Agathocranaus innocens, Orrico & Kury, 2009

Orrico, Victor G. D. & Kury, Adriano B., 2009, A cladistic analysis of the Stygnicranainae Roewer, 1913 (Arachnida, Opiliones, Cranaidae) - where do longipalp cranaids belong?, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 157 (3), pp. 470-494 : 481-482

AGATHOCRANAUS INNOCENS SP. NOV. ( FIGS 14–19 )

Type locality: Ecuador (North). WWF Ecoregion unknown .

Diagnosis: Dorsal scutum type alpha with very smooth ornamentation in all scutal areas including ocularium. The pedipalpal tibia forming a subchela and dorsally covered with coarse granulation.

Description: Male holotype: Dorsum ( Figs 14–15 ). Dorsal scutum type alpha of Kury, Villarreal & Costa (2007); carapace only a little smaller than abdominal scutum. Posterior border of scutum substraight. Cheliceral sockets very shallow with a small median tooth. Anterolateral corners of carapace with three teeth on each side, all at pedipalpus level. Frontal border of carapace somewhat swollen. All other borders smooth except for the posterior corners with two small setiferous tubercles on each side. Ocularium low, convex, with a pair of stout, paramedian erect (lateral view), slightly divergent (frontal view), extremely small spines with sharp points, otherwise smooth. Carapace smooth with minute granules behind ocularium. Grooves of scutum well marked, defining a mesotergum with three areas; original area IV completely fused with area III. All areas unarmed with a transverse row of granules. Scutal area II projecting anteriorly into area I dividing it into left and right halves. Area I with a row of four setiferous tubercles each side. Area II with a transverse row of five setiferous tubercles on each side. Area III with two pairs of the same type of tubercle, paramedian, slightly larger than the others found in dorsal scutum, the posterior area bears a row of eight granules that marks what would be area IV. Single ozopore opening laterally at the tip of a dorsolateral low protuberance. Free tergites I– III smooth, except for a pair of paramedian tubercles each that increase from I to III. Free tergite 3 with a row of acuminate small tubercules, of which the paramedian ones are small blunt spines. Their corners each bear a granule. Venter. Coxa I with a row of blunt tubercles. Coxae II – III smooth, except for a transverse row of setiferous tubercles each. Intercoxal bridges well developed. Coxa III fused by intercoxal bridges to coxa IV. Coxae I– III subrectangular, transverse. Coxa IV the largest, almost equalling the other three taken together, shape lanceolate and pentagonal, divergent posteriorly. Stigmatic area long, Y-shaped. Stigmata moderately large, elongate elliptic, clearly apparent, not hidden by any bridges or tubercles, each occupying one-fifth of the area. Stigmata completely transverse as opposed to the stigmata of the Stygnicranaus genus. Maxillary lobes of coxa II clearly visible. Chelicera. Basichelicerite long, with bulla attenuate, with a dorsomedial basal small curved spine in the basis of the bulla. Hand not swollen, with two frontal rows of granules. Pedipalpus ( Figs 16–17 ). Very elongate with tibia and tarsus forming a subchela. Coxa large, conical, with a ventral row of small tubercles. Trochanter cylindrical with typical sub-basal constriction, incrassated with small curved spines and two ventral setiferous tubercles. Femur as long as dorsal scutum, thicker at distal third, with dorsoapical tubercles and a ventromesal subapical row of setiferous tubercles. Patella length about half the femur length, thicker at distal third, with minute dorsal granules. Tibia as long as patella, cylindrical with three ectal (iIi) and three mesal (IIi) spines, dorsally covered with coarse granulation. Tarsus fusiform, slightly shorter than tibia, with six ectal (iIiiIi) and 12 mesal (iIiiiiiiIiii) spines and bearing a ventromesal row of setiferous tubercles. Tarsal claw almost as long as tarsus. Legs. All segments slender and unarmed. Relative length I < III < IV < II. Dorsobasal apophyses of coxae I– II close to the ozopore: coxa I anterior and posterior spiniform, posterior small, directed backwards; coxa II anterior spiniform, posterior as a lobe joining coxa III. Coxa IV hidden under dorsal scutum in dorsal view, with prolateral dorsoapical spiniform apophysis and dorsal granules, also bearing a ventroretrolateral apical apophysis applied against free sternite I. Trochanters I– III with a few prolateral and retrolateral setiferous tubercles. Trochanter IV with scarce setiferous tubercles and no apophyses. All femora straight and without spurs. Tarsi III –IV with unpectinated double claws and well-developed tarsal process (‘pseudonychium’). Colour. Body background dorsal Moderate Reddish Orange with varied Brilliant Orange mottling. Carapace and all appendages more or less the same background colour as the scutum, with darker reticulation. Genitalia ( Figs 18– 19 ). Ventral plate subrectangular with shallow lateromedial and marked anterior constrictions in dorsal view. Setae of ventral plate divided into two groups, distal and medial, on each side. Distal group with four helicoidal setae, all closely grouped. Medial group with two substraight setae, both directed lateroposteriorly. Follis measuring about two-thirds of the ventral plate maximum length, extending from truncus tip to the anterior border of ventral plate, with shallow folds in the basal portion. Stylus straight with capellum, crescent-shaped, presenting a large, ventral beak.

Type material: ♂ holotype ( AMNH) Ecuador (North) September 1977, L. E. Peña col.

Etymology: From the Latin innocens (= harmless), referring to the delicate appearance and lack of the heavy spination typical of its counterpart, Stygnicranaus and also consonant with the generic name.

Female: Unknown.

Figures

Figures 14–15. Agathocranaus innocens sp. nov., male holotype (AMNH) from Ecuador. Habitus. Fig. 14. Dorsal view. Fig. 15. Lateral view. Scale bars = 3 mm.

Figures 16–17. Agathocranaus innocens sp. nov., male holotype (AMNH). Fig. 16. Left pedipalpus, ectal view. Fig. 17. Right pedipalpus, mesal view. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figures 18–19. Agathocranaus innocens sp. nov., male holotype (AMNH) from Ecuador. Penis, distal portion. Fig. 18. Dorsal view. Fig. 19. Lateral view. Arrows indicate capellum. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.