Moserius inexpectatus Reboleira & Taiti, 2015

Reboleira, Ana Sofia P. S., Gonçalves, Fernando, Oromí, Pedro & Taiti, Stefano, 2015, The cavernicolous Oniscidea (Crustacea: Isopoda) of Portugal, European Journal of Taxonomy 161, pp. 1-61 : 32-35

Moserius inexpectatus Reboleira & Taiti sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:18B5B016-F7A6-4047-A2CB-28B4394797CF

Figs 21 A–E, 22A–C

Diagnosis

A species of Moserius characterised by the male pereopod 7 carpus having a distal lobe on the sternal margin, and the pleopod 1 exopod having a truncate and sinuous distal point.

Etymology

From Latin inexpectatus = unexpected. The name refers to the location, which is far from the previously known distribution range of the genus.

Material examined

Holotype

PORTUGAL: ♂, Gruta do Almonda (= Gruta do Olho da Fonte), Estremenho Massif, 24 Aug. 2013 ( MZUF).

Description

Size: 1.5× 0.6 mm. Body colourless, ovoidal, outline not interrupted between pereon and pleon; pereon tergites very convex, with epimera obliquely directed outwards ( Fig. 21A ). Dorsum bearing ribs and tubercles ( Fig. 21A ): cephalon with large central tubercle with 3 +3 rounded tips, and 3 +3 tubercles near rear margin, the two external ones fused at base; pereonites 2–6 with 3+ 3 longitudinal ribs as long as tergites; pereonite 7 with 2+2 ribs and small tubercle per side between two ribs; pleonite 3 with 2 large paramedian tubercles; pleonites 4 and 5 and telson with 2small paramedian tubercles. Cephalon ( Fig. 21B ) with short, quadrangular frontal lateral lobes, directed outwards and not protruding compared with median lobe. Eyes absent. Pereonites with rounded posterior corners; epimera 4–7 slightly pointing backwards ( Fig. 21A ). Pleonites 3–5 ( Fig. 21A, C ) with large epimera directed backwards. Telson ( Fig. 21C ) about twice as wide as long, with distal part trapezoidal, with concave sides and truncate apex. Antenna ( Fig. 21D ) with thickset articles of peduncle; flagellum with three articles, with 3–4 long aesthetascs on second article. Uropod ( Fig. 21C ) with flattened protopod; exopod slightly longer than endopod, with tuft of four apical setae; endopod with single apical seta. Pereopod 1 ( Fig. 21E ) with no particular modifications. Pereopod 7 ( Fig. 22 A–B) ischium with slightly convex sternal margin, carpus with large distal lobe on sternal margin. Pleopod 1 ( Fig. 22C ) exopod quadrangular, with truncate and sinuous distal point, sinuous outer margin and straight medial margin.

Remarks

This new blind species belongs to the subfamily Haplophthalminae and is included in Moserius since it shows the tergal ornamentation typical of the genus, i.e., 3 +3 ribs on the pereonites and two large tubercles on pleonite 3. The genus Moserius was previously known only for two species: M. percoi Strouhal, 1940 , originally described from the cave Belinca Jama, Slovenia, and later recorded from Ligurian and Tuscan caves ( Strouhal 1940; Brian 1963; Taiti & Ferrara 1995), and M. elbanus Taiti & Ferrara, 1995 , from a small cave on Elba Island, Tuscany, Italy. The new species is readily distinguished from the other two members of the genus by the peculiar shape of the male pleopod 1 exopod, with a truncate and sinuous, rather than triangular, distal point. The location of M. inexpectatus ( Portugal) is very far from those of the other two species (northern Italy and Slovenia), but it is quite probable that other species are present in the countries encompassing the northwestern Mediterranean.

Ecological notes

This species occurs in the Gruta do Almonda, the largest Portuguese cave, with at least 10 km of mapped subterranean galleries. It shares habitat with other troglobiotic species, namely the spider Nesticus lusitanicus Fage, 1931 , the woodlouse Trichoniscoides meridionalis , and the beetle Trechus lunai Reboleira & Serrano, 2009 ( Reboleira et al. 2009).

Figures

Fig. 21. Moserius inexpectatus Reboleira & Taiti sp. nov. from Gruta do Almonda, Estremenho, paratype, ♂. A. Specimen in dorsal view. B. Cephalon in dorsal view. C. Pleonite 5, telson and uropod. D. Antenna. E. Pereopod 1.

Fig. 22. Moserius inexpectatus Reboleira & Taiti sp. nov. from Gruta doAlmonda, Estremenho, Estremoz- Cano Massif, paratype, ♂. A. Pereopod 7, caudal view. B. Pereopod 7, rostral view. C. Pleopod 1.