A new species of Fissiphalliidae from Brazilian Amazon Rain Forest (Arachnida: Opiliones)

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1 Zootaxa : 1 6 (2004) Copyright 2004 Magnolia Press ISSN (print edition) ISSN (online edition) A new species of Fissiphalliidae from Brazilian Amazon Rain Forest (Arachnida: Opiliones) RICARDO PINTO-DA-ROCHA Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, Travessa 14, No. 321, São Paulo/SP, Brazil; ricrocha@usp.br Abstract The fourth species of the family Fissiphalliidae is described, Fissiphallius martensi new species, from Reserva Ducke, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. It differs from other 3 species of the family by having ventral plate sword-like, sulcus II straight, the presence of a high spine on the eye mound, spines on coxa IV, lateral margin of dorsal scute, tergites, anal operculum and sternites, and the genital operculum shorter than stigmatic area. Key words: Arachnida, Opiliones, Fissiphalliidae, Neotropics, Brazil, Amazonia Introduction The harvestman family Fissiphalliidae was recently discovered by Martens (1988). The erection of this family brought some hope to understanding the relationships among the small members of the suborder Laniatores, those having a common eye mound and without a tarsal process and mostly included in the paraphyletic Phalangodidae. Martens (1988) described this new family based on the peculiar genitalic morphology and hypothesized that Phalangodidae was the most promising candidate for subdivisions among Laniatores, due to its worldwide distribution and heterogeneity of forms. Pinto-da-Rocha & Kury (2003) placed this family with the Guasiniidae and the Zalmoxidae by the presence of well developed accessory structures of the glans forming a solid unfoldable bifid plate articulated with the truncus, called capsula externa by Kury & Pérez (2002). In fact, as suggested by Kury & Pérez (2002), Fissiphalliidae is a monophyletic group, possibly the sister-group of Zalmoxidae or a group within Zalmoxidae. Additional characters that support both hypotheses are the division of the ventral plate into two regions by a rounded median keel ( pergula sensu Kury 2003) and with pairs of thin setae on venter of ventral plate (on pergula and rutrum). Unfortunately, we are only beginning to understand the gen- Accepted by P. Jäger: 30 Aug. 2004; published: 13 Sept

2 italic variation of the minute members of Laniatores from central and northern South America, referred to as Phalangodidae in the Roewerian system. This is the fourth species, and the westernmost record, of the family. However, it is possible that some additional Fissiphalliidae might have been described under Phalangodidae. The diversity of Fissiphalliidae may well be underestimated since the small Opiliones of the Amazonian regions are very poorly known. The material examined is deposited in the Museu de Ciências Naturais da Fundação Zoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre (MCN), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus (INPA), and Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZSP). Fissiphallius martensi new species (Figs. 1-8) Type-material: Holotype, male (MCN-1147), from Reserva Ducke, Manaus, Amazonas, BRAZIL, 6 9 August 1992, A.D. Brescovit leg.. Paratypes: same locality as holotype, 1 female, 11 December 1990, F. Apolinário leg., in termite nest (INPA); 2 females, 6-9 August 1992, A.D. Brescovit leg. (MCN-1147); 1 male, same data (MZSP-23458); 3 males, 2 females August 1991, A.D. Brescovit leg. (MCN-1103); same data, 1 male, 1 female (MZSP-23459); 1 male, 1 female, A.D. Brescovit leg. (MCN-1224); 1 male, 1 female, same data (MZSP-23460); 1 male, 7 December 1992, H. Höfer & T. Gasnier (INPA); 2 males, 18 January 1994, A.D. Brescovit leg. (MCN-1212); 1 female, Reserva Campina, Manaus, Amazonas, 2 September 1991, A.D. Brescovit leg. (MCN- 1213). Etymology: Named in honor of Jochen Martens, who discovered the family Fissiphalliidae. Diagnosis: F. martensi differs from other species of the genus/family (F. spinulatus, F. stumi and F. sympatricus) by having sulcus II straight (V-shaped in other species), the presence of a long spine on eye mound (small tubercles in others), spines on coxa IV, lateral margin of dorsal scute, tergites, anal operculum and sternites (other species smooth or with short tubercules), genital operculum shorter than estigmatic area (longer in others), and ventral plate of penis sword-like. Description of the male (holotype) Measurements (mm): Total length 2.48; cephalothorax length 0.84; maximal width 2.24; cephalothorax width Dorsum (Fig. 1): Anterior margin with 1-2 tubercles on each side. Eye mound close to anterior margin, with developed eyes, with large and straight anteriorly directed spine. Cephalothorax with 5 small tubercles between eye mound and groove I. Area I with 7 tubercles; II with 14; III with 13; IV with 12; posterior margin with 9 tubercles. Lateral margin with 1 pointed tubercle between sulci II III. Free-tergites I III with 1 enlarged lat Magnolia Press PINTO-DA-ROCHA

3 eral tubercle; I with a larger median tubercle and 7 8 smaller laterals; II with 12 lateral tubercles; III with 3 long median tubercles. Anal operculum with 3 large tubercles (larger than those on the free tergites), 7 smaller ones on posterior margin. Venter: Genital operculum shorter than stigmatic area. Coxa I IV with 6 pointed tubercles; tracheal openings covered by tubercles (Fig. 2); posterior margin and free tergites with 1 row of wide tubercles. Sternite IV with 1 large and curved posteriorly spine fused with anal operculum FIGURES Male holotype of Fissiphallius martensi sp. nov. 1, dorsal view of habitus; 2, ventral view of coxa IV and sternites; 3, left pedipalp; 4, tibia II. Scale bar: figures 1 2 = 1 mm; 3 4 = 0.5 mm. A NEW FISSIPHALLIUS 2004 Magnolia Press 3

4 FIGURES Penis (holotype) of Fissiphallius martensi sp. nov. 5 7, scanning of distal part: 5, dorsal; 6, lateral; 7, ventral; 8, lateral view of penis. Scale 5 7 = 0.05 mm; 8 = 0.5 mm Magnolia Press PINTO-DA-ROCHA

5 Chelicera: small-tuberculate; 1 tubercle on posterior of bulla; teeth with 4 tubercles. Pedipalp: coxa with 1 ventral tubercle; femur with 5 ventral tubercles (two basal with large setae), 1 subapical on prolateral region; patella with 1 prolateral tubercle; tibia ectal IiIi, mesal IIII; tarsus ectal iiii/iii and mesal iiii. Legs: Legs I IV tuberculate. Coxa II with 2 dorsal tubercles; IV visible dorsally to groove IV, with 6 large and thin tubercles and several small. Femur I IV with 1 dorsal row of tubercles; IV with 1 ventral row of 6 large tubercles increasing apicad. Patella IV with 2 large ventrosubapical tubercles. Tibia II swollen ventrally (Fig. 4), others normal; IV with 1 ventral row of large tubercles; 1 retrolateral, 1 prolateral. Metatarsus IV tuberculate, calcaneus swollen. Tarsal segmentation: 4(2), 7(3), 5, 5. Penis (Figs. 5 8): Truncus without projections. Ventral plate sword-like with 3 pairs of setae (basal pair shorter) on rutrum and 1 pair above pergula, median keel (= pergula) with two pairs of lateral setae. Capsula externa flattened, with 2 apical branches fused (arrowlike on lateral view). Stylus thin and long, hidden by capsula externa and ventral plate. Colour: Yellowish. Cephalothorax with reticulate brown patches. Areas I IV with dark brown patches laterally. Lateral margin with darker stripe close to posterior border. Free tergites and posterior border with 2 transverse stripes. Femur-Tibia brownish. Tibia II whitish on ventral swollen part. Coxa IV with brownish stripe. Patela IV brownish on distal third. Anal operculum with 2 brownish patches. Description of the female paratype (INPA, 11.XII.1990) Measurements (mm): Total length 1.9; cephalothorax length 0.74; maximal width 1.7; cephalothorax width As male, except for the following: lateral margin with pointed tubercle close to groove II; free-tergite II with 1 median tubercle; anal operculum with 8 tubercles (3 medians larger than others); free sternites with small tubercules; area IV without long tubercle; legs covered by tubercles, smaller in male; tibia II not swollen. TABLE I. Measurements of appendages of male holotype and female paratype (parenthized) (INPA, 11.XII.1990). TR FE PT TI MT TA Total I 0.44 (0.24) 1.14 (0.84) 0.44 (0.4) 0.7 (0.6) 1.14 (1.02) 0.72 (0.64) 4.58 (3.74) II 0.4 (0.32) 1.5 (1.2) 0.58 (0.56) 1.16 (0.92) 1.72 (1.34) 1.62 (1.24) 6.98 (5.58) III 0.28 (0.36) 1.24 (0.96) 0.56 (0.48) 0.94 (0.8) 1.46 (1.3) 0.94 (0.84) 5.42 (4.74) IV 0.48 (0.44) 1.7 (1.32) 0.76 (0.58) 1.74 (1.28) 1.84 (1.62) 0.94 (0.96) 7.46 (6.2) Pedipalp 0.22 (0.24) 0.7 (0.66) 0.44 (0.4) 0.46 (0.42) (0.4) 2.32 (2.12) Distribution: Recorded only from Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil in Terra Firme from Central Amazonia Rain Forest. A NEW FISSIPHALLIUS 2004 Magnolia Press 5

6 Systematic note: Despite the striking morphological differences present in F. martensi, I preferred to avoid the creation of a new genus in a little known Amazonian family composed of only four species. Biological note: Most of specimens were collected from bush and tree branches by beating. One was in an arboreal termite nest. None was obtained from soil samples or surface litter layers (0 15 cm). Acknowledgments Thanks are due to Erica Buckup (MCN) and Fabiano Apolinário (INPA) for loaning the material. I am indebted to Márcio Cruz (Laboratório de Microscopia, IBUSP) for help with SEM photos and H. Yamaguti for help with computer files of plates. This study was supported by grant #99/ from Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo and # / from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico. J. Martens, A. Pérez, D. Ubick and T. Briggs commented on an earlier draft of this manuscript. References Kury, A.B. (2003) Annotated catalogue of the Laniatores of the New World (Arachnida, Opiliones). Revista Ibérica de Aracnologia, monographs 1, 337 pp. Kury, A.B. & Pérez, A. (2002) A new family of Laniatores from Northwestern South America (Arachnida, Opiliones). Revista Ibérica de Aracnologia, 6, Martens, J. (1988) Fissiphalliidae, a new family of South American laniatorean harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones). Zeitschrift für zoologische Systematik und Evolutionsforschung, 26(2), Pinto-da-Rocha, R. & Kury, A.B. (2003) Third species of Guasiniidae (Opiliones, Laniatores) with comments on familial relationships. The Journal of Arachnology, 31(3), Magnolia Press PINTO-DA-ROCHA