Male holotype, followed, when different, by male paratypes in brackets: Body 2.60 [2.50–2.90]. Carapace 0.75/0.75 (1.0) [0.73–0.80/0.76–0.80 (1.0)]. Pedipalp: femur 1.67/0.15 (11.2) [1.73–1.75/ 0.15–0.16 (10.8–11.7)], patella 0.70/0.20 (3.5) [0.69–0.83/0.19–0.24 (3.3–3.9)], chela 2.25/0.23 (9.6) [2.25–2.35/ 0.24–0.28 (8.4–9.4)], hand 0.82 (3.5) [0.83–0.87 (3.1–3.5)], movable finger 1.37 [1.45–1.50]; ratio movable finger/ hand 1.7, femur/movable finger 1.2, femur/carapace 2.2 [2.2–2.4], chela/carapace 3.0 [2.9–3.1], chela/femur 1.3. Female paratype: Body 3.05. Carapace 0.80/0.80 (1.0). Pedipalp: femur 1.81/0.16 (11.3), patella 0.80/0.20 (4.0), chela 2.46/0.28 (8.8), hand 0.96 (3.4), movable finger 1.50; ratio movable finger/hand 1.6, femur/movable finger 1.2, femur/carapace 2.3, chela/carapace 3.1, chela/femur 1.4.

Remarks. Occidenchthonius morenoi does not belong to either of the recognized species-groups within the genus. It is the only known species of the genus that simultaneously has eyes, an isolated subapical tooth (di), and trichobothrium ist proximad of esb. It shares with O. minutus the presence of preocular microsetae, but differs by the position of trichobothrium ist, which is distinctly distad of esb in O. minutus , and by the different size and degree of troglomorphy, as noted in the remarks under O. minutus . Because no material of O. morenoi has been available for this study, the above description is based on that of Carabajal et al. (2011).