Agnara cavernicola Bakhshi and Kashani, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Bakhshi, Yaser
name: Kashani, Ghasem M.
name: Sadeghi, Saber
name: Darvishnia, Hamid
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Isopoda
Agnaridae
Agnara
Agnara cavernicola

description: Agnara cavernicola Bakhshi and Kashani, sp. nov.
(Figures 1–3)
Material examined
Holotype. Male; 4.5 mm, Ilam province, city of Zarneh, Zarneh Cave, 33°56.0ʹN, 46°11.0ʹE, alt. 1300 m a.s.l., 28 October 2017, leg. H. Darvishnia and Y. Bakhshi (ZM-CBSU Iso-1238). ♀
Paratypes. Same data as holotype, two males and three females (ZM-CBSU Iso-1239); same data as holotype, one male and one female (PCGMK 2646).
Diagnosis
Head with developed rounded lateral lobes, frons without incision on middle; male pereopod VII ischium with straight to slightly sinuous ventral margin; pleopod endopodite I straight with pointed apex, exopodite I with very short rounded hind lobe.
Description
Maximum body length 4.5 mm male, 5 mm female. Body colour pale brown with irregular pale whitish patches on vertex, antenna, uropods, and tergites of both pereion and pleon (Figures 1, 2 (a)). Dorsal surface granulated with small round tubercles (Figure 2 (b,d)). Head with broadly triangular frontal lobe and well-developed rounded lateral lobes, protruding as far as median lobe; eyes composed of 11–12 ommatidia (Figure 2 (b)). Antenna long, reaching beyond the posterior margin of pereion-tergite II, fifth article of peduncle as long as flagellum; flagellum with two articles, distal article almost 1.5 times as long as proximal one (Figure 2 (c)). Antennula with three articles, with a tuft of long aesthetascs at apex (Figure 2 (d)). Right mandible lacinia mobilis covered with fine spines; pars molaris consisting of several plumose setae on a short common socket (Figure 3 (a)). Left mandible lacinia mobilis covered with fine spines; pars molaris consisting of several plumose setae on a short common socket (Figure 3 (b)). Maxillule with outer branch bearing 4 + 4 teeth (Figure 3 (c)); inner branch with two long penicils and a triangular posterior point (Figure 3 (d)). Maxilliped endite with two small triangular teeth on anterior margin (Figure 3 (e)).
Posterolateral corners of pereion tergite I convex (Figures 1, 2 (b)); noduli laterales on pereonites I–IV slightly more distant from both lateral and posterior margins of epimera than those on pereonites V–VII (Figures 1, 2 (a)). Pereopod I ischium, merus and carpus almost equal in length and equipped with strong spiny setae, carpus with depression on rostral surface equipped with slender scales; propodus narrow and long, distal part bearing strong setae; pereopods I–VII dactylus with one dactylar seta and one ungual seta.
Pleon narrower than pereion, covered with fine tubercles (Figures 1, 2 (a)). Telson triangular, wider than long, with concave lateral sides and pointed apex, slightly surpassing uropod protopodites (Figure 2 (d)). Uropod exopodites almost as long as telson (Figure 2 (d)). Pleopod exopodites I–V with monospiracular lungs (Figure 4 (b–f)).
Male: Pereopods I–III merus and carpus with brushes of setae on ventral margin (Figure 2 (e)). Pereopod VII ischium with straight or slightly sinuous ventral margin (Figure 2 (f,g)). Genital papilla elongated, with truncated distal part (Figure 4 (a)). Pleopod endopodite I straight, with pointed apex equipped with row of small setae on inner margin (Figure 4 (a)); exopodite I short with small rounded hind lobe, distal margin bearing few small setae (Figure 4 (b)). Pleopod II endopodite longer than exopodite; exopodite triangular, concave outer margin with small setae (Figure 4 (c)). Pleopod exopodites III–IV with slightly concave outer margin with small setae (Figure 4 (d,e)). Pleopod exopodite V triangular, outer margin slightly convex, with small setae (Figure 4 (f)).
Etymology
The name of the new species refers to its cave-dwelling lifestyle.
Distribution
Western Iran.
description: Published as part of Bakhshi, Yaser, Kashani, Ghasem M., Sadeghi, Saber & Darvishnia, Hamid, 2022, Agnara cavernicola, the second troglophilic terrestrial isopod species (Isopoda: Oniscidea) from Iran, pp. 2823-2830 in Journal of Natural History 55 (45 - 46) on pages 2825-2827, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2022.2025939, http://zenodo.org/record/6082724