Zygonopus weyeriensis Causey

Shear, William A., 2010, 2385, Zootaxa 2385, pp. 1-62 : 34-35

Zygonopus weyeriensis Causey

Figs. 43–47, Map 3

Zygonopus weyeriensis Causey 1960:75 , figs. 4–7.

Zygonopus whitei, Packard 1883:194 .

Types: Male holotype ( AMNH) from Grand Caverns, 20 November 1958, collected by O. P. Estes.

Diagnosis: Closest to Z. whitei in the strikingly large sixth legpair, but easily distinguished by the lack of the characteristic strong, curved gonopod setae of that species and the longer, thinner divisions of the angiocoxite.

Etymology: The species name refers to the type locality; Grand Caverns was earlier known as Weyer’s (pronounced “weers”) Cave.

Male from Grand Caverns, Virginia: Length, 10 mm, width, 0.75 mm. Eyeless, unpigmented. Pregonopodal legs as described for Z. whitei ; legpair 6 ( Fig. 45) very much enlarged, femora nearly spherical. Gonopods ( Fig. 46) with moderate vestiture of short, scale-like trichomes over anterior surface; inner coxal angle obtuse (margin not smooth); angiocoxites deeply divided, lateral branch about twice as wide as median branch, with 3–5 short, straight setae. Colpocoxites subglobular, not meeting in midline; fimbriate branches short but easily seen in anterior and posterior views. Ninth legpair ( Fig. 47) as usual. Tenth and eleventh coxae with glands.

Female from Grand Caverns, Virginia: Length, 11 mm, width, 0.9 mm. Nonsexual characters as in male.

Distribution: See Map 3 for selected records. Each of the following records verified by the examination of at least one male. VIRGINIA: Augusta Co. : Grand Caverns (Weyer’s Cave), 20 January 1958, P. Estes (FSCA); Madison Cave, no date or collector (FSCA); Madison’s Saltpetre Cave, 5 March 1980, J. Holsinger et al.. (VMNH). Bath Co: Boundless Cave, 10 July 1967, J. Holsinger (FSCA), Breathing Cave Branch of Butler Cave, 28 August 1958, T. Barr (AMNH); Porter’s Cave, no date or collector (FSCA); Starr Chapel Cave, no date or collector (FSCA). Rockbridge Co.: Graham’s Cave, December 1970, J. Tichenor (VMNH). WEST VIRGINIA: Greenbrier Co.: General Davis Cave, 1 September 1975, G. Corbett (VMNH); Greenbrier Caverns System, 27 August 1966, G. Maus, S. Bauer (FSCA); Higgenbotham Cave, 17 August 1959, T. C. Barr (FSCA); Ludington Cave, 24 January 1962, J. Holsinger (FSCA); McClung Cave, 23 March 1966, G. Conrad (FSCA); McLaughlin-Unus Cave, 14 August 1966, J. Holsinger, B. Rogers (FSCA); The Hole, 27 January 1965, WVACS (FSCA). Pendleton Co.: Mystic Cave, 3 August 1958, 7 April 1962, T. Barr (FSCA). Pocahontas Co.: Linwood Cave, 22 August 1966, J. Holsinger (FSCA); Cass Cave, 14 October 1961, L. Conrad, J. Holsinger (FSCA).

Literature Records: Holsinger (1963, 1982) reported the species from Billy Williams Cave, Rockbridge Co., VIRGINIA, and from Arbuckle, Benedict’s, Culverson Creek, Organ, and Wade’s Caves, Greenbrier Co., WEST VIRGINIA. Holsinger, Baroody and Culver (1976) have weyeriensis from Hunt Cave, Monroe Co., WEST VIRGINIA, but this needs to be checked as it impinges on the distribution of Z. packardi . Fong et al. (2007) repeat some of the above records; particularly notable are more records from Pendleton Co.: Keel Spring Cave, Kenny Simmons Cave, and Pocahontas Co.: Cass Cave, Dreen Cave, Linwood Cave, My Cave. At least the Pendelton Co. records may refer to weyeriensis .

Notes: The records from Pendleton Co., West Virginia, seem out of place, well into the distributional area of Z. whitei in the South Branch Valley. I checked the specimens from Mystic Cave and Keel Spring Cave, and they are undoubtedly Z. weyeriensis . I have not seen the other specimens mentioned above as reported by Fong et al. (2007). Caves in Highland, Rockbridge, and Alleghany counties in Virginia need to be explored to clear up the full range of weyeriensis ; as it stands the Greenbrier Co., West Virginia, records are quite isolated from the Virginia records. However, there is little variation in the gonopods of the species.