Caraiboscia microphthalma Vandel, 1968

Leistikow, Andreas, 2001, A new species of Caraiboscia Vandel, 1968 from South America, and a type species for Colombophiloscia gen. n. (Crustacea: Oniscidea: Crinocheta), Journal of Natural History 35 (4), pp. 497-514 : 499-503

Caraiboscia microphthalma Vandel, 1968

( Figures 1 ±3)

Material. Microscopic slides of male 4 mm; female 4 mm: Ecuador, Guadeloupe Island, Goubeyre, leg. May ± July 1952, L. Berland, MNHN (VC) 3891.3 ±7 .

Colour. All white due to lack of pigmentation.

Cephalothorax. Linea frontalis and lamina frontalis lacking, linea supraantennalis very faint, almost invisible, vertex arched, covered with many tricorn-like setae. Compound eye reduced to three to four ommatidia (®gure 1, Ctf).

Pereon. Pereonites covered with tricorn-like setae of various shape, coxal plates with noduli laterales, gland pores only on coxal plate I discernible ( Vandel, 1968).

Pleon. Retracted from pereon, neopleurae of pleonites 3 to 5 well-developed, pleotelson, triangular with straight lateral margins.

Appendages

Antennula. Three-articulate; with row of aesthetascs on apex and medial border of distal article.

Antenna. Rather long, ¯agellum three-articulate with apical organ bearing two long separated sensilla (after coarse drawing from Vandel, 1968).

Mandible. Molar penicil consisiting of about ten branches, pars intermedia bearing few coniform setae, and two penicils on left and one penicil on right mandible, additional plumose seta prominent (®gure 2, Mdl / r).

Maxillula. Medial endite with two slender penicils apically, lateral endite with eight teeth apically, medio±distally an additional coniform seta, third innermost tooth slightly cleft, lateral setal fringe similar to Ecuadoroniscus Vandel, 1968 (®gure 2, Mx1).

1 Sc

; view

rostral

in

1 pereopod

1 PE

; view

rostral

in

.

1

7

pereopod

pereopod

of

of

dactylus

spine

7

sensory

Da

.

mm

4

ornamental

male

, 1968

, Vandel

microphthalma

Caraiboscia

. 3. IG F

Maxilla. Lateral lobe half the breadth of medial one, both bearing pectinate scales apically, medial lobe with about ten cusps medio-distally (®gure 2, Mx2).

Maxilliped. Basipodite with sulcus lateralis, bearing microscopic scales, palp composed of three articles, medial one with raised setal tuft, endite with small knoblike penicil and small pectinate scales rostrally, caudally bearing two teeth but almost no setation (®gure 2, Mxp).

Pereopods. Pereopod 1 stout, basis with three rows of tricorn-like setae (®gure 3, PE1), carpus with antenna-groomin g brush rostrally: between translucent teeth of medial margin and trichiform setae of grooming brush ®ve stout, straight teeth with fringed apex, ornamental sensory spine with double-fringed apex (®gure 3, Sc1), dactylus of pereopod 7 with short inner claw and simple dactylar seta (®gure 3, Da7).

Pleopods, sexual diOEerentiation. Male pleopod 1 exopodite drop-shaped with laterally directed apex, endopodite slightly bent laterally, acute, with longitudinal row of about ten spines caudally and four small lobes on latero-distal border of spermatic funnel. Pleopod 1 exopodite triangular with three sensory spines laterodistally, endopodite straight and short, a set of several teeth on midpoint on caudal side laterally (®gure 1, PL1 / 2).

Uropod. Exopodite inserting distally of endopodite.

Genital papilla. Not discernible in microscopic preparation.

Remarks. C. microphthalma is discriminated from C. christiani by the more prominent antennal tubercles which protrude laterally of the cephalothorax. This character is autapomorphic in this species whereas C. christiani represents the plesiomorphic character state. The gland pores are only found in the ®rst coxal plate, on all the other plates they are reduced. The lateral maxillular endite is slightly modi®ed with the innermost tooth only vestigial. Another diOEerence for which the interpretation of the polarity is quite di cult is the number of leaēt setae on the pleonites, C. microphthalma bearing three transverse rows per pleonite whereas in C. christiani only one is present.

Figures

FIG. 1. Caraiboscia microphthalma Vandel, 1968, male 4mm. Ctf cephalothorax in frontal view; Had habitus in dorsal view; Hal habitus in lateral view; PL1±2 pleopods 1 and 2 in rostral view, with detail of endopodite 1 in caudal view.