Charinus sillami, Réveillion, F. & Maquart, P. O., 2015

Réveillion, F. & Maquart, P. O., 2015, A new species of Charinus Simon, 1892 (Amblypygi, Charinidae) from termite nests in French Guiana, Zootaxa 4032 (2), pp. 190-196 : 192-194

Charinus sillami sp. nov. Réveillion & Maquart

Diagnosis. Pedipalp: distitibia dorsally densely hairy; tibia bearing dorsally 4 spines and one proximal setae. Cephalothorax shrinking anteriorly, fovea deep and surrounded by high rounded bumps. C. sillami differs from C. platniki by of the presence of just one trichobotria in the basitibia of leg IV instead of two; from C. quinteroi , C. troglobius and C. vulgaris by the presence of a median eye tubercle; from C. koepckei , C. insularis and C. gertschi by the presence of a basitibia IV divided into just 2 articles instead of 4 articles, and from C. pardillalensis , C. camachoi , C. bordoni , C. tronchoni and C. vulgaris which have 3 articles. The new species can be distinguished from the only other known species from French Guiana ( C. bromeliaea ) by shape of the cephalothorax, anteriorly shrinking in the new species, instead of wider in C. bromeliaea , the place of the angle formed by the fovea, which is located approximately at 2/3 of the length of the cephalothorax in C. sillami , instead of 4/ 5 in C. bromeliaea ( Figure 1 c & f); the amount of setae on the distitibia of the pedipalp, which is dorsally densely hairy, instead of sparsely hairy; the number of spines on the pedipalp tibia, which bears 4 spines and a setiferous tubercule (present in juveniles and adults of both sexes), contrary to 5 spines on C. bromeliaea ( Figures 1 a & e); the number of spines on the basitarsus, 1 spine on the ventral side in the new species and 2 on C. bromeliaea ; and the size of the first dorsal femoral spine, 1.3 times bigger than the second in C. sillami instead of 2 times in C. bromeliaea ( Figures 1 b & 1e).

Etymology. The species name is dedicated to David Sillam-Dussès, who caught and kindly gave us the specimens.

Description. female holotype Pedipalp: Femur: bearing dorsally 3 spines (F1>F2>F3), median spine (F2) almost 3/4 of proximal (F1) and the distal (F3) 3/4 of median spine ( Figure 2c); ventrally with 3 spines on primary series (FI>FII>FIII), basal ventral spine (FI) curved inwards, bearing a setae, second spine (FII) almost 2/3 of basal spine, distal spine (FIII) as long as 2/3 of median spine; one paratype female, and the male bears a small fourth one; Tibia: bearing dorsally 4 spines and a well defined setiferous tubercle, T1<T2>T3>T4; T1=1/4 T2, T3=3/4 T2, T4=1/2 T3; bearing ventrally two large spines decreasing in size, TII=2/3 TI, and followed by a setiferous tubercle; Basitibia: bearing dorsally 2 large spines with the basal spine about 2/3 length of distal spine, bearing also one spine ventrally; Distitibia: long; Dorsally: densely hairy, bearing two spines, basal spines about half of distal spine; Ventral side inermous; Cephalothorax ( Figures 1 c, d & h): Anteriorly shrinking; anterior border of the prosoma with dented aspect, peripheric groove well defined, wider from the posterior margin to the lateral eyes, then continues thinner anteriorly; anteriorly with smooth impressions, but posteriorly with a deeply impressed fovea which is surrounded by rounded bumps. The base of the bumps are separated in two by a thin groove, the posterior part dies into the peripheric groove. The fovea is located at 1/3 of the cephalothorax length. Sternum: consisting of 3 sclerotized parts: tritosternum with a round base and projecting anteriorly between pedipalp coxa in an elongated, forked tubercle, a little over 3 times longer than wide, with 2 apical (1 on each prong of the fork), 2 middle and 2 basal setae; middle piece about 2/3 length of tritosternum, rounded, convex, anteriorly with 2 strong setae, and 2 setulae laterally and 1 posteriorly; third sclerite rounded and convex, about the same size as second sclerite, with 2 large setae positioned centrally.

Abdomen: oblong with delicate almost indistinguishable punctuations.

Chelicera: bearing four internal teeth. Proximal one very big (about 2 times longer than wider), 2 median teeth-spines like- about half size of proximal one; distal teeth about 2/3 of proximal teeth, bifid, with distal cusp larger ( Figure 1 g). Claw with 5 teeth.

Legs with many setae; length of I>III>IV>II, tibia I with 23 articles, tarsus I with 37 articles. Leg IV, basitibia: divided into 2 pseudo-articles, one trichobothria on the first pseudo-article, and one at the last one; distitibia: 3 basal trichobothria and 13 distal (sf with 5 trichobothria, s c with 5, and the 3 terminal (tf, tm and tc) ( Figure 2). Basitibia-distitibia length: BT1>DT>BT2; distitarsus tetramerous. Genitalia: Posterior margin of the genital operculum rounded with few setae. Female gonopods rounded, sucker-like and small. Without finger like appendage and with few setae along its posterior edge.

Color: alive: Cephalothorax and pedipalps: brownish with chelicerae and the tip of the pedipalp spines reddish. Legs: brownish with lighter articulations. Abdomen: dark-brown, with apical black stripe. Ethanol: same colors than alive but fader ( Figure 3).

Measurements (in mm). Holotype: Cephalothorax: length: 2.62, width: 3.71; Pedipalp: femur: 2.57, tibia: 2.17, basitarsus: 0.88, distitarsus: 0.48, tarsal claw: 0.39.

Description of the male. Same as female, except that it possesses elongated pedipalps, which bear on the tibia, ventrally two spines and a fade setiferous tubercle, and a fourth spine (half the size of the third one) on the ventral side of the pedipalp femur (like one of the female paratypes).

Male gonopods: soft structure V shaped with sclerotized regions in its base. LoL1 larger than LoD and LoD larger than LoL2. LoL1 and LoL2 with sclerotised region on their inner surface. Pi and LaM almost of the same size.

Measurements (in mm). Paratype male: Cephalothorax: length: 2.42, width: 3.20; Pedipalp: femur: 3.95, tibia: 4.45, basitarsus: 0.95, distitarsus and tarsal claw: 1.20.

Distribution records. North of French Guiana.

Type material. HOLOTYPE ♀: Guyane Française, 97315, Barrage de Petit Saut, III/2013, into a nest of Neocapritermes taracua . D. Sillam-Dussès leg. [ BMNH]. PARATYPES: 1♀ 1♂ same data as the holotype. [Female in AMNH, Male in BMNH]. 1♀ same data as the holotype, but in Spinitermes sp. nests. [ CPOM]. 1♀ 1♂ Guyane Française, 97315, Barrage de Petit Saut, III/2014, in Embiratermes neotenicus nests. [CFR].

Figures

FIGURE 1. Differences between C. sillami and C. bromeliaea; a – d and g – h, holotype of C. sillami: a: C. sillami, left pedipalp tibia; b: C. sillami, left pedipalp femur; c: C. sillami, cephalothorax; d: C. sillami (male paratype), cephalothorax; e: C. bromeliaea, pedipalp tibia and femur; f: C. bromeliaea, cephalothorax; g: C. sillami, chelicerae; h: C. sillami (female paratype), cephalothorax; the arrows point the differences between C. sillami and C. bromeliaea.