Ideoblothrus, Balzan, 1892

Harvey, Mark S. & Edward, Karen L., 2007, A review of the pseudoscorpion genus Ideoblothrus (Pseudoscorpiones, Syarinidae) from western and northern Australia, Journal of Natural History 41 (5 - 8), pp. 445-472 : 455-457

Ideoblothrus sp. ‘‘Mesa A’’

( Figure 7 )

Material examined

Australia: Western Australia: one deutonymph, Mesa A, ca 45 km W of Pannawonica , borehole MEARC2856 , 21 ° 399590S, 115 ° 539030E, 25 July to 8 September 2005, T . Williams and D. Kamien ( WAM T 66073) .

Description

Deutonymph. Colour: generally pale, pedipalps and chelicera very pale yellow orange.

Chelicera: with five setae on hand, all setae acuminate; movable finger one sub-distal seta; flagellum of five blades, distal blade broadened and finely denticulate; serrula exterior with ca 17 blades.

Pedipalp: trochanter 1.60, femur 2.93, patella 2.29, chela (with pedicel) 3.32, chela (without pedicel) 3.12, hand 1.58 times longer than broad, movable finger 1.03 times longer than hand. Fixed chelal finger with six trichobothria, movable chelal finger with two trichobothria ( Figure 7 ): isb, sb, esb, and st absent; eb situated at base of fixed finger; ib situated on dorso-distal surface of hand; ist and est situated close together; it situated distally to est and ist; et situated sub-distally; b situated sub-basally; st situated sub-medially. Venom apparatus only present in fixed chelal finger. Chelal teeth: fixed finger with 18 rounded teeth, tooth row ending basally to et; movable finger with 27 rounded teeth, tooth row extending midway between st and b.

Cephalothorax: carapace 1.42 times longer than broad; without eyes; with 20 setae, arranged 4: 4: 4: 3: 5.

Abdomen: pleural membrane granulo-striate near cephalothorax, remainder longitudinally striate, without setae. Tergites and sternites undivided.

Dimensions (mm) of deutonymph WAM T 66073: carapace 0.326 / 0.230. Chelicera 0.177 / 0.090, movable finger 0.125. Pedipalps: trochanter 0.150 / 0.094, femur 0.272 / 0.093, patella 0.240 / 0.105, chela (with pedicel) 0.458 / 0.138, chela (without pedicel) 0.430, hand length 0.218, movable finger length 0.224 .

Remarks

A single deutonymph was collected from Mesa A situated approximately 7.6 km from Mesa B, the only known location of I. pisolitus . Due to the lack of adult specimens we cannot be sure of its identity. However, it is possible that it represents a distinct taxon, making it consistent with patterns found in other troglobitic organisms present within these pisolitic formations. In particular, molecular studies have shown Mesa A and Mesa B to contain distinct species of the schizomid genus Draculoides (O. Berry, unpublished data).

Figures

Figures 5–7. Ideoblothrus spp., left chelae, lateral. (5) I. aeoodi Harvey, deutonymph from Cave C-167 (WAM T71323). (6) I. aeoodi Harvey, protonymph from Cave C-167 (WAM T23723). (7) I. sp. ‘‘Mesa A’’, deutonymph from Mesa A, Western Australia (WAM T66073). Scale bars: 0.2 mm.