Geogarypus muchmorei, Novák & Harvey, 2018

Novák, János & Harvey, Mark S., 2018, New species and records of the pseudoscorpion genus Geogarypus (Pseudoscorpiones: Geogarypidae) from India, Sri Lanka and New Guinea, Zootaxa 4394 (3), pp. 417-427 : 418-421

Geogarypus muchmorei sp. nov.

( Figs 1A‒M )

Type material. Holotype: ♂ ( HNHM Pseud-1988; Fig. 1A ), Daitari [21°07ʹN, 85°50ʹE], Jajpur-Keonjahr District, Orissa, India, 23 Sept. 1967, beaten from bushes in forest, leg. György Topál (in good condition, right chela dissected) . Paratypes: 1 ♀ ( HNHM Pseud-1989; Fig. 1B ), Barkalikapur [22°23ʹN, 88°14ʹE], West Bengal, India, 7 May 1967, associated with bat ( Megaderma lyra ), leg. György Topál ; 1 ♀ ( HNHM Pseud-1990), Daitari , Jajpur- Keonjahr District, Orissa, India, 1 Jan. 1967, netting in grasses from undergrowth in forest, near brook, leg. György Topál (in poor condition).

Etymology. This species is named after the late William B. Muchmore, for his contributions to our knowledge of pseudoscorpions.

Distribution. Orissa and West Bengal, India.

Diagnosis. Carapace dark brown, apart from 2 cone-shaped white areas in posterior third. Prolateral face of chelal hand swollen. Dorsal face of fixed chelal finger with dorsal constriction near middle. Without prolateral constriction of chelal hand at base of fingers. Trichobothrium it closer to et than to ist. Trichobothrium t two-thirds from base of movable finger, st midway between t and b. Distance between st and sb twice that between sb and b. Teeth of fixed chelal finger homodentate, triangular and retrorse, 3‒7 accessory teeth on prolateral side. Retrolateral face of fixed finger with 4‒6 pit-like structures. See Remarks for comparisons with other species from the region.

Description. Carapace dark brown, with the exception of 2 cone-shaped white areas in posterior third which are smaller in male than in female. Chela dark brown, other pedipalpal segments somewhat lighter. Legs yellowishbrown, without darker stripes. Tergites generally yellowish brown, with dark brown pattern; all tergites with 2 lateral brown spots, each connected by a dark band running along anterior half of tergites (these are wider in female than in male), with the exception of tergite I, which lacks such a band, and tergite XI, which is entirely brown; tergites I‒II with a larger and elongated medial dark spot; tergite III without medial spot. Sternites IV‒X with 2 dark medial spots. Sternites yellowish-brown, IV‒IX with 2 dark brown medial spots.

Carapace. Sub-triangular, with 4 corneate eyes and cucullus. Covered with star-shaped granules and small, mostly clavate and some acuminate setae ( Figs 1C, D ), including 2 small and 2 longer clavate setae with three terminal denticles near anterior margin ( Fig. 1E ) and 12 near posterior margin. Two pairs of slit-like lyrifissures in posterior third and one pair in ocular region. Anterior transverse furrow well-developed, posterior furrow weak and situated sub-basally.

Chelicera ( Fig. 1F ). Hand with 5 acuminate setae and movable finger with 1 acuminate subdistal seta. Subterminal teeth of fingers poorly developed. Galea without rami in both sexes. Rallum composed of 1 smooth blade. Serrula exterior with 13‒14 blades, the distal one enlarged, straight and pointed, the basal 2 enlarged and hooked ( Fig. 1G ).

Pedipalp ( Fig. 1H ). All pedipalpal segments granulate, except the movable chelal finger and the distal twothirds of fixed finger. Vestitural setae short, most of them weakly clavate, some acuminate ( Figs 1I, J ). Dorsal face of patella with 4 lyrifissures near pedicel and one at distal margin. Prolateral face of trochanter rounded. Fixed chelal finger ( Fig. 1K ) with 26 slightly separated teeth in male and 23‒24 in females, which are triangular and retrorse, the basal ones flattened, accompanied by 6 accessory teeth in male and 3‒7 in females on prolateral side, between it and ib. In retrolateral view they are obscured by the regular teeth. Retrolateral face of fixed chelal finger with 4‒6 pit-like structures between ist and esb. Movable chelal finger with 20‒23 slightly separated teeth, which are retrorse and pointed in distal half, those in proximal half progressively becoming rounded. Dental row on movable finger reaching to sb. Nodus ramosus not discernible. Prolateral face of hand swollen, without constriction and with 1 long, straight spine near base of fixed finger. Fixed finger as long as hand with pedicel. Dorsal face of fixed finger undulate in lateral view, with dorsal constriction near middle of finger. Fixed finger with 8 trichobothria, movable finger with 4 trichobothria; it closer to et than to ist, esb usually near base of finger, but in 1 female paratype (HNHM Pseud-1990) it is situated halfway between eb and ib (the trichobothriotaxy of the right chela of this specimen is normal); t two-thirds from base of movable finger; st midway between t and b; distance between st and sb twice that between sb and b.

Opisthosoma. Pleural membrane irregularly striate, with sporadic vestitural setae. Chaetotaxy of tergites I‒XI (number of lyrifissures in parentheses): 10‒12 (4): 10‒14 (6): 10‒14 (6): 12‒14 (6‒8): 12‒14 (6‒8): 12‒14 (6‒8): 12 (6): 12‒14 (4‒6): 12‒14 (4‒6): 10‒14 (4): 8‒12. Chaetotaxy of sternites IV‒XI (number of lyrifissures in parentheses): 4 (2): 8‒12 (2): 10‒14 (16): 12‒14 (4‒6): 12‒14 (4‒6): 10‒12 (4): 6‒8 (4): 4‒6. Tergite XII with 2 small setae, sternite XII without setae. Vestitural setae weakly clavate on tergites and acuminate on sternites. Median setae of sternites show no external differences from the other setae. No tactile setae on tergite and sternite XI. Surface of tergites granulated, sternites smooth. Male genital region: sternite II with 7 microsetae and two lyrifissures, sternite III with 5 microsetae around genital opening. Ejaculatory canal atrium, lateral apodeme and lateral rod generally similar to those illustrated by Harvey (1986: fig. 12), but not clearly visible. Female genital region: sternite II with 4+4 microsetae and two lyrifissures, sternite III with 2 microsetae and 2 lyrifissures around genital opening. One pair of elongated lateral cribriform plates and a medial cribriform plate present, but weakly visible.

Coxal region. Pedipalpal coxa with 1 long and 1 short seta on anterior face, plus a further 10‒12 small setae. Coxae I‒IV with setal formula 5‒7: 7‒9: 14‒15: 16‒21.

Legs ( Figs 1L, M ). Diplotarsate and without tactile setae. Surface mostly granulate. Claws simple. Arolia slightly longer than claws.

Dimensions (in mm, ratios in parentheses). Male holotype. Body 1.35; carapace 0.43/0.55 (0.78×). Chelicera 0.12/0.07, movable finger 0.08. Pedipalpal trochanter 0.18/0.10 (1.8×); femur 0.40/0.12 (3.33×); patella 0.29/0.13 (2.23×). Chela (with pedicel) 0.64 (3.04×); pedicel 0.04; hand 0.27/0.21 (1.29×); fingers 0.32. Leg I trochanter 0.11/0.09 (1.22×); femur 0.18/0.06 (3.01×); patella 0.11/0.07 (1.57×); tibia 0.13/0.06 (2.16×); metatarsus 0.08/0.04 (2.03×); tarsus 0.10/0.03 (3.34×). Leg IV. trochanter 0.12/0.10 (1.21×); femur 0.09/0.08 (1.13×); patella 0.27/0.11 (2.45×); tibia 0.23/0.07 (3.29×); metatarsus 0.13/0.05 (2.62×); tarsus 0.11/0.03 (3.65×).

Female paratypes. Body 1.57‒1.63; carapace 0.45‒0.49/0.64‒0.68 (0.70‒0.72×). Chelicera 0.13‒0.15/0.07‒ 0.08, movable finger 0.09‒0.10. Pedipalpal trochanter 0.26/0.14‒0.15 (1.73‒1.86×); femur 0.50‒0.53/0.14‒0.15 (3.34‒3.79×); patella 0.35‒0.37/0.14‒0.15 (2.47‒2.51×). Chela (with pedicel) 0.77‒0.83 (3.35‒3.46×); pedicel 0.05; hand 0.37‒0.39/0.23‒0.24 (1.17‒1.44×); fingers 0.42‒0.43. Leg I trochanter 0.14/0.09 (1.55×); femur 0.19‒ 0.21/0.07‒0.08 (2.63‒2.71×); patella 0.12‒0.13/0.08 (1.48‒1.51×); tibia 0.15/0.06 (2.51×); metatarsus 0.10‒0.11/ 0.04‒0.05 (2.04‒2.74×); tarsus 0.11‒0.12/0.03 (3.67‒4.03×). Leg IV. trochanter 0.18/0.11 (1.64×); femur 0.11/0.08 (1.38×); patella 0.32/0.10 (3.22×); tibia 0.27/0.06 (5.87×); metatarsus 0.16/0.05 (3.23×); tarsus 0.12/0.04 (3.08×).

Remarks. The new species can be distinguished from G. klarae sp. nov. by the colour pattern of the carapace, the shape of the chela and the chelal dentition. It differs from G. sagittatus , G. asiaticus Murthy & Ananthakrishnan, 1977 , G. heterodentatus and G. nepalensis in the shape of the chelal hand, as it lacks a prolateral constriction at the base of the fingers (cf. Beier 1957, 1965, 1974). The shape of the chelal hand in dorsal view closely resembles that of the Australian species G. exochus Harvey, 1986 , but the dorsal face of the fixed finger is undulate in lateral view in the new species, unlike G. exochus ( Harvey 1986) . Trichobothrium t of the movable chelal finger is located subterminally in G. exochus , but it is situated two-thirds from base of the finger in G. muchmorei sp. nov. Also, G. exochus has st situated distinctly nearer to t, while it is closer to sb in G. muchmorei . The chela of G. exochus has 10 accessory teeth on the fixed finger ( Harvey 1986), whereas the new species has only 4‒7 such teeth. The new species differs from G. irrugatus (Simon, 1899) in its chelal dentition (teeth of both fingers more widely separated in G. irrugatus ) and in having the prolateral face of the chelal hand more swollen (cf. Harvey 2010). The darker coloration of the carapace and the shape of the chelal hand clearly distinguish the new species from G. longidigitatus and G. albus Beier, 1963 ( Beier 1963a; Harvey 1988, 2000). The chela of G. angulatus Chamberlin, 1930 has a totally different shape in lateral view ( Chamberlin 1930). Trichobothrium isb is situated nearer to the dental margin in G. granulatus Murthy & Ananthakrishnan, 1977 , and the vestitural setae on the carapace and the pedipalps of the new species are mostly clavate, whereas they are acuminate in G. granulatus ( Murthy & Ananthakrishnan 1977) . In G. muchmorei sp. nov., the distance between it and et on the fixed finger is half that between it and est, whereas in G. granulatus these distances are nearly equal. Furthermore, trichobothrium esb is nearly equidistant between eb and isb in G. granulatus , but much closer to eb in G. muchmorei sp. nov. The teeth of the movable chelal finger are more spaced in G. granulatus than in the new species. Geogarypus globulus Sivaraman, 1980 differs from the new species in having it more distally located on the fixed chelal finger, and the prolateral side of chelal hand not swollen ( Sivaraman 1980). Geogarypus elegans has a totally brown carapace, 12 accessory teeth on the fixed chelal finger (4‒7 in the new species) and more slender chelae ( With 1906).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Geogarypus muchmorei, sp. nov. A, male holotype (HNHM Pseud-1988); B, female paratype (HNHM Pseud- 1989); C, clavate seta of carapace, male (HNHM Pseud-1988); D, acuminate seta of carapace, male (HNHM Pseud-1988); E, anterior margin of carapace, male (HNHM Pseud-1988); F, right chelicera of male (HNHM Pseud-1988); G, serrula exterior of male (HNHM Pseud-1988); H, right pedipalp of male (HNHM Pseud-1988); I, acuminate seta of pedipalpal femur, male (HNHM Pseud-1988); J, bifurcate seta of pedipalpal femur,male (HNHM Pseud-1988); K, left chela of female (HNHM Pseud- 1990); L, right leg I of male, prolateral side (HNHM Pseud-1988); M, left leg IV of female, prolateral side (HNHM Pseud- 1989).