Sarax pakistanus ( Weygoldt, 2005 ) Miranda & Giupponi & Prendini & Scharff, 2021

Miranda, Gustavo Silva de, Giupponi, Alessandro P. L., Prendini, Lorenzo & Scharff, Nikolaj, 2021, Systematic revision of the pantropical whip spider family Charinidae Quintero, 1986 (Arachnida, Amblypygi), European Journal of Taxonomy 772, pp. 1-409 : 226-227

Sarax pakistanus ( Weygoldt, 2005) comb. nov.

Figs 135 , 144 ; Table 9

Charinus pakistanus Weygoldt, 2005: 6–8 , figs 10–15.

Charinus pakistanus – Blick & Seiter 2016: 590.

Diagnosis

This species may be separated from other species of Sarax in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia by the following combination of characters: distal margin of female genital operculum with small median projection; ventral sac cover absent; female gonopod finger-like, with slender apex; sexual dimorphism in pedipalps apparently absent; pedipalp patella with large dorsal spine, not setiferous tubercle, distal to spine I, two-thirds length of spine I, two ventral spines, and one seta between spine I and distal margin ( Fig. 144E–F ); pedipalp tibia with base of two dorsal spines situated very close to each other; leg IV basitibia with three articles.

Sarax pakistanus comb. nov. resembles S. bengalensis comb. nov. but bears more teeth on the cheliceral claw, more spines on the pedipalp, and the eyes are not as developed, than the latter.

Etymology

An adjective referring to Pakistan, the country in which the type locality is situated ( Weygoldt 2005).

Type material

Holotype PAKISTAN • ♂; Malkandi , between Kawai and Mahandri, Kaghan Valley, Mansehra District; [34°41′15″ N, 73°26′58.75″ E]; 1500 m a.s.l.; 3 Jun. 1983; C. Besuchet and I. Löbl leg.; sifting leaves and old stumps in hardwood forest; MHNG.

Paratypes PAKISTAN • 3 ♀♀, 2 ♂♂; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [former North-West Frontier Province], ca 1.5 km N of Islamabad; 33°44.3′ N, 73°03′ E; ca 800 m a.s.l.; 10 Jul. 2003; S.V. Ovchinnikov leg.; forest, under stones; SMF 40168 .

Supplementary description

CARAPACE. Median eyes and median ocular tubercle reduced ( Fig. 144A ); frontal process with rounded apex ( Fig. 144C ); one seta, not pair, posterior to median eyes; lateral eyes well developed, one seta posterior to lateral ocular triad; lateral ocular triad well separated from margin of carapace.

STERNUM. Tritosternum projected anteriorly with typical setation ( Fig. 144B ); other sternal platelets small, rounded and convex, with pair of setae anteriorly; pentasternum with two setae anteriorly and without seta in membranous region.

OPISTHOSOMA. Ventral sacs and ventral sac cover absent.

GENITALIA. Posterior margin of female genital operculum with small median projection; gonopod fingerlike, with slender apex, unsclerotized basally. Male gonopod sclerotized along entire margin of fistula and ventrally, near margin of genital operculum; lateral lobe 1 sclerotized apically; lateral lobe 2 not fimbriate.

CHELICERAE. Small, flat tooth projecting from retrolateral surface of basal segment, opposite to bifid tooth; retrolateral surface of claw with two patches of setae, basally and subdorsally; claw with eight teeth; row of eight setae on prolateral surface of basal segment; bifid tooth on basal segment with dorsal cusp larger than ventral cusp.

PEDIPALPS. Coxae with seta encircled by round carina and four setae on margin. Femur with four dorsal spines and four ventral spines ( Fig. 144E–F ); two setiferous tubercles between spine 1 and proximal margin. Patella with three dorsal spines and two prominent setiferous tubercles proximal to spine 3; large spine distal to spine I, two-thirds length of spine I; three ventral spines; prominent setiferous tubercle between spine I and distal margin. Tibia with base of two dorsal spines situated very close to each other; three ventral spines distally and seta between spine and distal margin. Tarsus with two dorsal spines, distal spine long, more than half length of tarsus, proximal spine two-thirds length of distal spine ( Fig. 144D ); cleaning organ with 30–34 setae in ventral row.

LEGS. Tibia of leg I with 21 articles; tarsus I with 35 articles; first tarsal article slightly longer than second (mean length of first article: 0.32 mm; mean length of second article: 0.22 mm, n =3). Leg IV basitibia with three pseudo-articles, trichobothrium bt situated in proximal third of pseudo-article; distitibia trichobothrium bc situated closer to bf than to s bf, sc and sf series with five trichobothria; proximal-most trichobothria of sc and sf aligned.

Measurements

See Table 9.

Distribution

Known only from the type localities.

Natural history

The known specimens were collected under stones and tree stumps, and by sifting leaf litter in forest.

Remarks

The specimen labeled “ holotype ” in the vial is male not female, as indicated in the original description by Weygoldt (2005), and the paratypes are 3 ♀♀, 2 ♂♂, again contrary to the original description.

This species was originally described in the genus Charinus and is hereby transferred to Sarax based on the phylogenetic analyses of Miranda et al. (2021).

The male gonopod of S. pakistanus comb. nov. is completely different from all other species in the family. Detailed SEM images are needed for comparison with the genitalia of other charinids.

Figures

Fig. 135. Map plotting known distributions of species of Sarax Simon, 1892 in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

Fig. 144. Sarax pakistanus (Weygoldt, 2005) comb. nov. (MHNG), general morphology,♂. A. Carapace, dorsal view. B. Sternum, ventral view. C. Frontal process. D. Pedipalp tarsus, frontal view. E. Pedipalp, dorsal view. F. Pedipalp, ventral view. Scale bars: A–B, E–F = 1 mm; C = 0.1 mm; D = 0.5 mm.