Cheliferidae, Albian, Risso, 1826

Judson, Mark L. I., 2009, Cheliferoid pseudoscorpions (Arachnida, Chelonethi) from the Lower Cretaceous of France, Geodiversitas 31 (1), pp. 61-71 : 66-71

Cheliferidae ? indet. ( Figs 4 ; 5 )

Pseudoscorpionida indet. – Néraudeau et al. 2002: 237.—

Perrichot 2004: 14; 2005: 45, 69, tables 1, 3.

Cheliferidae indet. – Perrichot et al. 2007: 217, table 2.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — One tritonymph ( MNHN ARC 186.1 R), amber from Archingeay-Les Nouillers, Charente-Maritime, France : Lower Cretaceous, uppermost Albian, lithological subunit A1 sensu Néraudeau & Moreau (1989).

DESCRIPTION

Carapace clearly longer than broad; eyes not seen, their likely position being obscured (left side) or unfavourably inclined (right side); anterior furrow well marked, about 0.42 length of carapace from posterior margin; posterior furrow weak, about 0.10 from posterior margin; prozone with sparse, conicular granulation; mesozone and metazone scaly; setae sparse, six on anterior margin. Tergites probably divided, as suggested by a fold running along the midline of tergites I-X; exact chaetotaxy not determined, but probably four or five setae on each half-tergite of most segments; tergites X and XI with a long tactile seta near middle of each halftergite. Leg coxae almost smooth; setae long, simple and few in number (about five on coxae III and IV). Coxa IV without coxal sac or spurs. Articulation between femur and patella of anterior legs moderately oblique (about 45° to axis) in dorsal view, femur relatively long in comparison with modern Cheliferoidea ; femur not much broader than patella, hence the joint between them allows only a normal degree of flexibility. Chelicera ( Fig. 5A ) with five setae on palm, es long. Spinneret with three, small, terminal rami of equal length. Palps attenuate, with strong, regular, conicular granulation.Vestitural setae moderately long, each with two or three denticulations, not clavate or raised on tubercles. Leg claws simple. Setae of tarsus I of the same length as those of the other leg tarsi. Chelal fingers largely obscured, hence not all trichobothria could be observed, but isb present near ib, which is only slightly distad of eb; it near middle of finger ( Fig. 5B ).

Measurements Body c. 1.3; carapace length c. 0.72. Palp femur c. 0.51 × 0.12 (4.4), patella 0.39 × 0.13 (2.9), chela + 0.89 × 0.20 (4.4), palm + 0.45 (2.2), palm – 0.40 (2.0), movable finger 0.49 (1.1 × palm +).

REMARKS

The differences in the form of the carapace, the granulation of the integument and the proportions of the palp preclude the possibility of this specimen being a nymph of Heurtaultia rossiorum n. gen., n. sp. It is attributed to the Cheliferidae on the basis of its general appearance, notably that of the palps, and the presence of a venedens on both fingers, but its systematic position will probably remain uncertain unless information about the adults, particularly the male, becomes available.

DISCUSSION

The Archingeay fossils are approximately contemporary with the Cheliferoidea present in Lower Cretaceous Burmese amber. Burmese amber has been dated as Lower Cenomanian to Upper Albian, with the latter being judged the most likely age ( Cruickshank & Ko 2003). Thus, although the Cheliferoidea are generally considered to be the most derived group of pseudoscorpions in terms of their morphology and behaviour ( Chamberlin 1931; Weygoldt 1966, 1969, 1970; Harvey 1992), it is clear that the superfamily was already diverse and widespread by the early Cretaceous, implying a significantly older origin of the group.

Gaping chelal fingers have appeared sporadically in the Cheliferoidea . When present in both sexes or in females alone, they are assumed to be a modification for grasping insects during phoresy ( Chamberlin 1949; Heurtault 1994). When limited to males, which are less often phoretic, they presumably represent an adaptation for holding conspecific females during mating ( Kew 1912; Chamberlin 1931) or, perhaps, other males during antagonistic interactions. If the holotype of H. rossiorum n. gen., n. sp. is a male, this suggests the presence of a mating dance in this species, which concords with the interpretation given above of the elongate setae on the tarsus as a secondary sexual dimorphism. The existence of a mating dance can be also inferred on phylogenetic grounds, since it is synapomorphic for the Cheliferoidea ( Weygoldt 1966; Harvey 1992).

The fibrous material surrounding the posterior end of the body of the nymphal cheliferid (ARC 186.1 R) is too fine and homogenous to represent fungal hyphae. It must therefore be silk, spun either by a spider or by the pseudoscorpion itself. The latter interpretation seems more plausible in view of the thinness of the layer, the fact that the pseudoscorpion is intact and the orientation of the palps. During moulting torpor, pseudoscorpions sometimes have the palps directed backwards in a similar way (e.g., Chamberlin 1924). A pseudoscorpion wrapped as prey of a spider would probably be enclosed in a thicker layer of silk, with the palps and legs appressed to the body in a more normal orientation, and might show some signs of damage. If the interpretation of a moulting nest is correct, this represents the earliest direct evidence of silk use in a pseudoscorpion. Schawaller (1978) described silk fibres emanating from the spinneret of the holotype of the Baltic amber pseudoscorpion “ Microcreagris ” koellnerorum Schawaller, 1978, but an examination of this specimen suggests that the supposed fibres are just debris: they seem too dense to be silk and are orientated towards a more distal position on the cheliceral finger than that which would normally be occupied by the spinneret (which is obscured in the fossil).

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to André Nel (MNHN), Gaël de Ploëg (formerly at MNHN), Didier Néraudeau and Vincent Perrichot for the opportunity to study the fossils from Archingeay. The holotype of “ Microcreagris ” koellnerorum was examined through the courtesy of Günter Bechly, during a visit to the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Stuttgart. I thank Andrew Ross (formerly at The Natural History Museum, London) and George McGavin (Oxford University Museum of Natural History) for their efforts to find Hope’s pseudoscorpion fossil from Aix-en-Provence. Helpful comments on the manuscript were provided by André Nel, Vincent Perrichot and an anonymous referee. This work is a contribution to the project AMBRACE no. BLAN07-1-184190, funded by the French Agence nationale de la Recherche.

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Submitted on 8 April 2008;

accepted on 23 September 2008.

Figures

FIG. 4. — Cheliferidae indet., tritonymph (ARC 186.1R), oblique dorsal view of fossil. Magnification × 50.

FIG. 5. — Cheliferidae indet., tritonymph (ARC 186.1R): A, left chelicera, antiaxial face, spinneret broken; B, habitus, oblique dorsal view, some parts obscured, particularly palp and tergites on right side; right chela strongly foreshortened, only a few teeth shown (others not visible),granulation only partly indicated.Abbreviations:b, es, is, gs, ls, sb, setae of chelicera; eb, ib, isb, it, trichobothria of chela. Scale bar: A, 0.18 mm; B, 0.5 mm.