Martensopsalis Giribet & Baker, 2021

Giribet, Gonzalo, Baker, Caitlin M. & Brouste, Damien, 2021, Martensopsalis, a new genus of Neopilionidae from New Caledonia (Opiliones Eupnoi), Zootaxa 4984 (1), pp. 98-107 : 100-101

Martensopsalis Giribet & Baker gen. nov. ( Figs 1 , 3–6 )

ZooBank registration: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:04C4AC0D-DE0C-46F0-AB6A-F5D2B3D24514

Type species. Martensopsalis dogny spec. nov.

Diagnosis. Martensopsalis can be distinguished from all other genera of Neopilionidae by the presence of a pointed basal apophysis on the ventral side of the palpal femur ( Figs 3 , 4C ), although being more conspicuous in some individuals than others; palpal patella with a distal-prolateral apophysis ( Figs 3 , 4C ), also with different degrees of development; palpal patella and tibia of similar size; palpal tarsus longer than other articles; a dense set of thick setae on all palpal articles; palpal claw well developed and smooth. Penis with long sclerotized straight shaft with a short glans, and the stylus being a coiled tube; without bristles, spines or setae.

Description. Prosoma weakly sclerotized, smooth; carapace with the metapeltidium 2 well demarcated; opisthosoma unornamented; dorsum color of earth tones or green, with a transverse reflective pale/orange band on first opisthosomal tergite ( Figs 3 , 4A–B , 6A ); ozophores large, raised and visible from above, located immediately behind fixed spine of coxa I. Ocularium large, smooth, positioned behind anterior margin of carapace at a distance equal to length of ocularium ( Figs 4A–B , 6A, C ). Chelicerae ( Figs 4B, D ) of normal size, without evident sexual dimorphism; second article setose, except for fixed finger; movable finger without setae. Palp ( Fig. 4C ) covered with stiff thick setae, giving it a spiny appearance; without plumose setae; femur with a distinct basal-proventral apophysis ( Figs 3 , 4C ); patella with a distinct prodistal apophysis ( Fig. 3 ); patella and tibia of similar size; tarsus longer than femur, slightly bent; tarsal claw without ventral teeth.

Coxae of legs I–III with dorsal spines; other leg articles without denticles or spines. Legs long and slender, femur I longer than carapace; pseudoarticulations of tarsi with paired ventral spines; leg II with two pseudoarticulations on femur and eight on tibia; leg IV with two or four pseudosegments on tibia only, not always the same in the corresponding right and left legs.

Penis ( Figs 4E , 5 ) simple, with a straight shaft, without spines, groups of bristles or sensory setae; shaft folding towards the tip from which the short glans and the coiled stylus tube protrude.

Etymology. Named for our dear colleague Jochen Martens for his contributions and enormous influence on Opiliones systematics. The second part of the generic name is the classical Greek noun “psalis” (= scissors) which has been previously used in the names of other genera of Neopilionidae such as Megalopsalis , Forsteropsalis and Pantopsalis . The gender is feminine.

Distribution. Widespread in the southern half of New Caledonia’s Grande Terre.

Comments. Martensopsalis is so far the only genus of Neopilionidae in New Caledonia, known only from four specimens collected during our 2018 expedition and from additional records posted on iNaturalist. The simple straight penis without setae or spines and with a short glans with a long stylus distinguishes Martensopsalis from most other neopilionids, including all other Australasian species. The penis of Neopilio Lawrence, 1931 is similar in lacking supination and setae and in having the stylus developed as a tightly coiled tube, but the shaft widens basally ( Hunt & Cokendolpher 1991; Lotz 2011).

Figures

FIGURES 3A–D. Detail of the habitus showing the pointed basal apophysis on the ventral side of the palpal femur (white arrow heads) and the patellar apophysis (yellow arrow heads). A Martensopsalis sp. from Kwa We Dare. B Martensopsalis sp. from Mt. Do. C Martensopsalis sp. from Les Koghis. D Martensopsalis dogny gen. & spec. nov., spec. nov. from the Plateau de Dogny (paratype MCZ IZ-151592). Photos by D. Brouste (A–C); photo by G. Giribet (D).

FIGURES 4A–E. Martensopsalis dogny gen. & spec. nov., holotype male (MNHN, MCZ IZ-152401). A Body, dorsofrontal. B Body, dorsal. C Right palp, prolateral, showing ventrobasal femoral apophysis (arrow head). D Laterofrontal view of chelicerae. E Penis. Scale bars: 1 mm (A–B), 0.5 mm (C–E).

FIGURES 5A–B. Martensopsalis dogny gen. & spec. nov., holotype male (MNHN, MCZ IZ-152401). A Confocal image of total penis. B Detail of penis tip. Scale bar: 50 µm.

FIGURES 6A–C. Martensopsalis dogny gen. & spec. nov., female paratype (MCZ IZ-152402), habitus of body (A dorsal, B ventral, C lateral). Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 1A–F. Live habitus of Martensopsalis gen. nov. A–B Martensopsalis dogny gen. & spec. nov. from Plateau de Dogny (paratype MCZ IZ-151592). C Martensopsalis sp. from Mé Maoya (MCZ IZ-151588). D Martensopsalis sp. from Mt Do. E Martensopsalis sp. from Kwa We Dare. F Martensopsalis sp. from the Humboldt rainforest. Photos by G. Giribet (A–C) and D. Brouste (D–F).