Research Article |
Corresponding author: Kemal Kurt ( kemalkurtmyo@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Adriano Kury
© 2015 Kemal Kurt, Halil Koç, Ersen Aydın Yağmur.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Kurt K, Koç H, Yağmur EA (2015) A new species of Zachaeus C.L. Koch from Turkey (Opiliones, Phalangiidae). ZooKeys 514: 15-23. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.514.9545
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A new species of harvestmen, Zachaeus seyyari sp. n. (Opiliones, Phalangiidae), is described and illustrated on the basis of both sexes from Şırnak Province in Turkey. Differences between the new species and related species are indicated. Photographs of its characteristic structures are also provided.
Opiliones , Phalangiidae , Zachaeus , new species, Turkey
Zachaeus C.L. Koch, 1839 is a genus belonging to the subfamily Phalangiinae of the Phalangiidae and it is distributed in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Region, south-eastern Europe, and western Asia (
The genus is characterized by the following morphological characteristics: body large, heavily denticulated dorsally; chelicerae usually strong, second segment enlarged; pedipalps normally structured, strong, robust; legs short and first pair much thicker than the others; truncus penis basally widened, parallel-sided on the distal half, distally shallow spoon-shaped, glans usually banana-shaped (shorter in Z. anatolicus and Z. seyyari), stylus long (
Samples were collected by hand from the meadows and grassland in Şırnak Province, Turkey. Species identification was conducted using a Leica EZ4 stereomicroscope. Specimens are preserved in 70% ethanol and deposited in the collection of the Arachnological Laboratory of Şiran Vocational School, Gümüşhane University (GUSAL), Turkey. All measurements are given in millimeters.
Holotype: 1♂ (GUSAL), Turkey: Şırnak Province, İdil District, Yörük Village (37°16'47.54"N, 42°1'17.18"E), 655 m, 12 May 2007, leg. E.A. Yağmur and H. Koç.
Paratypes. 2 ♂, 4♀ (GUSAL), 1 ♂, 1♀ (AZMM=Alaşehir Zoological Museum, Manisa) same data as holotype.
Up to now only known from type locality in the Şırnak Province, Turkey.
The new species is similar to Z. anatolicus (
Main diagnostic characters of most closely related species in the genus Zachaeus.
Characters | Z. seyyari sp. n. | Z. anatolicus | Z. redikorzevi |
---|---|---|---|
Body | cephalothorax dorsally with small denticles; abdomen dorsally not denticulated | cephalothorax and abdomen dorsally with numerous denticles ( |
cephalothorax dorsally only granulated on surface, abdomen dorsally not denticulated ( |
Tuber oculorum | relatively low and 1–2 setae in two rows | low and 4–8 tubercles in two rows ( |
low and 5–6 tubercles in two rows ( |
Chelicerae of male | second segment swollen (more cylindrical), covered with setae. | second segment not swollen, covered with setae and microdenticles ( |
second segment extraordinarily swollen, covered with setae and microdenticles ( |
Palp of male | patella dorsally with setae; tibia with setae. | patella dorsally with microdenticles, tibia with setae and microdenticles ( |
patella dorsally with setae; tibia only with setae ( |
Leg | femur I–III with setae; femur IV ventrally with denticles, dorsally setae. | femur I–IV with denticles ( |
femur I–III with setae; femur IV ventrally with denticles ( |
Penis | truncus wide at the base, basal to center with straight sides; then slightly narrowed at the center; then not widened, straight-sided at the subapex; glans stocky, not elongated, parallel sided, ventrally slightly oval-sided, apical outline rectangular. | truncus wide at the base, base to center narrowed; then widened at the subapex; glans, stocky, not elongated, ventrally oval ( |
truncus slightly enlarged at the proximal half; then straight-sided in distal half; glans elongated and narrow, ventrally oval-sided, apical outline triangular ( |
The specific epithet is in honor of Dr. Osman SEYYAR (Niğde University, Niğde, Turkey), who has made important contributions to Turkish arachnology.
Male: body length 7.2 mm, width 4.5 mm; chelicera basal segment 2.8 mm, second segment 3.7 mm.
Body (Fig.
Tuber oculorum (Fig.
Ventral side (Fig.
Chelicerae (Fig.
Pedipalp (Fig.
Legs (Fig.
Male genital morphology (Fig.
Female: body length 9.0 mm, width 4.7 mm; chelicera basal segment 1.5 mm, second segment 2.1 mm. General appearance similar to that of male, but body larger and wider (Fig.
Femur | Patella | Tibia | Metatarsus | Tarsus | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Palp | 1.7 (1.5) | 0.9 (0.85) | 1.2 (0.95) | - (-) | 1.9 (1.7) | 5.7 (5.0) |
Leg I | 3.2 (2.8) | 1.4 (1.2) | 2.94 (2.2) | 2.7 (2.1) | 4.2 (4.0) | 14.44 (12.3) |
Leg II | 3.8 (3.4) | 1.5 (1.4) | 3.5 (3.1) | 3.7 (3.1) | 7.9 (7.8) | 20.4 (18.8) |
Leg III | 2.3 (2.1) | 1.3 (1.1) | 2.5 (2.1) | 3.0 (2.9) | 4.8 (4.7) | 13.9 (12.9) |
Leg IV | 3.5 (3.5) | 1.4 (1.3) | 3.3 (3.2) | 3.5 (3.5) | 7.2 (7.0) | 18.9 (18.5) |
This paper describes a new species belonging to the genus Zachaeus. This genus has five species (Z. anatolicus, Z. crista, Z. hebraicus, Z. orchimonti, and Z. redikorzevi) in Turkey. Z. anatolicus is distributed in Bulgaria, Caucasus, Crimea, Greece, former Yugoslavia, and Turkey (Adana, Ankara, Bayburt, Gümüşhane, Kayseri and Manisa Provinces) and Z. redikorzevi is recorded from Russia and Turkey (Bayburt, Gümüşhane, and Osmaniye Provinces) (
With Zachaeus seyyari sp. n., the number of Zachaeus species known from Turkey is now increased to 6. Considering the geographical features of Turkeyand the habitat preferences of the genus, the number of species will surely increase with ongoing studies in the future.
We are grateful to Dr. A. Kury (Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Dr. N. Snegovaya (Institute of Zoology, NAS of Azerbaijan) for advice and helpful comments.