Trichorhina curupira, Campos-Filho & Araujo & Bichuette & Trajano & Taiti, 2014

Campos-Filho, Ivanklin Soares, Araujo, Paula Beatriz, Bichuette, Maria Elina, Trajano, Eleonora & Taiti, Stefano, 2014, Terrestrial isopods (Crustacea: Isopoda: Oniscidea) from Brazilian caves, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (Zool. J. Linn. Soc.) 172 (2), pp. 360-425 : 405-408

TRICHORHINA CURUPIRA CAMPOS- FILHO, ARAUJO & TAITI SP. NOV.

FIGURES 32, 33, 40

Type material

Holotype: ♂, Brazil, Pará, Altamira, Caverna Pedra da Cachoeira , 3°19′13″S, 52°19′22″W, 15 December 2010, leg. M.E. Bichuette ( MZUSP 27541 ).

Paratypes: Five ♂ (one in micropreparations) and three ♀, same data as holotype ( MZUSP 27542 ) .

Etymology

The new species is named after Curupira, a mythological creature of Brazilian folklore. In Tupi language kuru′ pir means covered with blisters, and the character is known as the protector of forests and animals.

Description

Maximum length: ♂ and ♀, 3 mm. Body outline as in Figure 32A. Colour pale yellow. Dorsum covered with fan-shaped scale setae ( Fig. 32F); one line of noduli laterales inserted more or less at the same distance from the lateral margin of pereonites; b/c and d/c coordinates as in Figure 32B. Cephalon ( Fig. 32C,D) with small lobes, no frontal line, supranatennal line straight; eye reduced, with three ommatidia. Pleon ( Fig. 32A) slightly narrower than pereon, epimera of pleonites 3–5 well developed, falciform. Telson ( Fig. 32E) with triangular distal part, concave sides, and rounded apex. Antennule ( Fig. 32G) of three articles, distal joint with nine apical aesthetascs. Antenna ( Fig. 32H) short and stout, with flagellum as long as fifth article of peduncle, second flagellar article about three times as long as first, apical organ short. Mouth parts as in T. yiara sp. nov. Pereopod dactylus with short inner claw; ungual and dactylar seta, with simple distal part reaching tip and middle of outer claw, respectively ( Fig. 33A). Uropod ( Fig. 32I) protopod grooved on outer margin; exopod stout and longer than endopod; insertions of endopod and exopod almost at the same level.

Male: Pereopod 1 ( Fig. 33A) carpus and, to a lesser extent, merus with a line of long setae on sternal margin. Pereopod 7 ( Fig. 33B) with no peculiar modifications; ischium with sternal margin straight. Pleopod 1 ( Fig. 33C) exopod ovoid; endopod with distal part bearing a few setae near medial margin. Pleopod 2 ( Fig. 33D) exopod triangular, outer margin slightly concave; endopod longer than exopod. Pleopods 3–5 exopods as in Figure 33E–G.

Remarks

In the eye with three ommatidia, T. curupira sp. nov. resembles Trichorhina mulaiki Schmalfuss, 2003 from Mexico and Trichorhina triocellata Ferrara & Taiti, 1985 from Aldabra Island. It differs from T. mulaiki in the pale colour, the presence of cephalic lobes, and the telson with rounded instead of pointed apex; it differs from T. triocellata in the less wide body shape, different shape of dorsal scale setae, and lack of tuft of setae on pereopod dactylus. In Brazil, other species of Trichorhina have a reduced number of eyes, e.g. Trichorhina acuta Araujo & Buckup, 1994 , Trichorhina heterophthalma Lemos de Castro, 1964 , and Trichorhina sexdens Souza, Araujo & Campos-Filho, 2011 . The new species is readily distinguishable from those species by the different shape of the dorsal scale setae, by the different shape of the endite of the maxilliped, and by the different shape of the male pleopod 1.