Thaumatocranaus Roewer 1932
Creators: name: Hara, Marcos R.
name: Bragagnolo, Cibele
name: Pinto-Da-Rocha, Ricardo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Opiliones
Cranaidae
Thaumatocranaus

description: Thaumatocranaus Roewer, 1932 new subfamilial assignment
Thaumatocranaus Roewer, 1932: 277 (key), 307 (desc); Mello-Leitão 1935: 97 (sys); Soares & Soares 1948: 586 (key), 619 (cat, diag); Kury, 2003: 99 (cat).
Type species. Thaumatocranaus mirabilis Roewer, 1932, by monotypy.
Other species included. T. magnificus sp. nov. and T. splendidus sp. nov.
Diagnosis. Ampycinae (see diagnosis in Villarreal M. & Kury, 2012) with a pair of enlarged tubercles on each corner of anterior margin of DS, low ocularium with a pair of enlarged tubercles, lateral margins of DS with external row of tubercles increasing in size posteriorly, becoming slightly large and blunt or large, conical and slightly acuminated. Scutal grooves I and IV conspicuous; scutal grooves II–III inconspicuous in the middle and shallow on the sides, weakly delimitating three scutal areas, scutal areas I–II with a paramedian pair of slightly enlarged pointed tubercles, scutal area III with a pair of spiniform apophyses. Only free tergite III armed with a median robust apophysis. Coxa IV with prolateral apical and retrolateral apical apophyses.
Redescription. Male: Dorsum (Figs 1 A, C–E, 2E, 3A–E, 5A–E): Anterior margin of carapace with a weakly marked frontal hump, a row of tubercles on each side and 1 pair of enlarged tubercles on each corner (internal largest). Ocularium low, with tubercles sparsely distributed and 1 paramedian pair of enlarged tubercles. Dorsal scutum with well-marked lateral longitudinal grooves and scutal grooves I and IV; scutal grooves II–III inconspicuous in the middle and shallow on the sides, weakly delimitating three scutal areas. Scutal areas I–II with a paramedian pair of slightly enlarged pointed tubercles; scutal area III with a paramedian pair of spiniform apophyses. Body shape type gamma. Lateral margin of dorsal scutum with an external row of tubercles increasing in size posteriorly, becoming slightly large and blunt (T. mirabilis) or large, conical and slightly acuminated, and an internal irregular row of tubercles. Only one ozopore on each side. Posterior margin of dorsal scutum and free tergites I–III each with a row of tubercles; free tergites I–II unarmed; free tergite III with a robust bifid (T. mirabilis) or unbranched median apophysis and few sparsely distributed tubercles. Anal operculum unarmed, tuberculate.
Chelicerae: Segment I with well-marked bulla; both fingers toothed (triangle- to laminar-shaped projections).
Pedipalps (Figs 1 F, G, 3F, G, 5F, G): Trochanter inflated, ventral face with a pair of enlarged setiferous tubercles. Femur unarmed, with sparse tubercles and 1 ventrobasal slightly enlarged tubercle, without prolateral subapical seta. Tibia and tarsus dorso-lateral face with few tubercles, variable setation.
Legs (Figs 2 A–D, F, G, 4, 6): Coxa I with 1 prolateral, 1 retrolateral apophyses; coxa II ditto, retrolateral apophysis apex fused to prolateral apophysis of coxa III; coxa III with 1 prolateral, 1 retrolateral apophyses; coxa IV tuberculate, with 1 prolateral and 1 retrolateral apical, conical apophyses. Coxa IV sides slightly visible in dorsal view, only apical region most visible (in dorsal view). Trochanters I–IV tuberculate; trochanter IV unarmed prolaterally (except T. mirabilis). Femora–tibiae I–IV with tubercles roughly organized in 6 longitudinal rows (a pro- and a retrodorsal rows, a pro- and a retrolateral rows and a pro- and a retroventral rows), tubercles on femora– tibiae I–II smaller than those on III–IV. Femora I–III roughly straight, femur IV straight to slightly curved inwards (in dorsal view). Patellae–metatarsi I–III minute tuberculate. Metatarsi I–IV unarmed. Tarsal claws smooth.
Penis (Fig. 7): Glans with sub cylindrical stylus, without dorsal or ventral process. Ventral plate conspicuous, subhexagonal shaped. Distal margin of ventral plate with a median narrow cleft, and a dorso mesal projection on its mesal apical corner (Fig. 7 C, D, F), with MS C, dorsal subdistal–median MS D, ventral subdistal–median small MS E, MS A and MS B.
Female: Unknown.
Geographical distribution. Central Ecuador and Southeastern Colombia (known only from the type localities of the included species).
description: Published as part of Hara, Marcos R., Bragagnolo, Cibele & Pinto-Da-Rocha, Ricardo, 2017, Revision of Thaumatocranaus Roewer, 1932, with description of two new species (Opiliones: Laniatores: Gonyleptoidea), pp. 457-472 in Zootaxa 4254 (4) on page 459, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4254.4.3, http://zenodo.org/record/556045