Leucocyphoniscus pisanus Taiti & Montesanto 2018, n. sp.
Creators: name: Taiti, Stefano
name: Montesanto, Giuseppe
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Isopoda
Trichoniscidae
Leucocyphoniscus
Leucocyphoniscus pisanus

description: Leucocyphoniscus pisanus n. sp.
(Figs 1-3, 21A)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 2C35B10A-CEA5-46BC-BCF6-1C8BD85810BC
TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype. ♂, Monte Pisano, Buca delle Fate di Cima Sugheretta, 1823 T/PI, 43°44’37”N, 10°29’03”E, San Giuliano Terme, Prov. Pisa, leg. S. Taiti and G. A. Gruber, 20.I.2007 (MZUF 9664). Paratypes. 3 ♂, 12♀, same data as holotype (MZUF 9664); 9 ♂, 6 ♀, same locality as holotype, leg. S. Taiti, 25.I.2008 (MZUF 9665); 1 ♂, 2 ♀, same data (MNHN-IU- 2017-1438); 1♀, Monti d’Oltreserchio, Tana della Volpe di Baccanella, 247 T/ PI, 43°47’05”N, 10°24’09”E, Baccanella, Vecchiano, Prov. Pisa, leg. S. Taiti and M. Del Guasta, 10.II.2007 (MZUF 9666).
DIAGNOSIS. — A species of Leucocyphoniscus characterized by the cephalon with three large tubercles and a very prominent tubercle on pleonite 3.
ETYMOLOGY. — The new species in named after the sampling locality (Monte Pisano).
DESCRIPTION
Maximum length: ♂, 3.8 mm; ♀, 4.1 mm. Body colourless, ovoidal, outline not interrupted between pereon and pleon; pereon tergites strongly convex, epimera obliquely directed outwards (Fig. 1A). Dorsum bearing distinct ribs and tubercles (Fig. 1 A-C): cephalon with one central tubercle with two rounded tips, and two large tubercles near rear margin; pereonites with 1+1 well developed longitudinal paramedian ribs almost as long as tergites, and 3 +3 faint external ribs; pleonite 3 with one prominent median tubercle. Cephalon (Fig. 1B, C) with large subquadrangular frontal lateral lobes, directed outwards and not protruding compared with widely rounded median lobe. Eyes absent. Pereonites with right-angled posterior corners (Fig. 1A). Pleonites 3-5 (Fig. 1A) with large epimera obliquely directed backwards. Telson (Fig. 1D) wider than long, distal part trapezoidal with concave sides and truncate apex. Antennula (Fig. 1E) of three articles, basal article longest; two aestethacs at apex as long as third article. Antenna (Fig. 1F) with fifth article of peduncle slightly longer than flagellum; flagellum of three articles, with three aesthetascs on second article. Mandibles (Fig. 2A, B) with two free penicils on left and one free penicil on right. Maxillula (Fig. 2C) outer branch with 4+4 teeth, setose stem among outer group of teeth; inner branch with three stout penicils at apex, outer penicil much longer than other two. Maxilla (Fig. 2D) with bilobed and setose apex. Maxilliped (Fig. 2E) endite with stout subtriangular penicil at apex, palp distally rounded with long setae with basal article bearing two setae. Uropod (Fig. 2F) with flattened protopod; endopod slightly longer than exopod, with one apical seta; exopod with a tuft of five apical setae.
Male
Pereopod 1 (Fig. 3A) with no distinct modifications.Pereopod 7 (Fig. 3B) ischium with slightly convex sternal margin, carpus with three large setae on sternal margin. Genital papilla as in Fig. 3C. Pleopod 1 (Fig. 3D) exopod subtriangular, longer than wide, slightly concave outer margin and straight medial margin, apex rounded; endopod distinctly longer than exopod, second article with parallel sides and rounded apex, slightly bent outwards. Pleopod 2 (Fig. 3E) exopod much wider than long; endopod with distal part narrow. Pleopod 3-5 exopods as in Fig. 3 F-H.
REMARKS
The new species is included in the genus Leucocyphoniscus for the pattern of dorsal ornamentation, i.e., two paramedian large ribs on the pereonites and a single large tubercle on the pleonite 3. The genus was previously known only from three species: L. verruciger Verhoeff, 1900, from Monte Generoso (southern Switzerland) and Como Province (northern Italy); L. solarii Brian, 1914, from some caves in Como Province; and L. torrii Arcangeli, 1946, from Grotta del Böter (or Grotta di Opreno), Lecco Province (northern Italy). Although the descriptions of these species are not detailed and with poor illustrations, our specimens are definitely belonging to a new species. It differs from all the other species in the disposition of the dorsal tubercles on the cephalon and the extreme development of the median tubercle on the pleonite 3. It also differs from L. verruciger in having the antennula with two instead of three aesthetascs (compare Fig. 1E and Arcangeli 1923: fig. 6a) and in the male pleopod 1 exopod with a rounded instead of pointed apical part (compare Fig. 3D and Arcangeli 1923: fig. 8b). The discovery of this new species from caves in Monte Pisano (northwestern Tuscany) considerably enlarges the distribution of the genus.
description: Published as part of Taiti, Stefano & Montesanto, Giuseppe, 2018, New species of subterranean and endogean terrestrial isopods (Crustacea, Oniscidea) from Tuscany (central Italy), pp. 197-226 in Zoosystema 40 (11) on pages 198-200, DOI: 10.5252/zoosystema2018v40a11, http://zenodo.org/record/3741502