Charinus cubensis ( Quintero, 1983 )

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 : 25-27

Charinus cubensis ( Quintero, 1983)

Figs 12 , 20 ; Table 1

Charinides cubensis Quintero, 1983: 26 , 29–31, figs 8a–e, 9e, 12c.

Charinus acosta – Miranda et al., 2016b: 546.

Charinides cubensis – Armas & Alayón García 1984: 6. — Weygoldt 1994: 244; 2000a: 43.

Charinus cubensis – Delle Cave 1986: 162, fig. II. — Weygoldt 1994: 244. — Ávila Calvo & Armas 1997: 31. — Armas 2000a: 138; 2004: 38–39; 2006b: 228, figs 6, 8a–b, 2013a: 16. — Armas & Ávila Calvo 2000: 292–293. — Harvey 2003: 5. — Teruel et al. 2009: 201–202, fig. 3. — Wolff et al. 2015: 525, 527, 529, 534, 538, figs 2c, 3i, 7. — Teruel & Questel 2015: 47. — Miranda et al. 2016b: 555, 557. — Gibbons et al. 2019: 498, fig. 1i.

Diagnosis

This species may be separated from other Caribbean and Central American Charinus by means of the following combination of characters: median ocular tubercle absent, median eyes with small black pigmentation spot below tegument ( Fig. 20A ); bifid tooth of cheliceral basal segment with dorsal cusp distinctly longer than ventral cusp; prolateral surface of cheliceral basal segment with row of around 10 setae; tibia of leg I with 21 articles, tarsus I with 37 articles; first tarsal article about 1.8 times as long as subsequent articles; leg IV basitibia with trichobothrium bc situated closer to bf than to sbf; leg IV distitibia sc and sf series each with five trichobothria.

Etymology

Adjective derived from the country to which the species is endemic, Cuba ( Quintero 1983).

Type material

Holotype CUBA • ♂; Guantánamo Province, Cueva La Majana ; 20°20′40″ N, 74°27′52″ W; ACC [now IES; L.F. de Armas, pers. com.; not deposited in collection according to Armas (2004, 2014)].

Paratypes CUBA • 2 ♀♀, 3 juv.; same collection data as for holotype; BMNH [not found in collection] .

Additional material

CUBA • 1 juv.; Baracoa Municipality: Alejandro de Humboldt National Park , near Yunque de Baracoa; 20°21′08.11″ N, 74°34′28.76″ W; USNM ENT 784829 • 2 juv. ♀♀; Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, area around station Bahia de Taco; 20°31′04.14″ N, 74°39′32.14″ W; Mar.–May 2012; CarBio team leg., USNM ENT 783165 , USNM ENT 783162 [both misidentified in Miranda et al. (2016a) as C. acosta ; specimens lack part of the carapace and all legs; it is now identified as C. cubensis based on the locality and the development of the eyes] • 1 ♀ [misidentified in Miranda et al. (2016a)]; Camagüey, Sierra de Cubitas, Limones , Tuabaquey Ecological Reserve , Boca de Miel ; 21°34′56.69″ N, 77°45′00.47″ W; Mar.–Apr. 2012; CarBio team leg.; USNM ENT 784407 • 1 juv. [missing opisthosoma]; same collection data as for preceding; USNM ENT 787694 • 1 juv. ♂ [missing leg I; median eyes similar to those of C. cubensis and locality close to previous]; Camagüey, Sierra de Cubitas, Limones , Tuabaquey Ecological Reserve ; 21°34′56.9″ N, 77°45′00.47″ W; Mar.–Apr. 2012; CarBio team leg.; USNM ENT 787692 • 1 juv.; Camagüey, Sierra de Cubitas, Limones , Tuabaquey Ecological Reserve ; 21°34′56.69″ N, 77°45′00.47″ W; Mar.–Apr. 2012; CarBio team leg.; CU19; USNM ENT 787692 .

Supplementary description

CARAPACE. Six anterior setae; frontal process triangular ( Fig. 20C ). Small granules densely scattered between ocular triads and among sulci. Median ocular tubercle absent, eyes rudimentary, reduced to pair of lenses with dark pigmentation beneath ( Fig. 20A ); lateral eyes well developed, seta posterior to each lateral ocular triad ( Fig. 20A ); lateral ocular triad well separated from carapace margin.

STERNUM. Tritosternum projected anteriorly with typical setation, long, surpassing base of pedipalp coxae ( Fig. 20B ); other sternal plaques small, rounded, divided, with pair of setae on lateral margins ( Fig. 20B ); pentasternum without seta near membranous region and two setae anteriorly.

OPISTHOSOMA. Ventral sacs and ventral sac cover absent.

GENITALIA. Female genital operculum with thin setae posteromedially and smaller setae near margin; gonopod cushion-like, with open atrial aperture, base of gonopods unsclerotized. Adult male not examined.

CHELICERAE. Small flat tooth on retrolateral surface of basal segment, opposite to bifid tooth; small row of setae on retrolateral surface of claw; claw with five teeth; row of around ten setae on prolateral surface of basal segment; bifid tooth in row of teeth on basal segment with dorsal cusp larger than or equal to ventral cusp.

PEDIPALPS. Coxal dorsal carina with three setae on anterior border and without seta encircled by round carina. Femur with three dorsal spines and three ventral spines ( Fig. 20E ); two prominent setiferous tubercles between dorsal spine 1 and proximal margin; setiferous tubercle between ventral spine 1 and proximal margin. Patella with three dorsal spines ( Fig. 20E ); prominent setiferous tubercle distal to spine I, one-third length of spine I; two ventral spines; setiferous tubercle between spine I and distal margin ( Fig. 20F ). Tibia with ventral spine distally and seta between spine and distal margin. Tarsus with two dorsal spines, proximal spine one-third length of distal spine, and distal spine two-third length of tarsus ( Fig. 20D ); cleaning organ with 28 setae in ventral row.

LEGS. Tibia of leg I with 21 articles; tarsus I with 37 articles; first tarsal article about twice length of second article. Leg IV basitibia with three pseudo-articles, without sclerotized, denticulate margin projecting from apex of articles; trichobothrium bt situated in proximal third of pseudo-article; distitibia trichobothrium situated bc closer to bf than to s bf, and sc and sf series each with five trichobothria.

Measurements

See Table 1 .

Distribution

Restricted to the north of Guantanamo Province and north of Camagüey, Cuba.

Natural history

Charinus cubensis is an epigean and troglophile species that inhabits the karstic coastal area between Baracoa and Maisí ( Teruel et al. 2009) and has been found in sympatry with Charinus acosta , Paraphrynus robustus (Franganillo, 1931) , Phrynus hispaniolae Armas & Perez Gonzalez, 2001 ( Armas 2006b, 2014).

Remarks

As noted above, C. cubensis and C. acosta share many similarities and, excepting the count of articles on the tarsus of leg I, the differences between these species are very subtle. The development of the median eyes may vary, especially in C. acosta , which in some specimens may be as reduced as in C. cubensis . The female genitalia of both species are also very similar, presenting a cushion-like surface with the opening of the genital atrium uncovered. Armas & Ávila Calvo (2000) analyzed topotypes of C. cubensis and stressed that, contrary to Quintero (1983), C. cubensis is more similar to C. wanlessi than to C. decu . However, the limits of these species remain confused. A detailed morphological (e.g., using SEM) and molecular study is required to establish the limits of the Cuban Charinus species.

Figures

Fig. 12. Map plotting known distributions of species of Charinus Simon, 1892 in the Caribbean and Central America.

Fig. 20. Charinus cubensis (Quintero, 1983) (USNM 784407), 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, E–F = 1 mm; B = 0.1 mm; C–D = 0.5 mm.