Neobisium (Neobisium) hispanicum Zaragoza & Hernández-Corral, 2018

Hernández-Corral, Jesús, Zaragoza, Juan A. & Micó, Estefanía, 2018, New species of Pseudoscorpiones (Arachnida) from tree hollows in a Mediterranean oak forest in Spain, Zootaxa 4497 (2), pp. 201-225 : 206-208

Neobisium (Neobisium) hispanicum Zaragoza & Hernández-Corral n. sp.

( Figs 2 , 11 ‒20)

Type locality. Spain, Castilla y León Community, Salamanca province , La Bastida (40°35ʹ06ʺN, 06°03ʹ31ʺW).

Distribution. Spain: Castilla y León Community.

Etymology. The species epithet is a Latin adjective referring to Hispania , the name given by the ancient Romans to the Iberian Peninsula, from which the modern name Spain was derived.

Diagnosis (Ƌ). Carapace subquadrate, two pairs of convex eyes, epistome prominent. Movable cheliceral finger with a large tooth in dental row. Pedipalps smooth, femur about 0.90 mm long and 4.2‒4.6 times longer than broad, patella 0.55‒0.64 mm long and 2.5‒2.6 times longer than broad, chela+ 1.42‒1.50 mm long and 3.5‒3.8 times longer than broad, movable finger longer than hand+ and shorter than femur. Distance between trichobothria ib and ist 1.3‒1.8 times that between ist and it and 1.0‒1.3 times that between ist and fingertip.

Type material. ♂ holotype (CEUA 00106311), ♂ paratype ( DEUA 30015 ), Spain, Castilla y León Community, Salamanca province, La Bastida (ET), 22.XI.2012 ; ♂ paratype (MNCN 20.02/18244), (WT: 40°35ʹ15ʺN 06°02ʹ51ʺW), 10.I.2013. All leg. A. García-López, E. Micó & A. Ramírez-Hernández.

Description (Ƌ; ♀ unknown). Medium-sized epigean species. Body and pedipalps reddish-brown, legs slightly paler ( Fig. 2 ). Vestitural setae acuminate. Opisthosomal pleura finely granulated.

Carapace subquadrate, widest at middle (Fig. 14). Epistome prominent (Fig. 15), equilateral or isosceles triangle-shaped (length 0.024‒0.033, width 0.026‒0.043 mm). Two pairs of prominent eyes, with convex lenses, anterior eyes lying less than one diameter from anterior margin, almost contiguous with posterior eyes (distance from anterior margin 0.05 mm, diameter of eyes 0.07‒0.09, separation between eyes 0.025‒0.035). Chaetotaxy: 22 setae, formula: 4:6:6:6‒7. One microlyrifissure on each side, close to eyes, and one on each side in medial and posterior zones.

Chelicera ( Fig. 11 ) with 7 setae on hand and one (gl) on movable finger, 0.59‒0.61 from base. Spinneret a long, rounded hyaline tubercle with about 10 silk ducts ( Fig. 12 ). Fixed finger with 14‒17 teeth reaching to base, the 3‒7 subapical teeth small and rounded, others of medium size; movable finger with 15‒16 teeth reaching to slightly proximad of seta gl, the 3‒5 subapical teeth small, followed by 4‒7 rounded medium teeth, a large, paler tooth slightly distad of seta gl, and 4‒6 small teeth decreasing in size towards base of dental row ( Fig. 12 ). Rallum with 8 blades, the first two serrated, the distal and basal blades slightly isolated from others. Serrula exterior with 28‒30 blades, serrula interior with 25 blades.

Tergal chaetotaxy: 6:8‒10:10‒12:10‒12:10‒12:11‒14:11‒12:10‒12:10‒12:9‒11(4TS):7(4TS):2. Male sternite II with 10‒11 setae; sternite III with 27‒33 setae, of which 16‒20 along posterior margin of genital opening, 2+2 internal setae. Chaetotaxy of sternites IV‒XII: 13‒14:11‒15:14‒16:15‒18:15‒16:15‒17:11‒15(4TS):8(4TS):2. Two microsetae on each stigmata of sternite III, 3 on that of IV.

Pedipalpal coxa with 3‒4 setae on manducatory process and 6‒7 setae on the disk (apical seta very long), leg coxal setae I 5‒8, II 6‒8, III 6‒8, IV 9‒12. Anterolateral process of coxa I with simple tooth shape, apically pointed, medial process not produced, with numerous denticles ( Fig. 13 ).

FIGURES 14–20. Neobisium (N.) hispanicum n. sp., male holotype. 14, carapace; 15, anterior margin of carapace; 16, left pedipalp, minus chela, dorsal view; 17, left chela, dorsal view; 18, left chela, partial antiaxial view; 19, claw of left tarsus IV; 20, subterminal seta of left tarsus IV. Abreviations: gp, glandular pore; ma1–2, lyrifissures; p 1–2, sensilla.

Pedipalp (Figs 16‒18) smooth, trochanter with one robust tubercle on antiaxial face, femur with one low tubercle at middle of antiaxial face, four micropores at base of chelal pedicel, two glandular pores on antiaxial face of hand, close to fingers. Distal opening of patella (X) shorter than paraxial margin (Y). Fixed chelal finger with 55‒58 well developed and mostly pointed teeth, reaching to base, 4‒6 distal teeth small, 10‒13 basal ones rounded. Movable finger with 44‒47 teeth, reaching back to halfway between trichobothria b and sb, the 6‒8 distal teeth pointed, followed by 10‒18 rounded but still well developed teeth, after which teeth flattened, the basalmost teeth difficult to identify except by dental channel. Sensilla p 1 and p 2 separate, both either slightly distad or proximad of trichobothrium st. Lyrifissure ma1 distad of trichobothrium sb, lyrifissure ma2 slightly distad or level with b. General arrangement of trichobothria as in Figs 17‒18; distance between ib and ist 1.3‒1.8 times that between ist and it and 1.0‒1.3 times that between ist and fingertip; est-et-it forming a group in distal third of finger; it slightly distad of et and closer to fingertip than to ist; distance between st and sb 1.6‒2.1 times that between sb and b.

Claws of legs II‒IV with a tiny tooth at middle of dorsal side (Fig. 19), absent or very subtle on those of leg I. Leg IV tibial TS ratio 0.42‒0.51, basitarsal TS ratio 0.16‒0.18, telotarsal TS ratio 0.37‒0.40; subterminal setae (Fig. 20) 0.073 mm long, with two rami, the longest 0.035‒0.038 mm long and with scarce spinules, the shortest 0.018 mm long and smooth.

Measurements and ratios. Male holotype, followed, when different, by male paratypes in square brackets: Body 2.52 [2.49‒2.74]. Carapace 0.65/0.68 (1.0) [0.63‒0.69/0.61‒0.71]. Chelicera 0.52/0.29 (1.8) [0.48‒0.51/ 0.26‒0.29], movable finger 0.35 [0.31‒0.35]. Pedipalp: trochanter 0.47/0.22 (2.2)[0.40‒0.42/0.20‒0.23 (1.9‒2.0)], femur 0.89/0.21 (4.2) [0.88‒0.90/0.19‒0.21 (4.2‒4.6)], patella 0.62/0.25 (2.5) [0.55‒0.64/0.22‒0.25 (2.5‒2.6)], patellar club 0.42 (1.7) [0.39‒44 (1.7‒1.8)], hand+ 0.71/0.42 (1.7) [0.70‒0.73/0.37‒0.40 (1.8‒1.9)], hand - 0.63 (1.5) [0.62‒0.64 (1.6‒1.7)], movable finger 0.78 [0.75‒0.82], chela+ 1.48/0.42 (3.5) [1.42‒1.50/0.37/0.40 (3.8)], chela - 1.40 (3.3) [1.34‒1.41 (3.5‒3.6)]; ratio movable finger/hand+ 1.1, femur/movable finger 1.1 [1.1‒1.2], femur/ carapace 1.4 [1.3‒1.4], femur/patella 1.4 [1.4‒1.6], patella/hand+ 1.1 [1.1‒1.3], patella X/Y 0.8, chela+/carapace 2.3 [2.2‒2.3], chela+/femur 1.7 [1.6‒1.7]. Leg I: femur 0.44/0.11 (4.0) [0.44‒0.47/0.11‒0.12 (4.1‒4.2)], patella 0.31/ 0.11 (2.8) [0.28‒0.31/0.10‒0.11 (2.8‒3.0)], tibia 0.33/0.08 (4.1) [0.29‒0.33/0.08 (3.6‒4.1)], basitarsus 0.21/0.07 (3.0) [0.20‒0.21 (2.9‒3.2)], telotarsus 0.27/0.06 (4.4) [0.27‒0.28 (4.4‒4.6)]; ratio femur/patella 1.4 [1.5‒1.6], telotarsus/basitarsus 1.3. Leg IV: femur+patella 0.82/0.26 (3.2) [0.77‒0.83/0.25‒0.27 (3.1)], tibia 0.63/0.12 (5.3), [0.61‒0.66/0.12‒0.13], basitarsus 0.30/0.09 (3.3) [0.29‒0.32/0.09‒0.10 (3.4)], telotarsus 0.37/0.08 (4.8) [0.38‒ 0.39/0.08‒0.09 (4.5‒4.9)]; telotarsus/basitarsus 1.2 [1.2‒1.3].

Remarks. Neobisium hispanicum n. sp. shares with the species N. carpenteri (Kew, 1910) , N. incertum Chamberlin, 1930 , N. ischyrum ischyrum (Navás, 1918) , N. ischyrum balearicum Beier, 1939 , N. maroccanum Beier, 1930 , N. validum (L. Koch, 1873) and N. ventalloi Beier, 1939 the same type of chelal dentition, with the movable chelal finger having very flattened teeth in the basal half or two thirds, trichobothrium ist distad of the finger half, the pedipalpal femur and patella distinctly less than 5.0 and 3.0 times longer than broad, respectively. N. ischyrum ischyrum and N. ischyrum balearicum have a more distal position of trichobothrium ist, close to est, and longer pedipalpal femur and finger, both about 1.0 mm or more ( Beier 1939, 1963). The pedipalpal patella is distinctly stouter in N. carpenteri and N. incertum ( Beier 1948, 1963; Gabbutt 1965), which have a maximum ratio of 2.2, as opposed to 2.5‒2.6 in N. hispanicum n. sp. The teeth of the movable cheliceral finger are regular in size in N. maroccanum , N. validum and N. ventalloi , lacking the distinctly larger tooth, seen in N. hispanicum n. sp. Additionally, the movable chelal finger is about the same length as the pedipalpal femur in the Spanish species N. ventalloi , but distinctly shorter in N. hispanicum n. sp. and the basal teeth of the movable chelal finger of N. maroccanum are less flattened than in N. hispanicum n. sp. The other Spanish species with basal flattened teeth on movable chelal finger, N. reductum Mahnert, 1977 , differs from N. hispanicum n. sp. by its slender pedipalps, the pedipalpal femur shorter than the movable chelal finger and the distinct reduction of the posterior eyes ( Mahnert 1977b).

Figures

FIGURES 2–6. Habitus of species from Salamanca province. 2. Neobisium hispanicum n. sp.; 3. Amblyolpium dollfusi Simon, 1898; 4. Beierochelifer peloponnesiacus (Beier, 1929); 5. Rhacochelifer gaeli n. sp.; 6, Rhacochelifer nonidezi n. sp.

FIGURES 7–13. FIGURES 7–10. Neobisium (N.) maroccanum Beier, 1930. 7, distal end of movable finger of left chelicera of paratype female from Korifla; 9, anterior and medial processes of right coxa I, idem; 8, distal end of movable finger of right chelicera, female from Xauen; 10, anterior and medial processes of left coxa I, idem. FIGURES 11–13. Neobisium (N.) hispanicum n. sp., male holotype. 11, left chelicera; 12, distal end of movable finger of left chelicera; 13, anterior and medial processes of left coxa I.