Homolophus airyamani Snegovaya & Cokendolpher & Zamani 2021, spec. nov.
Creators: name: Snegovaya, Nataly Yu.
name: Cokendolpher, James C.
name: Zamani, Alireza
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Opiliones
Phalangiidae
Homolophus
Homolophus airyamani

description: Homolophus airyamani spec. nov.
Figs 4A–K, 5
Type material. IRAN: Hormozgan Province: Holotype male (ZMMU), 75 km N of Bandar Abbas, Siahu, 27°33’N, 55°38’E, 600–700 m a.s.l., Alireza Zamani leg. 30.1.2020. Paratypes. 2 males, 1 juvenile (RCNS), with same data as for holotype.
Etymology. Named after Airyaman, the Persian divinity of friendship and healing; name in the genitive case.
Diagnosis. The new species is most similar to H. chemerisi Staręga & Snegovaya, 2008, different from it by the following characteristics: smaller body size [H. chemerisi body length 5.5, width 3.2 vs. 3.4, 2.2], large group of about 30 black-tipped smaller denticles in front of the eye mound [about 15 medium-sized denticles in H. chemerisi].
Description. Male (holotype). Body medium-sized (length 3.4, width 2.2), dorsally covered with small dark denticles, those closer to eye mound arranged in regular transverse rows, the rest scattered randomly (Fig. 4A). Eye mound low (Figs 4A–B), with 7–8 dark denticles and with a large group of black-tipped denticles anteriorly, each with a small bristle basally. Dorsal side of body sand-colored and with a slightly darker saddle pattern; limbs also sandy in color, with small darkened areas on surface. Legs long (Body Leg Index = 1.36); 1st pair considerably thickened (Fig. 4A), surface of its segments with longitudinal rows of dark teeth (Figs 4A–D). Ventral surface of metatarsi with densely packed brushes of short bristles, like those in H. chemerisi (Snegovaya & Cokendolpher 2021: fig. 1E). Lengths of leg segments: I - 3.0+1.0+2.5+3.1+5.0 = 14.6; II - 7.5+1.8+6.0+5.5+13.5 = 34.3; III - 6.7+2.0+6.4+4.0+11.2 = 30.3; IV - 4.0+1.0+3.0+3.7+9.5 = 21.2. Pedipalp strong (Fig. 4F), femur ventrally and dorsally with rather large black-tipped denticles, laterally with setae; patellae dorsally and laterally with smaller black-tipped denticles; tibiae with the same kind of denticles, but laterally a stripe with only bristles; tarsi ventrally with many microdenticles and bristles. Length of pedipalp segments: 1.1+0.5+0.7+1.5 = 3.8. Chelicera mediumsized (Figs 4G–H), basal segment with a group of black-tipped denticles dorsally, second segment dorsally with black-tipped denticles and bristles on the rest of the surface. Basal segment 1.7 long, second segment 1.6 long. Penis with wide base tapering slightly towards distal end (Fig. 4I); glans massive, with one pair of setae per side (Figs 4J–L), widened distally. Total penis length 2.3, glans length 0.3, stylus length 0.1.
Female. Unknown.
Habitat. The type specimens were collected from a sparsely vegetated, rocky arid plain (Fig. 5).
Distribution. Known only from the type locality in Hormozgan Province, southern Iran.
description: Published as part of Snegovaya, Nataly Yu., Cokendolpher, James C. & Zamani, Alireza, 2021, Further studies on harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones) from Iran, with the descriptions of two new species, pp. 73-86 in Zootaxa 4984 (1) on pages 80-82, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4984.1.7, http://zenodo.org/record/4928596