Phalangium yurisnegovoyi Snegovaya 2022, new species
Creators: name: Snegovaya, N. Y.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Opiliones
Phalangiidae
Phalangium
Phalangium yurisnegovoyi

description: Phalangium yurisnegovoyi new species
(Fig. 1A–P)
Type material. TURKEY: Holotype male (ZMMU), Turkey, Mardin, 21.04.2007, leg. M. Nabozhenko. Paratypes. 1 male, 1 female (RCNS) with same data as holotype.
Etymology. Species is named in honor of the 80th birthday of my father Yuri Snegovoy.
Diagnosis. The new species has medium size legs (20.4-33.5-16.6-30.9), all about the same thickness, Fe I is slightly thickened with longitudinal rows of small denticles (Fig. 1D), without large denticles. BLI = 1.33. Chelicera is average, not thickened, both segments dorsally with black-tipped denticles (Figs. 1E, F). Pedipalp not long (8.2), all segments with setae only (Fig. 1G, H). The penis is rather long (3.0), the base is not wide, slightly tapering in the middle of the length, then slightly widening again towards the head. “Wings” not widened, glans laterally triangular, with 1 pair of setae (Fig. 1M–P). For features distinguishing the new species P. yuriysnegovoyi sp.n. from the most closely related species of the genus Phalangium, see section “ Comparative remarks “.
Description. Male: Body length 5, width 3.0. Medium-sized harvestmen with rectangular shaped body. The saddle pattern is clearly distinguishable, along the middle of the pattern is a clearly distinguishable light stripe (Fig. 1A). The ocular tubercle is slightly trapezoidal with 9 pairs of black-tipped denticles (Fig. 1B). Small denticles are located along the boundaries of tergites. The color of the abdomen is sandy, the back is slightly darker due to the presence of a large number of dark brown spots and various shapes. Legs are of medium length. Leg I = 1.33. Fe I slightly thickened. Lengths of leg segments: I: 4.0 + 1.5 + 3.8 + 4.5 + 6.6 = 20.4; II: 6.5 + 2.0 + 5.4 + 5.6 + 14.0 = 33.5; III: 4.4 + 1.5 + 4.0 + 5.3 + 9.0 = 16.6; IV: 5.8 + 1.6 + 4.5 + 7.4 + 11.6 = 30.9. Femora of all legs longitudinally with small denticles. Chelicera typical for the genus, not thickened, both segments dorsally with black-tipped denticles (Fig. 1E, F). Basal cheliceral segment length 1.1, distal segment 2.2. Pedipalp not long, all segments with setae only (Fig. 1G, H). Pedipalp segment lengths: 2.6 + 1.1 + 1.5 + 3.0 = 8.2. Penis rather long, base not wide, slightly tapering mid-shaft, then slightly widening again towards tip (Fig. 1M–P). “Wings” not widened, glans laterally triangular, with 1 pair of setae. Penis length 3.0, glans 0.3, stylus 0.1.
Female: Larger than male, with rounded body shape (Fig. 1C). Female body length 7.0, width 4.0. Leg lengths: I: 3.4 + 1.2 + 2.8 + 3.5 + 6.0 = 10.96, II: 5.2 + 1.2 + 4.5 + 5.0 + 11.6 = 27.5, III: 3.6 + 1.2 + 3.0 + 5.0 + 7.4 = 20.2, IV: 5.0 + 1.5 + 4.0 + 7.0 + 9.6 = 27.1. Pedipalp segment lengths: 1.8 + 1.0 + 1.0 + 2.4 = 6.2 (Fig. 1K, L). Female chelicerae have only bristles (Fig. 1I, J). Cheliceral basal segment length 1.5, distal segment length 1.9.
Comparative remarks. Heretofore Phalangium in Turkey was known to contain four species— P. opilio Linnaeus, 1761, P. punctipes (CL Koch, 1878), P. savignyi Audouin, 1826 (Kurt, 2014) and P. riedeli Staręga, 1973) (Staręga, 1973, Kurt, 2014a, b)—of which two, P. opilio and P. savignyi, have a long horn on the distal segment of the male chelicera. Females do not have clear distinguishing features, and therefore they are not used in species identification, associated males are needed. The males of the newly described species lack a cheliceral horn, so it will be compared to P. punctipes and P. riedeli. The new species differs from P. punctipes by having a smaller penis, the base of the penis is not as wide, the “spoon” (upper penis) of the penis is less wide, the glans is triangular laterally in contrast to the rounded one in P. punctipes. Phalangium yurisnegovoyi sp.n. with longer legs, Fe I is not widened, as in P. punctipes, eye tubercle in P. yurisnegovoyi sp.n. slightly trapezoidal, in contrast to the round one in P. punctipes, the basal segment of the chelicera dorsally in P. punctipes significantly expanded, in contrast to not expanded in P. yuriysnegovoyi sp.n.
Phalangium yurisnegovoyi sp.n. differs from P. riedeli (Staręga 1973, Kurt 2014b) in the armament of the legs (P. riedeli with large denticles on leg I, in the P. yurisnegovoyi sp.n. small black-tipped denticles are located on I pair of legs). Penis in P. riedeli with a fairly wide base, the glans (laterally) is banana-shaped, rounded, in contrast to the pointed and triangular shape in the P. yurisnegovoyi sp.n. In addition, we compare in close P. yurisnegovoyi sp.n. with P. gorbunovi, Snegovaya, 2014 (Snegovaya 2014), but inhabiting the Krasnodar region and Kalmkiya (Russia) (Snegovaya, 2014). P.gorbunovi vs P. yurisnegovoyi sp. n.: the basal segments in the chelicerae are more widened dorsally (versus not widened in the P. yurisnegovoyi sp.n.); the legs have rather large denticles on the legs, Fe I is more widened and shorter; the penis is larger, the base and spoon are more widened, the head is larger and more rounded laterally.
Distribution. Known only from the type locality in Turkey, Mardin Province. Currently known 23 valid species of the genus Phalangium (P. opilio Linnaeus, 1758, P. savignyi Audouin, 1826, P. targionii (Canestrini, 1871), P. punctipes (L. Koch, 1878), P. clavipus Roewer, 1911, P. ligusticum (Roewer, 1923), P. licenti Schenkel, 1953 (?), P. wahrmanni Roewer, 1953, P. jakesi (Šilhavý, 1966), P. riedeli Staręga, 1973, P. ghissaricum Gricenko, 1976, P. armatum Snegovaya, 2005, P. staregai Snegovaya, 2005, P. bakuense Snegovaya, 2006, P. venustum Snegovaya, 2008, P. kopetdaghensis Tchemeris & Snegovaya, 2012, P. armenicum Tchemeris, 2012, P. gromovi Tchemeris, 2012, P. kitabensis Tchemeris, 2012, P. mcheidzeae Snegovaya, 2014, P. gorbunovi Snegovaya, 2014, P. martensi Snegovaya, Cokendolpher, Zamani, 2021, P. yurisnegovoyi sp. n.) living in the Mediterranean region, Central Asia and the Caucasus and only one species (P. opilio Linnaeus, 1758) is widely distributed in nearly the whole Holarctic region and introduced to some areas in the Southern Hemisphere (Snegovaya, Staręga, 2009).
Representatives of the genus Phalangium live mainly in the steppes, in the meadows, in the open areas. They are most numerous in the spring, especially in countries with a hot climate. For example, when studying the seasonal dynamics of harvestmen on the Absheron Peninsula, the peak of the number of sexually mature specimens P. punctipes and P. bakuensis was observed in May, after which the total number of these species decreases sharply and these species do not occur in the summer months (Snegovaya, 2011). The peak of activity of harvestmen of the Phalangium genus in the territories with a low altitude and a rather hot climate occurs in spring, mainly in May. At high altitudes (for example, when studying harvestmen in the Caucasian Biosphere Reserve, Russia: subalpine belt, height 1820 m above sea level), the peak of P. opilio activity occurs in August and September (Snegovaya, Chumachenko, 2014). Unfortunately, no other ecological studies of members of the genus Phalangium have been carried out.
Dr. M.V. Nabozhenko (Rostov-on-Don, Russia) kindly provided us with the material on which the description is based.
description: Published as part of Snegovaya, N. Y., 2022, A new species of Phalangium (Opiliones, Phalangiidae) from Turkey, pp. 197-200 in Zootaxa 5169 (2) on pages 197-199, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5169.2.9, http://zenodo.org/record/6920277