Charinus tomasmicheli Armas, 2006

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 : 37-38

Charinus tomasmicheli Armas, 2006

Fig. 12 ; Table 1

Charinus tomasmicheli Armas, 2006a: 168–169 , figs 1–4.

Charinus tomasmicheli – Armas et al. 2009: 136; 2013a: 16. — Teruel & Questel 2015: 47. —Rodríguez- Cabrera & Teruel 2016: 1–7, figs 1–7. — Miranda et al. 2016b: 555, 557.

Diagnosis

Based on the description of a male byArmas (2006a), this species may be separated from other Caribbean and Central American Charinus by means of the following combination of characters: almost uniform light yellowish-brown color in life; median eyes and ocular tubercle absent; lateral eyes pigmented; tritosternum short and narrow with typical setation; bifid tooth of basal cheliceral segment with cusps equal in size; cheliceral claw with four teeth; pedipalp femur with three dorsal spines and three ventral spines; pedipalp femur with two setiferous tubercles proximal to first dorsal spine; pedipalp patella with three dorsal spines and two ventral spines; pedipalp patella with large setiferous tubercle between spine I and distal margin; pedipalp tarsus with two dorsal spines; tibia of leg I with 21 articles, tarsus I with 37 articles; first tarsal article same length as subsequent articles; leg IV basitibia with three pseudoarticles; trichobothrium bt situated in proximal third of distitibia; trichobothrium bc situated closer to sbf than to bf. Only adult males are known (all females are immature).

Charinus tomasmicheli occurs in the same mountain range as C. centralis , in which 23 tibial articles and 41 tarsal articles are present on leg I. Compared to other Cuban species, C. tomasmicheli possess the same number of articles on the tibia of leg I and the median eyes and ocular tubercle are absent as in C. cubensis and C. wanlessi . However, the leg I tarsus consists of 33 articles in C. wanlessi , whereas 37 articles are counted in C. tomasmicheli ; the first article of the leg I tarsus is around twice the length of the subsequent articles in C. cubensis , whereas these articles are about the same length in C. tomasmicheli . Charinus tomasmicheli is very similar to C. acosta , in which the median eyes are present and the cheliceral claw bears five teeth instead of four.

Etymology

Patronym honoring Tomás Michel Rodriguéz, one of the collectors of the type series ( Armas 2006a).

Type material

Holotype CUBA • ♂; Villa Clara Province, Manicaragua Municipality, Los Manantiales, Guamuhaya Massif , Los Manantiales-Tito cave ; 21°59′ N, 80°01′ W; 470 m a.s.l.; 11 Mar. 2005; T.M. Rodríguez and R. Chaviano leg.; on wall in dark area near stream; IES [not examined].

Paratypes CUBA • 1 ♂; same collection data as for holotype but 15 Oct. 2004; on an accumulation of sediments; IES [not examined] • 1 subad. ♀; same collection data as for holotype but 16 Oct. 2004; in small cavity in wall, twilight zone; IES [not examined] • 3 subad. ♀♀, 1 ♂, 1 juv. ♀; same locality as for holotype; 17 Feb. 2006; T.M. Rodríguez leg.; twilight zone; IES [not examined] .

Measurements

See Table 1 .

Distribution

Distributed in caves and forests in the Cuban provinces of Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, and Villa Clara.

Natural history

The type series was collected in the Los Manantiales-Tito Cave, in the twilight and dark zones. Specimens were caught on the ground and the walls. The proportionally longer legs in relation to the body suggest this species is troglobitic ( Armas 2006a). However, Armas (2013a) and Rodríguez-Cabrera & Teruel (2016) report finding C. tomasmicheli in a semi-dark vestibular zone and in epigean areas. Charinus tomasmicheli is sympatric with Paraphrynus viridiceps at most localities; at Caletón de Don Bruno, C. tomasmicheli is sympatric with Phrynus marginemaculatus and, at La Tatagua and Palma Sola, with Phrynus decoratus Teruel & Armas, 2005 ( Armas 2006a; Rodríguez-Cabrera & Teruel 2016).

Figures

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