A new species of Metagovea Rosas Costa, 1950 from Napo Province, Ecuador (Opiliones, Cyphophthalmi, Neogoveidae)

Abstract As a result of an expedition to Ecuador in 2014, a new species of mite harvestman was discovered. This new species belonging to the genus Metagovea Rosas Costa, 1950 – Metagovea ligiae sp. n. – is described, based on male and female specimens from Napo Province, Ecuador. This is the fourth species described for the genus and the second from Ecuador. A simple terminology is proposed for the microtrichiae of the spermatopositor and genital characters in the family are discussed. The genus Brasiliogovea Martens, 1969 is consistently misspelled in the literature as Brasilogovea. The description of Metagovea ligiae offered opportunity to discuss some aspects of systematics of the family.

Metagovea is only known from South America, in the Andean and Amazonian regions. There are only three described species, but a plethora of undescribed species are already known (Benavides and Giribet 2007): Metagovea disparunguis Rosas Costa, 1950 (Colombia), Metagovea oviformis Martens, 1969 (Brazil: Manaus) and Metagovea philipi Goodnight & Goodnight, 1980 (Ecuador). In the present work a fourth species of Metagovea is described from Pacto Sumaco, in the Napo Province, in the eastern Andean slope.

Methods
The specimens were collected during 15th-16th February 2014 through meticulous visual search throughout the floors of the forest and buildings. All specimens were captured with a fine brush and placed in vials containing 75% and 100% ethanol.
Nomenclature of body parts and measurements follows the model of Benavides and Giribet (2013). Terminology of the structures of spermatopositor follows Juberthie (1970;1979) and Karaman (2013), with some modifications: (1) recognition of apical movable fingers (dma, digitus mobilis apicalis) which might not be homologous with dml (doigt mobile latéral) of Juberthie/Karaman, and (2) naming of three groups A, B, C of microtrichiae, hitherto unnamed, which are clearly recognizable also in other families of Cyphophthalmi (Fig. 6).
Ventral prosomal complex (Fig. 1B) with coxae II-IV fused, coxae I free, sternum absent, coxae IV separated by gonostome (Fig. 1B); gonostome semicircular with concave posterior margin (Fig. 2D). Coxal lobes I much longer than wide, narrower anteriorly, subparallel, each armed with 2 posterior setae. Coxal lobes II anteriorly extremely thin, abruptly widening until mid-length where they start to narrow posteriorly, with 4 setae on wider part. Coxal lobes III longer than main part of coxal lobes IV; coxal lobes IV coarsely spiked in the middle, forming anterior-lateral margins of the gonostome. On the area of contact with coxal lobe III forming a complex arch delimiting the coxal pores. Coxae II-IV with rounded glandular fields at the concave part of respective coxal lobes.
Pedipalp (Fig. 3C) Trochanter unarmed, with few ventro-distal setae, much thickened at distal third, doubling its height. Femur cylindrical, with few rows of setae, all over its length; surface coarsely granulose, more so on basal and middle thirds. Patella thin on basal third, abruptly thickening in middle third up to the apex where it is twice as thick as basal third. Tegument smoother than femur and setation pattern similar to it. Tibia with abundant rows of setae, much denser than basal articles, slightly thinner at base, gradually thickening to apex. Tarsus fusiform, still more densely setose than tibia, ending in straight tubular claw.
Legs (Figs 4A-D). Robust, leg formula I, IV, II, III. Trochanter to metatarsus of legs I-IV densely granulated, less on Tr-Pa III, Tr IV, smooth on Ta I-IV. All articles setose, density of setae increasing distally, reaching maximum on tarsi I-IV. Tarsus I with a distinct solea (subapical modification where sensory hairs concentrate, Fig. 4A) taking up about 2/3rds of the tarsus length. Tarsus of leg IV undivided (Fig. 4D), with a lamelliform elongate, sinuous and acuminate adenostyle, positioned basally on the dorsal side on tarsus IV (Figs 3D-4D). Claw of leg II (Figs 4B). With a distinct row of five teeth. Claws of legs III-IV beveled laterally. Spermatopositor (Figs 5A,6). Two pairs of shorter robust microtrichiae A close together on a proximal lobe. Four pairs of microtrichiae B much elongate, on the laterals. Three pairs of subapical microtrichiae C not as long as B. Two pairs of terminally fimbriate movable fingers: small apical dma located between left and right groups of microtrichiae C; much larger dmm, arising from dorso-medial lobe. More basally, near the genital orifice, a pair of sensory papillae and another of inner papillae.
Natural history. All specimens were collected in an area of about 10 m 2 , under a house built partly on a small slope in a nature conservation area (Fig. 10A), but with a strongly disturbed secondary forest. The specimens were found beneath stones, wood  and other "rubbish" left on the ground of sometimes compacted, sometimes loose clay, and with virtually no vegetation (Fig. 10B). The area, being in a space of 30 cm to 1 meter retreated under construction, was protected from direct sunlight, but it was indirectly lit, having no aphotic parts. The humidity was high and the animals were found in groups of 2 to 5 specimens.

Genital morphology of Metagovea
Comparing the score or so of published genital illustrations of Neotropical neogoveids, a few connecting traits can be advanced. Unfortunately male genitalia of M. disparunguis are hitherto unknown.
Microtrichiae C may be either apical (short as in Canga and Huitaca or long as in Metagovea and Tucanogovea) or subdistal, shifted to dorsal as in Brasiliogovea and Neogovea. The apical pair of horns with associated shifting of microtrichiae C to dorso subdistal seem to be exclusive of Neogovea where they are long and well-developed and of Brasiliogovea, where they are much shorter and rounded. The apical margin of the spermatopositor in Huitaca is projected as a lobe with an augmented number of very short rod-like microtrichiae C placed in a tight row. Canga has only a convex apex, not nearly as projected as Huitaca, but with microtrichiae C equally reduced, although they do not form a row as in Huitaca.
Microtrichiae A are elongate and slender in most Neogoveidae, with the apparent exception of M. ligiae and M. philipi, where they are much shorter and thick. Curiously M. oviformis does not match the pattern of Metagovea. The dma appear to be exclusive of M. ligiae and M. philipi, again absent in M. oviformis. The paired dmm, which seem to be universal in neogoveids, appear to be fused to each other only in Neogovea.

Diversity
Metagovea, now with four described species, displays a formal diversity far smaller than the real one, as shown by Benavides and Giribet (2007), who detected 17 undescribed species. This undersampling may be due to the small size of these animals, non-selective collecting and non-cyphophthalmid-focused collectors.

Distribution
The distribution of the four species of Metagovea is disjunct. Metagovea oviformis occurs in the lowland forest in Amazon Basin (altitude 100 m), while the other three occur in the Central Andean Range (WWF NT0121 and NT 0136) in Ecuador and Colombia, at altitudes between 1150 and 2150 m. It is possible that M. oviformis does not belong in Metagovea. This speculation is more tempting since a closely related genus has been described from Amazon basin. Benavides and Giribet (2007) already illustrated the distribution of a large number of undescribed species of Neogoveidae in NW South America. Here only the Andean species of Metagovea are represented in a Map (Fig. 9).