Ephippiochthonius catalonicus ( Beier, 1939 ) Beier, 1939

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 : 64-67

Ephippiochthonius catalonicus ( Beier, 1939) , n. comb.

( Figs 111–117 )

Chthonius (Ephippiochthonius) hispanus catalonicus Beier 1939: 163 –164, figs 2–3. Chthonius (Ephippiochthonius) catalonicus: Beier 1963: 62 –63.

Chthonius (Ephippiochthonius) catalonicus: Lagar (1972b): 46 .

Chthonius (Ephippiochthonius) catalonicus: Zaragoza 2007: 15 –16.

Type locality. Spain, Catalonia, Barcelona province , Baix Llobregat comarca, Begues, Avenc de Sant Roc (41°18′55″N, 01°55′17″E; 450 m a.s.l.) .

Distribution. Spain: Catalonia.

Diagnosis (♂ ♀). A microphthalmic, medium-sized Ephippiochthonius species of the gibbus -group. Movable cheliceral finger with isolated subapical tooth (di), without spinneret in male, prominent in female; lyrifissure ldb present; anterior eyes with low convex lens, posterior reduced to eye-spots; anterior margin of carapace with 1–2 preocular microsetae on each side, posterior margin with 2 medial macrosetae and 2 short lateral setae; chelal hand weakly depressed at level of ib / isb, with a low and rounded hump distad of ib / isb and an abrupt slope between trichobothria ib / isb and eb; fixed chelal finger with 17–23 teeth; movable chelal finger with 9–10 pointed teeth at the distal half with dental canals, basal half without marginal lamina and 4–7 tiny vestigial teeth, most with dental canals; pedipalpal femur (♂) 6.8, (♀) 6.5–6.9 times longer than broad, length (♂) 0.64 mm, (♀) 0.71–0.72 mm; chela (♂) 5.0, (♀) 4.6 times longer than deep, length (♂) 0.84 mm, (♀) 0.96–1.00 mm; ratio movable chelal finger/ chelal hand (♂) 1.5, (♀) 1.4–1.5; all chelal lyrifissure patterns present, most with their standard complements, except that ma2 is absent.

Type material examined. ♀ neotype (here designated) ( DEUA), Spain, Catalonia, Barcelona province, Baix Llobregat comarca, Begues , Avenc de Sant Roc (41°18′55″N, 01°55′17″E; 450 m a.s.l.), 14.IV–14.XI.2014, pitfall, leg. F. Fadrique & J. Pastor .

Other material examined. 1 ♂ (DEUA), 3 ♀ (MNHN, MCNB, NHMW), same collection data as neotype.

Description (♂ ♀). Moderately sized species, probably troglophilic or troglobitic. Integument weakly depigmented; marked hispid granulation on lateral surface of carapace, on cheliceral hand and weakly on bases of chelal fingers.

Carapace ( Fig. 112 ) distinctly longer than broad and weakly constricted posteriorly; anterior margin almost straight in female, weakly prominent in male, medially strongly dentate ( Fig. 111 ); anterior pair of eyes with small, weakly convex lens with reflecting tapetum, 0.040–0.050 mm from anterior margin of carapace, diameter 0.035– 0.040 mm, posterior eyes reduced to eye-spots. Chaetotaxy: 20 setae and 1–2 preocular microsetae on each side, posterior area with 2 medial macrosetae (0.09 mm long) and 2 lateral setae microsetal in size (0.02 mm) but distinctly thicker, setal formula (preocular microsetae excluded): 4:6:4:2:4, anteromedial setae 0.11–0.13 mm long, sublateral ocular setae 0.06–0.07 mm long; 3–4 lyrifissures anteriorly and 2 posteriorly.

Chelicera ( Figs 114, 115, 117 ) with 6–7 setae and 2 lateral microsetae on hand, seta vb 0.035–0.045 mm long, microsetae 0.020–0.025 mm long; hand with 5 dorsal and 1 ventral lyrifissure, lyrifissure ldb present. Fixed finger with 8–11 teeth decreasing in size proximally and 2–4 proximal microtubercles, 2–3 distal teeth distinctly larger than others. Movable finger with an isolated subapical tooth (di), with 5–7 teeth decreasing in size proximally and 1–3 microtubercles, distal tooth larger than others; spinneret almost absent in male ( Fig. 117 ), prominent and apically rounded in female ( Fig. 115 ); seta gl 0.54–0.58 from base of movable finger. Rallum with 11 blades. Serrula exterior with 15 blades, serrula interior with 11 blades.

Chaetotaxy of tergites 4:4:4:4:6:6:6:6:1T2T1:4:1T2T1:0, tergites IX and XI each with 2 sublateral tactile setae (0.25–0.27 and 0.30 mm long, respectively). Chaetotaxy of sternites 9–10:(3)9–10(3):(2)7–8(2):8– 9:6:6:6:6:2T1T2:0:2, lateral setae on sternite III microsetal in size, sternite X with 2 submedial tactile setae (0.20 mm long); in addition, genital notch of male flanked by 12–14 setae on each side and 4+4 internal glandular setae.

Pedipalpal coxa with 5 setae (including 2 on manducatory process), distal marginal seta of disk 0.09–0.11 mm long; coxa I 3 + 3 marginal microsetae, distal marginal seta 0.06–0.09 mm long; II 4 + 6–10 bipinnate coxal spines, III 5 + 4–9 bipinnate coxal spines and IV 6; intercoxal tubercle bisetose.

Pedipalp with femoral chaetotaxy 3:6:2:5:1. Chela ( Fig. 116 ) with hand very weakly depressed at level of ib / isb in female, with a low and rounded hump distad of ib / isb (more depressed and with more strong hump in male), and an abrupt slope between trichobothria ib / isb and eb; dorsal-antiaxial surface of the chelal hand between the hump and trichobothria eb / esb flattened, limited by a marked edge; ventral intercondylar bow-like protuberance (ip) present; width slightly shorter than depth; chaetotaxy 4:5:3 (female neotype 4:4:3 only for one chela), seta ph3 lacking, setae ih1, ih3 and ih4 approximately level with trichobothria ib / isb; distal end of hand and bases of chelal fingers with strongly sclerotized condylar complex. Fixed finger with 17–22 teeth, most pointed, distal tooth small, of these the 8–9 proximal teeth progressively decreasing in size and becoming closer together, 1–3 more proximal tooth strongly smaller and rounded, all with dental canals except the most proximal, dental row level halfway between trichobothria sb and b, 3–7 microtubercles at base; tip of finger with an accessory tooth (td) on antiaxial face; tip of fixed chelal finger of male with a deep hollow on paraxial face and a pronounced subdistal protuberance (sp) ( Fig. 113 ); only 3 teeth at level of est / it occupying 0.1 mm in female, 4 in male, distance between successive apices 0.028–0.043 mm; one pair of antiaxial sensory setae (as), 0.020–0.045 mm long, distance between them 0.035–0.070 mm, finger depth 0.055–0.060 mm at the base. Distal half of movable finger with 9–10 triangular teeth, the distal one tiny or absent and reduced to a protuberance, the subdistal tooth small, all with dental canals, level halfway between trichobothria st and sb; proximal half without marginal lamina, with 4–7 small teeth proximally decreasing to low vestigial undulations, mostly with dental canals except 0–2 most proximal, reaching level of sb; basal apodeme long and apically indented; coupled sensilla pc level with or slightly distad of sb. Trichobothria as in Fig. 116 ; ist slightly distad of esb, forming almost a straight line eb -esb -ist, and well proximad of lyrifissure fb; distance between ib / isb and esb approximately equal to that between ib / isb and the base of the hand; distance between st and sb 2.0–2.4 times longer than that between sb and b. All chelal lyrifissure patterns present, most with their standard complements, except that ma2 is absent (present on one chela of a female and absent on the other).

Measurements and ratios. Female neotype, followed by other females in square brackets: Body 1.80 [1.46– 1.60]. Carapace 0.50/0.43 (1.2) [0.49/0.43–0.44 (1.1)]. Chelicera 0.43/0.20 (2.2) [0.41–0.43/0.19–0.20 (2.2–2.3)], movable finger 0.23 [0.22]. Pedipalp: femur 0.72/0.11 (6.5) [0.71–0.72/0.11 (6.8–6.9)], patella 0.28/0.15 (1.9) [0.27–0.28/0.15 (1.9)], chela 1.00/0.22 (4.6) [0.96–0.98/0.21–0.22 (4.6)], hand 0.40 (1.8) [0.40–0.41], movable finger 0.59 [0.54–0.57]; ratio movable finger/hand 1.5 [1.4], femur/movable finger 1.2 [1.3], femur/carapace 1.4 [1.4–1.5], chela/carapace 2.0, chela/femur 1.4. Male: Body 1.45. Carapace 0.44/0.38 (1.2). Chelicera 0.37/0.16 (2.2), movable finger 0.20. Pedipalp: femur 0.64/0.09 (6.8), patella 0.25/0.13 (2.0), chela 0.84/0.17 (5.0), hand 0.35 (2.1), movable finger 0.52; ratio movable finger/hand 1.5, femur/movable finger 1.2, femur/carapace 1.5, chela/ carapace 1.9, chela/femur 1.3.

Remarks. Chthonius (Ephippiochthonius) catalonicus was described by Beier (1939) as a subspecies of C. (E.) hispanus Beier, 1930 , based on a unique male type collected by D. Ventalló and deposited in “ Mus. Barcelona ” (i.e. Museo de Zoología de Barcelona, currently Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, acronym MCNB) with the registration number 5415. Mahnert (1977, p. 61) reported that the material studied by Beier (1939) was returned to the Barcelona Museum and lost during the Spanish War. During the present study, the loss of the type specimen of E. catalonicus was confirmed: it is not present in MCNB (Glòria Masó, curator of arthropods, in litt.) or NHMW, the workplace of Max Beier (Christoph Hörweg, curator of Arachnoidea, in litt.). Fortunately , thanks to the efforts of my colleagues Floren Fadrique and Josep Pastor ( BIOSP), in response to my request, some specimens have been recently collected in Avenc de Sant Roc, the locus typicus of the species. These specimens undoubtedly belong to C. (E.) catalonicus , one of which (a female) is here designated as the neotype . The designation of a neotype is necessary for clarification of the taxonomic status of the species.

Some minor differences have been found between the neotype material and Beier’s (1939) original description, particularly the ratio of 1.7 given by Beier for the chelal finger/hand (1.5 ♂, 1.4 ♀ in this study), which is presumably a mistake, even if allowance is made for the fact that Beier (1939) measured the fixed, rather than the movable, finger. The assignments to this species of a female from Cova-Avenc del Toscar, Tortosa, Tarragona province, Spain by Lagar (1972b) and of a tritonymph from Benisoga, Valencia province, Spain by Beier (1939) are highly doubtful and should be discarded.

Within the gibbus- group, E. catalonicus shares with E. henderickxi n. sp. the presence of 2 medial macrosetae and 2 lateral short setae in posterior row of carapace, as well as the presence of an isolated subapical tooth (di) on the movable cheliceral finger. However, E. catalonicus shows troglomorphic adaptations, with reduced eyes and a pedipalpal chela about 1.00 mm long, while E. henderickxi n. sp. is an epigean species, with well developed eyes and a pedipalpal chela about 0.50 mm long.

Figures

FIGURES 111 – 117. Ephippiochthonius catalonicus (Beier, 1939) n. comb., female neotype (111 – 116) and female from typical locality (117). 111, anterior margin of carapace, partial view; 112, carapace; 113, tip of fixed chelal finger, dorsal view; 11 4, right chelicera; 115, fingers of left chelicera, partial view; 116, left chela, antiaxial view; 117, movable cheliceral finger, partial view.