Eukoenenia valencianus Barranco & Mayoral, 2014, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Barranco, P.
name: Mayoral, J. G.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Palpigradi
Eukoeneniidae
Eukoenenia
Eukoenenia valencianus

description: Eukoenenia valencianus sp. nov.
(Figs. 12–23, Table 1 and 2)
Material examined. Holotype ♂, Tunel de Canals [UTM 30SYJ 102117], Canals, Valencia, Spain, 10-XI-2002, leg. A. Sendra et al. Paratypes: 6 ♀ and 2 immatures (B), same location, date and collector as holotype; 2 ♂ and 2 ♀, Cova Dones, Millares, Valencia, Spain, 2-III-2005, leg. V. Ortuño; 1 ♂, Cueva de las Palomas, Millares, Valencia, Spain, 4-II-2005, leg. A. Sendra et al.; 1 immature (B), Cova de l’Alt del Pi, Serra, Valencia, Spain, 20- XI-2004, leg. A. Sendra et al. Holotype (MNCN 20.02/17286) and two female paratypes from Tunel de Canals (MNCN 20.02/17287; MNCN 20.02/17288) deposited in MNCN; one female paratype from Cova Dones deposited in collection of Vicente M. Ortuño, Universidad de Alcalá; other paratypes in authors’ collection at Universidad de Almeria.
Description of male. Total length (without flagellum) 1651 µm. Prosoma: Frontal organ with 2 granulate branches, each 2.2 times longer than wide. Lateral organ with 6 blades (two male paratypes with 6 blades and one with 7), each granulate and distally pointed, each blade 3.3 times longer than wide (33/10 µm) (Fig. 12). Propeltidium with 10 + 10 setae. Metapeltidium with 3 + 3 setae (t1, t2, t3), medial setae shortest (18 µm, 148 µm, 105 µm). Hand of the chelicera with 6 dorsal and one ventral seta, each finger with 9 teeth. Sternum with 10–13 deuto-tritosternal setae (10 on specimens from Tunel de Canals, Cova Dones and Cueva de las Palomas, 13 on other paratype from Cova Dones) (Fig. 13). Chaetotaxy of coxae: pedipalp with 19 setae; leg I with 14 setae; leg II with 16 setae, 10 normal + 6 thick; leg III with 15 setae, 9 normal + 6 thick; leg IV with 11 setae, 7 normal + 4 thick (Figs 14–18). Leg I: basitarsus 3 with 4 setae, 4.2 times longer than broad (Fig. 19); grt 105 µm, gla 88 µm, r 95 µm long, shorter than the segment (125/95 µm, t / r = 1.31), inserted in distal third and surpassing distal margin of basitarsus 4. Ibta4 with one trichobothrium, four long thin setae and one forked seta at distal end. Leg IV: basitarsus 4 with 7 setae (2 esd, 2 esp, gla, grt and r) (Fig. 20), bta / ti 1.03; seta r less than half as long as dorsal edge of segment (240/100 µm, t / r = 2.40) and inserted slightly beyond middle of segment (s / er = 0.36); both esp inserted proximally, followed by gla, grt and the stiff seta. Ta3 of pedipalp (Pta3) with 2 forked setae; one longer than the other, inserted distally and with asymmetrical branches; the other one smaller, inserted in the last third of the segment but proximal to the longer one and with symmetrical branches. Ta3 of leg I (Ita3) with 3 bifurcate symmetrical setae arranged in line.
Opisthosoma. Tergites II–VI with 3 + 3 dorsal setae each: t1, t3 (75 µm) and one slender lateral seta s (50 µm) on each half; tergites VII–VIII with 2 + 2 (single t and s seta). Sternites II–III each with 2 + 2 setae. Sternites IV–VI with 4 + 4, inner ones (a1, a2, 53 µm) shorter than the others (s1, s2, 70 µm). Sternite VII with 4 + 3 slender setae, with a supernumerary seta (a4) on the left side (3+ 3 in the other three male paratypes). Segments VIII–XI with 9, 6, 6 and 8 setae, respectively (Fig. 21). Male paratypes with 10–11, 7–9, 7 and 8 setae, respectively.
Genital region of the male. With 3 pairs of lobes and a total of 42 setae. First lobe short and broad, distal margin nearly straight, continuous and without medial cleavage; 13 + 13 setae in four rows, first row 2 + 2, second row 3 + 3, third row 4 + 4, fourth row with 4 + 4 (2 setae + 2 fusules at each side). Fusules long, very close to each other, parallel, with a dilated and conical base; similar in length and overreaching distal margin of second lobe. Second lobe large, with pointed end, with 5 + 5 setae (a, b, c, c ′, d); a shorter than b, c, c ′ and d, latter very internal. Third lobe with a single, large, pointed apex, with 3 + 3 setae (x, y, z) (Fig. 22).
Description of female. Overall aspect, prosoma and opisthosoma as in holotype. Females from Tunel de Canals with lateral organ with 8 blades and females from Cova Dones with 7 blades. Deuto-tritosternal setae variable, even within specimens from the same cave, specimens from Tunel del Canal with 9–10 setae, and specimens from Cova Dones with 12–13 setae. Dorsal chaetotaxy as in male. Sternites III–VI as in holotype. Number of setae and distribution on basitarsus IV as in holotype. Sternite VII variable, some females with 3+3 and others with 4+4 setae. Segments VIII–XI also with variable number of setae, 9–11, 6–7, 6–7 and 8, respectively.
Genital region of the female. With 2 pairs of lobes and a total of 28 setae. First lobe with 11 + 11 setae arranged in four transverse rows, 3 + 3, 2 + 2, 1 + 1, 1 + 1, and 4 + 4 apical setae, of which a1, a2 and a3 are shorter than a4. Second lobe with pointed end and 3 + 3 setae. One group of 4 glandular orifices at each side (Fig. 23).
Immature, female type B. Lateral organ with 4 blades. Deuto-tritosternum with 6–9 setae. Chelicera with 8 teeth. Tergites II–VI with 3 + 3 setae, as in adults. Sternites IV–VI with 3 + 3 setae. Segments VII–XI with setae variable, 6–8, 8–9, 6–8, 7–8 and 8, respectively.
Etymology. The name of the species is after the Spanish province “Valencia” where all the caves from which the types were collected are located.
Remarks. There are 23 species that share the same or a similar chaetotaxy of sternites IV–VI with E. valencianus sp. nov. (4+4 on each). Most of them are epigeal and consequently their basitarsus IV is short (˂ 100 µm) and the number of blades in the lateral organ is low (usually ≤ 3). There are only 3 species with bta IV longer than 150 µm and a lateral organ with 5 blades or more: E. grafittii Condé & Heurtault, 1994, E. guzikae Barranco & Harvey, 2008 and E. pyrenaica Condé, 1989 (Condé 1989; Condé & Heurtault 1994; Barranco & Harvey 2008). E. valencianus sp. nov. differs from these 3 species in the number of setae on basitarsus 3 of leg I (4 vs. 3).
The female of E. valencianus sp. nov. bears a pair of medial setae on the metapeltidium (t1) that are approximately one third the length of those in E. grafittii (18 vs. 60 µm, respectively). Also, they differ in the ratios B/bta (1.77–2.04 vs. 1.59) and bta/ti (0.98–1.07 vs. 0.89). The female genitalia of E. grafittii also show differences in the shape of the lobes and the distribution of the setae when compared with E. valencianus sp. nov. In E. grafittii, from the middle group of setae on lobe I of the genitalia, the distal pair is inserted close to the border and next to a1–3, whereas in E. valencianus it is inserted further back. The border in E. grafittii is also less concave than in E. valencianus. The male immature of E. grafittii carries oar-like setae on sternites IV–VI, whereas these are absent in E. valencianus sp. nov.
FIGURES 19–21. Eukoenenia valencianus sp. nov.. 19, basitarsi 3–4, leg I holotype; 20, basitarsus, leg IV holotype; 21, opisthosoma of paratype, ventral view (setae a1–4 strongly foreshortened). Scale bars 19–20 = 100 µm; 21 = 200 µm.
The male of E. valencianus sp. nov. differs from that of E. guzikae in the number of setae on the propeltidium (10+10 vs. 9+9), the length of bta1+bta2 (185–218 vs. 125) and in the number of setae on the genital lobes (13+13/ 5+5/3+3 vs. 11+10/3+3/4+4). In addition, E. valencianus sp. nov. only bears two pairs of a setae on sternites V–VI, whereas E. guzikae has three pairs.
The male of E. valencianus sp. nov. differs from that of E. pyrenaica in the number of setae on basitarsus IV (7 vs. 4), the number of blades in the lateral organ (6–7 vs. 5), the number of deuto-tritosternal setae (10–13 vs. 6) and the number of setae on the genital lobes (13+13/5+5/3+3 vs. 13+13/3+3/4+4).
description: Published as part of Barranco, P. & Mayoral, J. G., 2014, New palpigrades (Arachnida, Eukoeneniidae) from the Iberian Peninsula, pp. 544-562 in Zootaxa 3826 (3) on pages 548-553, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3826.3.6, http://zenodo.org/record/226705