Ananteris martensi, Lourenço, 2021

Lourenço, Wilson R., 2021, Some additional comments on theAnanteridae or ‘ Ananteris group’ and description of a new species of Ananteris Thorell from Central Brazil (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Zootaxa 4984 (1), pp. 347-356 : 348-353

Ananteris martensi sp. n.

Figs 2 –7,9,11–12,15

Type material. BRAZIL: Goiás: Holotype male, Pirénopolis , 15°51’09.2” S, 48°54’05.6” W, 840 m, humid gallery forest ( Figs 16–17 ), Marcelo Lovato leg. 14.10.2018 ( MNRJ).

Name. The specific name honours Dr J. Martens (Mainz) for his significant contribution to the study of arachnids; name in the genitive case.

Diagnosis. Species of moderate size when compared with the average size of the other species of the genus. Male 24.1 mm in total length. General coloration dark brown over body and appendages; pedipalps and legs with conspicuous yellow surfaces; chelicerae yellow with a variegated pigmentation covering only the anterior and lateral edges. Pedipalps moderately long and slender; fixed and movable fingers of pedipalps with 6-6 rows of granules; the first row on fixed finger represented by only 2-3 granules; male pectines with respectively 17-17 teeth. Carapace, tergites and metasomal segments strongly granulated; telson weakly granulated, almost smooth, with a few granules on the ventral carina; slender and elongated. Trichobothrial pattern of the type A-Beta, orthobothriotaxic with femur trichobothrium e 1 in a proximal position in relation to d 5; patella trichobothria esb 1,2 not at the same level, with esb 2 in a proximal position.

Description. Male (holotype).

Coloration: The general coloration is dark-brown marked with yellow spots; lateral pleura only slightly pigmented. Prosoma: carapace dark brown with some yellow spots on its entire surface; eyes surrounded by black pigment. Mesosoma dark brown with conspicuous confluent yellow spots. Metasomal segments I to V reddish yellow; all segments marked with diffused brown spots; spots less intensely marked on segments IV and V. Vesicle reddish yellow without darker zones; base of the aculeus reddish-yellow with a red tip. Venter yellow; sternites V–VII with diffused brownish spots laterally, more conspicuous on VII; anterior zone of coxapophysis marked with brown spots. Chelicerae yellow with reticular dark brown spots on the anterior and lateral edges only; yellow with dark spots; teeth reddish. Pedipalps dark brown with yellow spots; chela with yellow fingers. Legs brownish with conspicuous yellow spots.

Morphology: Carapace with an intense granulation; anterior margin not emarginated, with a minute central convexity. Anterior median superciliary and posterior median carinae weak. All furrows moderate to weak. Median ocular tubercle distinctly anterior to the centre of the carapace; median eyes large and separated by approximately one ocular diameter. Three pairs of lateral eyes. Sternum subpentagonal. Mesosoma: tergites with an intense granulation. Median carina moderate in all tergites. Tergite VII pentacarinate. Venter: genital operculum divided longitudinally, each plate more or less semi-oval in shape. Pectines: pectinal tooth count 17- 17 in male; basal middle lamellae of the pectines not dilated; fulcra absent. Sternites almost smooth; spiracles weakly elongate; setation weak; sternite VII with moderately marked carinae and some granulations. Metasomal segment I with 10 carinae, strongly crenulate. Segments II to IV with 8 carinae, strongly crenulate. Intercarinal spaces moderately to strongly granular. Segment V slightly rounded with 5 carinae. Telson strongly elongated and slender, almost smooth; ventral carina moderately marked with some granules; aculeus long and moderately curved; subaculear tooth strong and spinoid. Cheliceral dentition characteristic of the family Buthidae ( Vachon 1963) ; fixed finger with two strong basal teeth; movable finger with two well marked basal teeth; ventral aspect of both finger and manus with dense, long setae. Pedipalps: femur pentacarinate; patella and chela with moderate to weak carinae; internal face of patella with 5-6 minute spinoid granules; all faces moderately to weakly granular. Fixed and movable fingers with 6-6 almost linear rows of granules; the first row on fixed finger represented by only 2-3 granules; two small external and one internal accessory granule present at the base of each row; three conspicuous granules in the extremity of the fingers; Trichobothriotaxy; orthobothriotaxy A-β-beta ( Vachon 1974, 1975); femur trichobothrium e 1 in a proximal position in relation to d 5; patella trichobothria esb 1,2 not at the same level, with esb 2 in a proximal position. Legs: tarsus with very numerous fine median setae ventrally. Tibial spurs strongly developed on legs III and IV.

Comparative morphometric values ( Ananteris balzanii from Urucum, Brazil / holotype male of Ananteris martensi n. sp.)

Total length including the telson, 20.1/24.1. Carapace: length 2.3/2.6; anterior width 1.5/1.7; posterior width 2.3/2.6. Mesosoma length: 5.1/6.4. Metasomal segments. I: length 1.3/1.5, width 1.3/1.5; II: length 1.4/1.7, width 1.2/1.4; III: length 1.6/1.9, width 1.2/1.4; IV: length 2.1/2.5, width 1.2/1.4; V: length, 3.3/4.0, width 1.1/1.3, depth 1.2/1.3. Telson length 3.0/3.5; vesicle: width 0.6/0.8, depth 0.6/0.6. Pedipalp: femur length 2.0/2.4, width 0.6/0.8; patella length 2.4/2.9, width 0.8/1.0; chela length 3.2/3.9, width 0.5/0.6, depth 0.4/0.5. Movable finger length 2.3/2.8.

Relationships. A. martensi n. sp. can be associated with A. balzanii Thorell , described from the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, but also present in the state of Goiás (see Lourenço, 2020), and also to Ananteris mariaterezae ( Lourenço 1982) only known from its type locality, a dry-forest in the Bananal Island, Brazil. The new species can be distinguished from the other two by a number of features: (i) a different pattern of pigmentation; spots more intensely marked on the ventral aspect of the pedipalps; telson and metasomal segment V much less spotted; anterior zone of coxapophysis spotted; reticular dark brown spots on chelicerae covering only the anterior and lateral edges ( Fig. 15 ); the pigmentation pattern of chelicerae being a key character in the identification of Ananteris species ( Lourenço, 1982) , (ii) male telson slender and longer than that in A. balzanii , (iii) carapace and tergites more intensely granular than in A. balzanii , (iv) the position of some trichobothria is distinct; femur trichobothrium e 1 in a proximal position in relation to d 5; patella trichobothria esb 1,2 not at the same level, with esb 2 in a proximal position ( Figs 2–8 ).

Ecological notes. The central region of Brazil is covered mainly by open vegetation formations, namely the Cerrados formations ( Eiten 1978). These open formations are not however uniform and can be divided in a number of natural physiognomies, from pure grassland called ‘Campo-Limpo’, through several densities and heights of savanna in a more strict sense, with shrubs called ‘Campo-Sujo’ or with low trees called ‘Campo-Cerrado’; closed scrubs with tree-and-scrub woodlands in which the trees do not form a continuous canopy, ‘cerrado strict sense’, and finally arboreal woodlands with closed tree canopy, called ‘Cerradão’ ( Eiten 1982). The different Ananteris species described from this region can however be located in precise gradients of the Cerrados, as for example under termite mounds of Silvestritermes euamignathus (Silvestri) , for A. balzanii or in dry forest formations and under stones for A. mariaterezae in the Bananal Island ( Lourenço 1981, 1982). The new species described here was found in a Humid Gallery Forest formation which generally borders small streams in the lower portions of the cerrado’s relief, nearby gradients of Campo-Limpo ( Figs 16–17 ).

Figures

FIGURE 16. Typical vegetation of a Campo-Sujo formation with termite mounds of Silvestritermes euamignathus (Silvestri); in the lower portion of the relief a typical humid gallery forest can be observed.

FIGURE 17. Humid gallery forest formation, natural habitat of Ananteris martensi sp. n., bordered by a small stream in the lower portion of the cerrado’s relief, surrounded by the Campo-Limpo gradient.

FIGURES 2–8. Trichobothrial pattern (2–7 Ananteris martensi sp. n., holotype male; 8 Ananteris mariaterezae, holotype female). 2–3 Femur (2 dorsal, 3 internal). 4–5 Chela (4 dorso-external, 5 ventral). 6–8 Patella (6 dorsal, 7–8 external). Scale: 1 mm.

FIGURES 13-15. Chelicera, dorsal aspect, showing pigmentation patterns (13 Ananteris balzanii, female; 14 Ananteris mariaterezae, holotype female; 15 Ananteris martensi sp. n., holotype male). Scales: 0.5 mm.