Taito curupira, Pinzón & Damron & Pinto-Da-Rocha, 2021

Pinzón, Conchita, Damron, Brittany & Pinto-Da-Rocha, Ricardo, 2021, Three new species of Cosmetidae C. L. Koch, 1839 from South America (Opiliones Cosmetidae), Zootaxa 4984 (1), pp. 203-217 : 212-215

Taito curupira spec. nov.

Figs 6–7

Type material. BRAZIL, Rondonia: Holotype male (MZSP 58149, penis prepared for SEM, afterwards preserved in a microvial with the holotype), Porto Velho, Abunã , 9°41’38.11”S, 65°21’23.13”W [99 m], A.M. Giroti leg. 31.1.2014.

Etymology. Noun in apposition, from Curupira, a traditional entity from inhabitants of Rondonia Brazilian forests, which protect the forest from human poachers.

Diagnosis. Dorsal scutum of male beta type slightly elongated. Color pattern H-shaped. Area III of dorsal scutum armed with a pair of blunt tubercles. Femur IV dorsally curved with medial retrolateral and prolateral tubercles. Trochanter IV with a prominent prolateral distal blunt apophysis.

Comparisons: Taito curupira spec. nov. can be differentiated from other species of Taito , except from T. honda , T. kakera and T. litteratus , by presence of color pattern H-shaped. It can be distinguished from the latter species by ornamentation of area III of dorsal scutum, which is armed with a pair of acuminated spines in T. honda and T. kakera , and in T. litteratus has a pair of minute tubercles, while T. curupira spec. nov. presents a pair of paramedian blunt tubercles.

Description. Measurements: CL: 2.1; CW: 2.5; DSL: 5.5; DSW: 4.4; Fe: 3.4, 7.2, 5.4, 6.0; Pa: 0.7, 1.3, 1.3, 1.1; Ti: 2.2, 5.7, 3.0, 4.7; Mt: 3.4, 6.8, 5.3, 8.0.

Color in ethanol: Body, pedipalps and chelicerae strong brown (55); legs dark orange yellow (72), drawing on dorsal scutum pale greenish yellow (104).

Dorsum ( Fig. 6A ): Outline of scutum beta-shaped, elongated. Anterior margin with two subrectangular lateral projections and one medial triangular projection. Low ocularium scarcely granulated, groove I well-marked. Grooves of abdomen poorly marked. Areas I and III with a paramedian pair of low and blunt tubercles, those on area III bigger. Free tergite zero present. Free tergites I-III unarmed. Body color pattern H-shaped with patches and a transverse line delimiting the posterior margin and free tergite zero.

Venter ( Fig. 6B ): Stigmatic area elongated. Cx I with a row of tubercles that begins at the prolateral apical portion and ends at the base of Cx II. Stomotheca bordered by setiferous granules and a large tubercle on each side. Anal plate with some minute granules.

Chelicerae: Basal segment with marginal tubercles bigger on basal and ectal margin, and with a triangular projection mesal-apically. Mobile finger of cheliceral hand with a longitudinal row with ten teeth of same size that do not reach extremes distally nor basally; fixed finger with four medial teeth.

Pedipalps ( Figs 6D–E ): Tr with a basal ventral large projection almost acuminate and with a rounded ventral, apical apophysis. Fe dorsal margin with three medial tubercles, ventral margin with a row of small tubercles located on medial part. Pa with a mesal longitudinal laminar projection and a dorsal-apical tubercle. Ti with a mesal ditch lined by two rows of small tubercles; ectally laminated with a tubercular apical projection.

Legs ( Figs 6F–H ): Legs III and IV slightly more thickened than I and II. Cx IV with groin warts and a dorsoapical acute apophysis. Tr I-III with a retrolateral-basal projection, IV with a retrolateral-distal blunt apophysis. Fe IV curved dorsally, medial portion with a prolateral and retrolateral row of denticles. Male basitarsus I inflated. TF: 6(3): 10(3): 7:8.

Penis ( Figs 7A–D ): Truncus slightly thickened distally and poorly projected laterally. VP subsquared-trapezoidal. Lateral margins straight, distal margin slightly concave. Glans wide in dorsal view, and smooth surface, dorsal process subsquare and slightly bilobed. MS pairs C1 and C2 flattened and strongly curved, dorsally attached. A pair of dorsal MS D1 cylindrical straight and acute. Two pairs of MS A; A1 reduced and blunt; A2 basal, longer and cylindrical. Two pairs of MS E1 and E2 laterally placed, but ventrally attached. A pair of MS B1 located on distalventral truncus. Microsetae T4 on lateral border fields of VP, distally joined by modified ms T4 similar to T5.

Distribution. Only known from the type locality ( Fig. 8 ).

Systematics remarks. According to external morphology we found concordance in features that have been defined as diagnostic for species of Taito (see Kury & Barros 2014), such as the color pattern which is an equuleus shape that can be a typical easel (present in T. mayoruna sp.nov.; T, insperatus ; T. juruensis ; T. oblongatus ; T. serriperna ; T. kawaiikei and T. spaceinvaders ) or an H-shaped (present in T. curupira spec. nov.; T. honda ; T. kakera and T. litteratus ); body elongated at least in males of both new species and females of T. mayoruna spec. nov., unfortunately we could not examine females of T. curupira spec. nov. and we cannot make any certain conclusion about this feature belonging only to males of this species at this time; leg IV elongated and armed (see figures 3 F-H and 6 F-H).

With regard to penial morphology species of Taito seem to present a consistent number of macrosetae C1-2, D1-2 and A1. Here we found the same pattern described by Kury & Barros (2014). However, regarding form of MS, T. mayoruna spec. nov. presents a MS D2 as long as D1, and this was not observed in other species of Taito described before (where MS D2 is smaller than D1). Nevertheless, Friedrich & Lehmann (2020) described a similar case while reviewing specimens of T. adrik and found MS D1 small and straight in some individuals (two of three reviewed individuals presented this condition), it was considered intraspecific variation by these authors. We cannot conclude that size of MS D 2 in T. mayoruna spec. nov. is a product of variation because only a single male (holotype) was examined. A more exhaustive assessment including additional specimens of T. mayoruna spec. nov. would provide more confidence in the condition for MS D2, and would provide insight about interspecific variation in penial morphology observed in Taito .

Other groups of macrosetae (groups E and B) have not been described for most species, except T. adrik which presents two ventral pairs of MS E1-2 and one pair of ventral and proximal MS B1 ( Friedrich & Lehmann 2020). This same pattern is observed in T. spaceinvaders , T. galaga , T. mayoruna spec. nov. and T. curupira spec. nov. The remaining species have not been examined with SEM, and previously published figures are not conclusive (see Kury & Barros 2014).

Figures

FIGURES 6A–H. Taito curupira spec. nov., holotype male (MZSP 58149).A–C Habitus (A dorsal, B ventral, C lateral). D–E Left pedipalp (D ectal, E mesal). F–H Left leg IV, trochanter, femur and patella (F prolateral, G ventral, H retrolateral). Scales: 1 mm.

FIGURES 7A–D. Taito curupira spec. nov., holotype male (MZSP 58149), penis (A dorsal, B ventral, C–D lateral). Scales: 0,05 mm.

FIGURE 8. Records of Taito and Eulibitia species described in the present paper. Inset: location of the sector represented. Lines on map represents WWF ecoregions.