Scolopocryptops troglocaudatus, Chagas-Jr, Amazonas & Bichuette, Maria Elina, 2015

Chagas-Jr, Amazonas & Bichuette, Maria Elina, 2015, A new species of Scolopocryptops Newport: a troglobitic scolopocryptopine centipede from a remarkable siliciclastic area of eastern Brazil (Scolopendromorpha, Scolopocryptopidae, Scolopocryptopinae), ZooKeys 487, pp. 97-110 : 99-104

Taxon classification Animalia Scolopendromorpha Scolopocryptopidae

Scolopocryptops troglocaudatus sp. n. Figs 3, 4-7, 8-9, 10-13, 14-16, 17-19, 20

Scolopocryptops sp. n. in Gallão and Bichuette (2015).

Type material examined.

Holotype unsexed (MNRJ) collected by Gallão, JE., Igual, EC. and von Schimonsky, DM. on 01.iv.2013 in Gruna do Cantinho Cave, Igatu, Andaraí, Bahia, Brazil.

Additional material examined.

Two juveniles (UFMT), two juveniles (UFSCar) all collected by Gallão, JE., Igual, EC. and von Schimonsky, DM. on 31.iii.2013 in Gruna Rio dos Pombos Cave, Igatu, Andaraí, Bahia, Brazil.

Etymology.

The name troglocaudatus is in allusion to the troglobitic status and the longest ultimate legs in the subfamily Scolopocryptopinae. This is from Latin troglo, meaning “cave”, and caudatus, meaning "with a tail".

Diagnosis.

Scolopocryptops with a straight anterior margin of the forcipular coxosternum; tooth-plates formed by two long thickened chitinous layers, not fused with each other, more elevated on the sides than in the middle; without a pair of spiracles in the seventh pedal segment; ventral spinous process of the prefemur of the ultimate pair of legs short (small), and a very short dorsomedial spinous process; femur of the ultimate pair of legs longer than the prefemur and tibia.

Description of holotype.

Length: length of body (anterior margin of cephalic plate to posterior margin of tergite 23) 45 mm.

Pigmentation in life: cephalic plate, first and last pedal segment, and coxosternite orange; body and pedal segments greenish, legs 1 to 21 and antennae light yellow, last two pairs of legs pale (Fig. 3). Pigmentation in alcohol: cephalic plate, coxosternite, tergites and sternites light brown and legs orange.

Cephalic plate: slightly longer than wider (length: 3.4 mm; width: 3.2 mm), smooth, without marginal ridges, sutures, sulci or depressions, its posterior margin overlying tergite 1 (Fig. 4).

Antennae: extending to the posterior border of T10 (Fig. 5); 17 articles; the first two basal articles and dorsal 1/3 of the third glabrous (Fig. 6); from the third to twelfth or seventeenth with short bristles covering all articles; first three basal articles wider than longer (length: 0.6 mm; width: 0.9 mm); fourth to seventeenth articles longer than wider; distal articles three times longer than wider (length: 1.1 mm; width: 0.3 mm) (Fig. 7).

Forcipular coxosternum: anterior margin straight, with a longitudinal suture ending in the middle of the transversal suture (Fig. 8); tooth-plates formed by two long thickened chitinous layers, not fused with each other, more elevated on the sides than in the middle. Process of forcipular trochanteroprefemur short, apex truncated (Fig. 9).

Tergites: smooth, with very light fine punctuation. Tergite 1 with an anterior transversal sulcus, but without sutures; T3 to T7 with incomplete short paramedian sutures; T8 to T20 with complete paramedian sutures (Fig. 10). Tergites 6 (or 7) to T22 with margination. Tergite of ultimate leg-bearing segment without margination, but with a membranous line separating tergite and coxopleura (Fig. 11); posterior border with a low longitudinal depression and a convex posterior margin.

Spiracles: not present in the seventh pedal segment.

Sternites: smooth, wider than longer. Sternite of ultimate leg-bearing segment narrow posteriorly, longer than wide, posterior margin straight (Fig. 12).

Coxopleuron: Coxopleural process short, parallel and pointed. Pore field reaching almost the whole area of the coxopleura, except the dorsal and posterior areas and the medial depression, its posterior corner ending at a strong, sclerotized point (Fig. 13).

Legs: Legs 1 to 21 with undivided tarsus, legs 22 and 23 with tarsi 1 and 2. Legs 1 to 19 with two tibial spurs, legs 20 and 21 with one lateral tibial spur, legs 22 and 23 without spurs; legs 1 to 21 with one lateral tarsal spur, legs 22 and 23 without. Pretarsus of legs 1 to 21 with well-developed pairs of accessory spurs, accessory spurs on legs 22 and 23 very short.

Ultimate pair of legs smooth, longer and slender (length: 26.2 mm) (Fig. 14). Ventral spinous process of the prefemur short (small) and the dorsomedial spinous process very short (Figs 15 and 16). Femur longer (length: 6.1 mm) than the prefemur (length: 6.0 mm) and tibia (5.7 mm); tarsus 1 (length: 5.3 mm), tarsus 2 (length: 2.7 mm) and pretarsus (length: 0.4 mm).

Type locality.

Gruna do Cantinho Cave, Igatu, Andaraí, Bahia, Brazil.

Distribution.

Gruna do Cantinho Cave, Gruna Rio dos Pombos Cave and Gruna Lava Pé Cave, all Caves from Chapada Diamantina, central Bahia, Eastern Brazil (Fig. 1).

Remarks on juveniles.

The color pattern of the juveniles: antennae, cephalic plate, first and last pedal segments, and coxosternite light orange (Fig. 17); from T2 to T22 light greenish; legs pale. The first two basal articles of the antennae pilose, with long and short setae. The integument of the cephalic plate, coxosternite (Fig. 18), tergites, sternites and legs pilose, with long and fine setae. Prefemora and femora of ultimate legs with few long and short setae. The tooth-plates are formed by two long thickened chitinous layers, not fused with each other, more elevated on the sides than in the middle (Fig. 19). The margins of the sides of the tooth plates are pointed. Process of the forcipular trochanteroprefemur short, and apex pointed. Coxopleural processes median in length, parallel and pointed. Ventral and dorsalmedial spinous processes of the prefemur of the ultimate legs longer than holotype (Figs 20 and 21).

Habitat and habits.

Scolopocryptops troglocaudatus sp. n. adults were observed exposed in the substrate formed by humid sand (Fig. 2). The adults are apparently indifferent to light, showing a very calm behavior when lit in the natural habitat. In contrast, the juveniles were collected buried in the humid sand, which represented a more cryptobiotic habit.