Parawithius bromelicola, Romero-Ortiz & Sarmiento & Harvey, 2023

Romero-Ortiz, Catalina, Sarmiento, Carlos E. & Harvey, Mark S., 2023, A new genus and five new species of pseudoscorpions (Arachnida, Pseudoscorpiones, Withiidae) from Colombia, ZooKeys 1184, pp. 301-326 : 301

Parawithius bromelicola sp. nov.

Figs 1C , 2 , 7 , 9B

Material examined.

Holotype. Colombia • ♂; Cundinamarca, Cogua, Embalse del Neusa Tausa, Llano Grande ; [5°11'33.9"N, 73°53'53.8"W]; 2900 m; 7 Mar. 2004; AL Leon leg.; under tree bark; ICN-APs-082.

Paratypes. Colombia • 1 ♂; Cundinamarca, same data as for the holotype . • 1 ♀, 1 ♂; Sesquilé, Camino al Cerro de Las Tres Viejas ; 5°02'17.0"N, 73°47'13.0"W; 2740 m; 8 Sep. 2019; C. Romero-Ortiz, F. Garcia, J.J. Lagos, A. Carvajal, D. Mayorga-Ch leg.; on bromeliad; ICN-APs-836 .

Other material. Colombia • 1 ♀; Santander, Málaga, Vda. Buenavista, km 7 vía Bucaramanga ; 6°42'23.7"N, 72°44'52.6"W; 2620 m; 1 Jan. 2020; C. Romero-Ortiz, J.J. Lagos leg.; on bromeliad under “Loqueto” tree Escallonia pendula (Ruiz & Pav.) Pers.; ICN-APs-847 .

Diagnosis.

Parawithius bromelicola sp. nov. can be separated from P. nobilis (With, 1908) by the stouter pedipalpal segments (i.e. patella 3.36-3.44 × longer than broad compared with 3.24-3.30 × longer than broad, and the chela without pedicel 3.39-3.47 × longer than broad, compared to 3.58-3.85 × longer than broad); the extension of the strongly clavate setae on the dorsal surface of fixed chelal finger (i.e., distal to it and est compared to proximal to it and est); from P. iunctus Beier, 1932 and P. pseudorufus Beier, 1932 by the presence of pale spots on the carapace metazone, in addition to the size of chelal fingers compared to the palpal hand (i.e. fingers shorter to the hand in P. bromelicola sp. nov., P. nobilis , and P. iunctus and longer in P. pseudorufus ).

Description.

Adults. Color: yellowish brown, carapace darker than body, carapace metazone with paired pale spots; pedipalps reddish brown, uniform in color, very granulated; tergites yellow-brown; big leg segments darker at posterior margin (Fig. 1C ).

Dimensions (mm): male: holotype (followed by male paratypes): body length 2.46 (2.58, 2.46). Pedipalps: trochanter 0.38/0.21 (0.37/0.23, 0.38/0.22), femur 0.83/0.19 (0.84/0.19, 0.77/0.18), patella 0.74/0.22 (0.75/0.22, 0.71/0.21), chela (with pedicel) 1.18/0.30 (1.24/0.31, 1.12/0.30), chela (without pedicel) 1.14 (1.18, 1.06), hand (without pedicel) length 0.59 (0.57, 0.53), movable finger length 0.56 (0.60, 0.53). Chelicera 0.21, movable finger length 0.17. Carapace 0.82/0.58 (0.85/0.72, 0.82/0.74); eyespot diameter 0.07. Leg I: femur 0.16/0.16, patella 0.33/0.14, tibia 0.35/0.10, tarsus 0.32/0.06. Leg IV: femur + patella 0.66/0.19, tibia 0.51/0.12, tarsus 0.37/0.07, TS 0.73.

Female: paratype (followed by female other material): body length 2.68 (2.70). Pedipalps: trochanter 0.41/0.23 (0.36/0.21), femur 0.78/0.21 (0.73/0.18), patella 0.74/0.23 (0.67/0.19), chela (with pedicel) 1.24/0.35 (1.14/0.30), chela (without pedicel) 1.16 (1.08), hand (without pedicel) length 0.59 (0.57), movable finger length 0.60 (0.49). Carapace 0.88/0.68 (0.74/0.64) (width at medial area).

Carapace (Fig. 7A ): 1.42 × (1.18-1.11) (♂), 1.29 × (1.16) (♀) × longer than broad; lateral margins convex, not posteriorly widened; with two non-corneate eyes; with 59 (♂) setae, including four (♂) near anterior margin, seven (♂) near posterior margin, 16 in the medial zone and 36 in the anterior region; with two distinct furrows; posterior furrow slightly closer to posterior carapace margin than to median furrow (Fig. 7A ).

Chelicera (Fig. 7B ): with five setae on hand, sb and b denticulate, all others acuminate; movable finger with one subdistal seta; galea of male with three or four very small terminal rami; rallum of four blades, the most distal blade with several serrations on leading edge, other blades smooth (Fig. 7C ); two dorsal lyrifissures.

Pedipalp (Fig. 7D, G, H ): trochanter, femur, patella and chelal hand granulate, chelal fingers smooth; dorsal setae clavate and denticulate; trochanter 1.81 × (1.59-1.74) (♂), 1.76 × (1.73) (♀), femur 4.33 × (4.17-4.38) (♂), 3.77 × (4.14) (♀), patella 3.44 × (3.36-3.42) (♂), 3.17 × (3.50) (♀), chela (with pedicel) 3.99 × (3.78-3.97) (♂), 3.52 × (3.85) (♀), chela (without pedicel) 3.85 × (3.58-3.78) (♂), 3.29 × (3.65) (♀), hand 2.0 × (1.78-1.82) (♂), 1.68 × (1.92) (♀)longer than broad, movable finger 0.95 × (1.00-1.06) (♂), 1.01 × (0.86) (♀)longer than hand. Fixed chelal finger with eight trichobothria, movable chelal finger with four trichobothria (Fig. 7D, H ): eb and esb situated basally, est midway between eb and the fingertip, et situated distally; ib and ist situated basally, it directly behind est and close distal to isb; b and sb situated near one another; st closer to sb than to t; t parallel to est. Venom apparatus not visible, venom ducts not visible in ♂ and ♀. Retrolateral margin of fixed finger with three sense-spots (Fig. 7H ) situated distal to esb and linear in disposition. Chelal teeth very small and almost not developed or differentiated for a clear count; accessory teeth absent.

Coxal region: coxal chaetotaxy: ♂, 10: 10: 5: 7; maxilla with 23 setae including three apical setae (one tactile setae) and one very small internal, sub-oral seta; median maxillary lyrifissure medial in position, posterior lyrifissure present.

Legs (Fig. 7E, F ): junction between femora and patellae I and II parallel as well as junction in legs III and IV; tarsal tactile seta of leg IV situated distally, 0.73 × (♂) of tarsus length (Fig. 7F ); two subterminal tarsal setae distal form TS arcuate and acute; arolium shorter than claws. Ratios: leg I: femur 1 ×, patella 2.28 ×, tibia 3.67 ×, tarsus 5.71 × deeper than broad; leg IV: femur + patella 3.46 ×, tibia 4.27 ×, tarsus 5.11 × deeper than broad.

Abdomen: all tergites divided with a medial suture, with a row of spots in the middle of each hemitergite; sternites entire. Tergal chaetotaxy: ♂, 8: 9: 9: 10: 13: 13: 16: 16: 18: 12: 10 (including two tactile setae): 2; all setae foliate. Sternal chaetotaxy: ♂, 15: (2) 11 (2): (2) 13 (2): 16: 14: 16 + 21 gls: 13 + 86 gls: 11 + 2 gls: 10 (including two tactile setae): 8 (including two tactile setae and some dentate): 2; sternites VII and VIII of ♂ with patches of glandular setae (Fig. 9B ); setae uniseriate and acuminate; ♂ without paired invaginations on anterior margins of sternites.

Genitalia: see Romero-Ortiz and Sarmiento 2021 as " Parawithius msp1".

Etymology.

This species is named after bromeliad plants, due to its close association with them. Most of the specimens were collected by sifting bromeliads on white sheets.

Figures

Figure 1. Habitus of the new species (males) A Paciwithius chimbilacus sp. nov. B Cystowithius florezi sp. nov. C Parawithius bromelicola sp. nov. D Oligowithius achagua sp. nov. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

Figure 2. Distribution of the new species and the new record of Withiidae from Colombia.

Figure 7. Parawithius bromelicola sp. Nov. (male holotype, ICN-Aps- 082) A carapace B chelicera C rallum D right chela E left leg I F left leg IV G left pedipalp H right chelal fingers (arrows show sense-spots) I rallum. Abbreviations: Pedipalp movable finger: b = basal; sb = sub-basal; st = sub-terminal; t = terminal; fixed finger: eb = exterior basal; esb = exterior sub-basal; est = exterior sub-terminal; et = exterior terminal; ib = interior basal; isb = interior sub-basal; ist = interior sub-terminal; it = interior terminal. Cheliceral setae: b = basal seta; es = exterior seta; is = interior seta; ls = laminal seta. Scale bars: 0.5 mm (G); 0.1 mm (A, D-F, H); 0.05 mm (B); 0.0125 mm (C, I).

Figure 9. Glandular setae patches of the new species A Paciwithius chimbilacus sp. nov. (holotype, ICN-Aps- 076) B Parawithius bromelicola sp. nov. (holotype, ICN-Aps- 082) C Paciwithius valduparensis sp. nov. (holotype, ICN-Aps- 597) D Cystowithius florezi sp. nov. (holotype, ICN-Aps- 07) E, F Oligowithius achagua sp. nov. E male paratype (ICN-Aps- 388) F male holotype (ICN-Aps- 388). Scale bars: 0.1 mm (A-C, E, F); 0.05 mm (D).