Eusarcus dandara, Saraiva, Nícolas Eugenio De Vasconcelos & Dasilva, Marcio Bernardino, 2016

Saraiva, Nícolas Eugenio De Vasconcelos & Dasilva, Marcio Bernardino, 2016, Event-based biogeography of Eusarcus dandara sp. nov. (Opiliones: Gonyleptidae), an endemic species of the Northern Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil, and its closely related species, Zootaxa 4205 (6), pp. 532-548 : 539-542

Eusarcus dandara sp. nov.

( Figs 6 , 7 )

Type material. Holotype. BRAZIL: Alagoas: male, Murici: Estação Biológica de Murici , 11–18.xii.2009, C. Sampaio, A. Giupponi, A. Chagas-Junior ( MNRJ 7055 ). Paratype . BRAZIL: Alagoas: male Ibateguara: Mata de Coimbra, Usina Serra Grande , 1 beta male, 13.ii.2012, A. M. DeSouza, M. B. DaSilva, P. H. Pozzi (Col. UFPB-OP 454).

Diagnosis. This species can be distinguished from the other seven species that compose the analyzed clade ( Fig. 3 C, D) by the presence of a developed coxa IV that is visible along its entire length in dorsal view ( Fig. 6 A, C), a larger distance from the anterior carapace margin to the edge of the eye in lateral view ( Fig. 6 B), a retroventral apical spine on femur IV ( Fig. 6 E) and penis with a longitudinally flat apical stylus ( Fig. 7 ).

Etymology. Noun in apposition in honor of Dandara (?–1694), a leader of Quilombo dos Palmares, Alagoas, the famous refuge in which black slaves lived after escaping from Portuguese landlords in northeastern Brazil. She is a symbol of female black resistance in Brazil. Quilombo dos Palmares was located in the forested region in which the new species is endemic.

Description. Male holotype (MNRJ 7055). Dorsum: Scute length 5.6; scute width 4.9. Presence of paracheliceral projection, median paracheliceral projection the same size as the lateral projections ( Fig. 6 A). Ocularium far from the anterior margin of the carapace, tall, with a pair of terminal spines half the height of the ocularium, with two large and three smaller tubercles ( Fig. 6 A, B). Carapace with 44 scattered tubercles. Tubercles from all scutal areas of similar size. Area I medially divided with 27 tubercles. Area II with 37 tubercles, III with 48 scattered tubercles and a large median spine curved along its length and reaching the posterior limit of area IV in dorsal view. Area IV with 30 tubercles. Posterior margin of the dorsal scutum with 26 tubercles arranged in two rows, 21 tubercles in the outer and larger row, five in the inner, smaller row. Free tergites I–III with 20, 16, and 17 tubercles, respectively, arranged in a row on each segment. Anal operculum with 23 scattered tubercles. Lateral margin of dorsal scute with an external row of tubercles increasing in size posteriorly, and small scattered inner tubercles.

Pedipalp: Trochanter ventrally with two tubercles. Femur ventrally with three aligned tubercles: basal, median, and apical. Tibial setation ectal IiIi, mesal IiIi. Tarsal setation ectal IiIi, mesal Iii.

Legs: femur IV 5.6; leg I 11.4; leg II 21.8; leg III 15.4; leg IV 23.3. Coxa IV densely granulated, well developed, dorsally visible along its length, with one conic, pointed, oblique prolateral apical apophysis ( Fig. 6 A, C). Trochanter IV with one conic, dorsally curved, prolateral median apophysis ( Fig. 6 C, D). All femurs with a variable number of dorsal tubercles. Femur I with a ventral row of slightly enlarged prolateral tubercles in its distal third. Femurs II–IV with prodorsal apical spine and retrodorsal apical spine, ventrally with two rows of retro and prolateral tubercles increasing in size posteriorly in its distal third, with the prolateral row larger. Femur II with one larger apical tubercle on each ventral row; reduced prodorsal apical spine and retrodorsal apical spine. Femur III slightly dorsally curved, a reduced prodorsal apical spine, a retrodorsal apical spine, and ventral rows with an apical tubercle. Femur IV moderately dorsally curved, a small prodorsal apical spine, retrodorsal apical spine, and ventral rows of tubercles with one apical spine ( Fig. 6 D–F). Tibia IV with two rows of ventral tubercles, which increase slightly in size distally, prolateral row slightly larger than retrolateral row ( Fig. 6 G–I). Tarsal segmentation: 6, 8, 6, 6.

Penis: Ventral plate differentiated in relation to truncus; lateral margin slightly concave, apical and basal portions of equal size, and apical margin straight ( Fig. 7 A). Macrosetae: A1–3 curved slightly downward in a longitudinal row, A1 with a broader apex, and B basal smaller; C1–3 similar in size to A, positioned distally, C3 highly curved, C1–2 slightly curved; D long and thin positioned medially. Stylus flat and wide with apex slightly inflated ( Fig. 7 B). Ventral process slightly smaller than the stylus, long, shaped as a simple tube curved dorsally, apex blunt. Base of ventral plate and apicodorsal part of the truncus very robust in lateral view.

Coloration: Brown with darker brown on the edge of the body and portions of the prosoma. Prosoma with brown spots the color of the body.

Variation in males (n=1): Measurements: SL 4.75; SW 3.96; femur IV 4.94; leg I 8.84; leg II 17.34; leg III 13.77; leg IV 19.56. Smaller beta male; holotype is an alpha male. Carapace with 36 scattered tubercles, ocularium with two large tubercles and two small ones. Area I with 8–10 tubercles on each side. Area III with 36 tubercles, with a median spine curved along its length and reaching the posterior limit of area IV in dorsal view. Lateral margin with an external row of very small tubercles of similar size. Posterior margin with two rows of tubercles, 18 in distal row, three in inner row. Free tergites I–III with 17, 9, and 10 tubercles, respectively, arranged in a row. Anal operculum with 12 scattered tubercles. Tarsal setation: mesal Iii/III, ectal IiIi/IiII. Coxa IV only dorsally visible apically. Tarsal segmentation: 6, 7, 6, 6. Coloration darker compared to holotype specimen.

Female: Unknown.

Remarks. Eusarcus dandara sp. nov. resembles: E. sooretamae ( Soares & Soares, 1946) , and E. aduncus by the presence of area III spine curved along its length; the seven species of the group in which its included ( Fig. 3 C, D) by the presence a short prolateral apical apophysis of coxa IV; E. aduncus , E. cavernicola , E. elinae , E. sergipanus Hara & Pinto-da-Rocha, 2010 , and E. berlae ( Mello-Leitão, 1932) by the presence of a small retrodorsal apical spine on femur IV; its general clade ( Fig. 2 C, D), except E. sergipanus , by the blunt apex on the ventral process of the penis; to E. aduncus and E. cavernicola by the slightly concave lateral curvature of the ventral plate of penis; and E. berlae by the presence of the ventral plate of penis with its apical portion wider than the basal portion.

Figures

FIGURE 2. The area cladograms used in the event analysis, TASS (A), BPA (B) (DaSilva et al., 2015 b). PE = Pernambuco; Serg = Sergipe; SEsp = Serra do Espinhaço; BA = Bahia; ES = Espirito Santo; SMSP = Serra do Mar de São Paulo; LSRJ = Litoral Norte de São Paulo; Mnt = Serra da Mantiqueira; Boc = Serra da Bocaina; Org = Serra dos Órgãos; SC = Santa Catarina; PR = Paraná; SSP = Sul de São Paulo; Cha = Chapada Diamantina; Cerr = Cerrado.

FIGURE 3. (A) Phylogenetic hypotheses of Eusarcus species; the alternative topologies for the clade marked with a single asterisk, which includes the new species, are presented in B, C and D; the alternatives to the polytomy, marked with two asterisks, are discussed in Hara & Pinto-da-Rocha (2010).

FIGURE 6. Holotype of Eusarcus dandara sp. nov. (MNRJ 7055). (A) Dorsal scutum, habitus; (B) Dorsal scutum, left lateral view; (C) Right coxa and trochanter IV, dorsal view; (D) Right femur IV, dorsal view; (E) Right femur IV, ventral view; (F) Right femur IV, lateral view; (G) Right tibia IV dorsal view; (H) Right tibia IV, ventral view. (I) Right tibia IV, lateral view. Scale 1 mm.

FIGURE 7. Male paratype genitalia (Col. UFPB-OP 454). (A) Dorsal view; (B) Lateral view. Scale 50 µm.