Neogovea virginie Jocqué & Jocqué, 2011, n. sp.
Creators: name: Jocqué, Merlijn
name: Jocqué, Rudy
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Opiliones
Neogoveidae
Neogovea
Neogovea virginie

description: Neogovea virginie n. sp.
Figures 1–5
Type material: Type material: Holotype: 1♂; French Guiana, Savannah Roche La Virginie (4°11’42.4”N 52° 08’ 57.7”W), 24.VIII.2008, pitfall trap in Clusia vegetation, M. Jocqué & J. Casteels (MCZ 94422). Paratypes: all from same locality as holotype 1♂: 24.VIII.2008 (MCZ 94423); 1♀ 24.VIII.2008 (MCZ 94425); 1♀ 28.VIII.2008 (MCZ 94426); 1♀ 19.VIII.2008 (MCZ 94427), Winkler extraction; 1♀ 22.VIII.2008 (MCZ 94428), Winkler extraction. Other material: All same locality: 1♀ (MCZ DNA 104823); 1 juv. 24.VIII. 2008 (MCZ 94424); 1♂ and 1♀ 24. VIII. 2009, kept on stub for SEM in RMCA.
Etymology: The species name is a noun in apposition taken from the type locality.
Diagnosis: Neogovea virginie n. sp. closely resembles N. immsi, but it is easily distinguished from this species by the shape of the crown structure at the tip of the spermatopositor. The large size of the species (> 4mm) is shared with N. kamakusa, of which it is distinguished most easily by the structure of the spermatopositor (Fig. 4), the position of the ozophores, which are located more ventrally in N. kamakusa and more laterally in N. kartabo. The size of the anterior lobes of the coxae of legs I are in between those of these species.
Description: (male holotype): total length: 4.08mm (5.15mm with chelicerae). Openings of ozophores lateral (Fig. 2). Spiracles circular, typical for the family Neogoveidae (Fig. 3 e). Sternum small, surrounded by coxae II and III, diamond shaped, elongate, about twice as long as wide (Fig. 5 a). Gonostome approximately as wide as long, anterior and lateral walls formed by lobes of coxae IV, anterior and lateral lobes not distinct, edges of lateral lobes smooth without any projections. Posterior wall formed by extension from first opisthosomal sternite, delimited by a conspicuous groove; extension triangular with blunt tip, posterior corners not touching lobes of coxa IV. Spiracular grooves present. Chelicerae long and thin, movable finger 1/7th the length of the second article. Palp without coxal apophysis, measurements presented in Table 1. Ventral side of palps and basal article of chelicerae with a tuberculate-microgranulate morphology (Fig. 3 b) (Murphree 1988). The convex tubercles are smooth above with bluntly conical tubercles surrounding their bases. The microgranulations of the cuticular background are regularly spaced and appear as rounded points. The larger microgranulations measure 14 μm in basal diameter. The smaller microgranulations measure <1 μm.
Spermatopositor with a strongly sclerotized crown-shaped structure at the top (Fig. 4). This structure is characterized by two long, almost perpendicular dorsal projections; slighty bending inwards and with very small indentations visible laterally (Fig. 4 a). The remainder of the crown is irregular in shape with denticles from various shapes, all smaller than the two main dorsal projections (Fig. 4 ab). Dorsally there is one group of three large setae, and six small setae more distal towards the crown of the spermatopositor (Fig. 4 b, d). Laterally there is one group of five large setae on each side (Fig. 4 a). Some of these lateral setae are also visible dorsally. The spermatopositor is ventro-laterally strongly deepened (Fig. 4 a).
Fourth tarsus as in Figure 3 c, no significant swelling present. Adenostyle removed from base but before half length of tarsus, long acuminate, apical portion set off by definite groove; microtrichiae of brush somewhat modified.
Female paratype (MCZ 94425):
Total length 5.67mm (4.4mm without chelicerae). Further as male except for differences of the ventral thoracic complex (Figs. 5 a, b) and the length of the diamond shaped sternum which is as long as wide.
description: Published as part of Jocqué, Merlijn & Jocqué, Rudy, 2011, An overview of Neogovea species (Opiliones: Cyphophthalmi: Neogoveidae) with the description of Neogovea virginie n. sp. from French Guiana, pp. 41-50 in Zootaxa 2754 on pages 43-46, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.276739