Research Article |
Corresponding author: Alessandro Ponce de Leão Giupponi ( agiupponi@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Pavel Stoev
© 2016 Alessandro Ponce de Leão Giupponi, Gustavo Silva de Miranda, Osvaldo M. Villarreal.
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:
Giupponi APL, Miranda GS, Villarreal OM (2016) Rowlandius dumitrescoae species group: new diagnosis, key and description of new cave-dwelling species from Brazil (Schizomida, Hubbardiidae). ZooKeys 632: 13-34. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.632.9337
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The Rowlandius dumitrescoae species group is reviewed and rediagnosed, and its composition is revised. The group now includes R. cousinensis, R. decui, R. dumitrescoae, R. insignis, R. linsduarte, R. monensis, R. peckorum, R. potiguar, R. sul, R. ubajara, and R. pedrosoi sp. n. A new species is described from a cave in northeast Brazil (Santa Quitéria, Ceará). Identification keys and distributional maps are provided for the species of the group. Sixteen species of Schizomida, including five of Rowlandius, are currently recognized from Brazil.
Diversity, Hubbardiinae , Neotropics, Schizomids, Short-tailed whipscorpion, taxonomy
Rowlandius Reddell & Cokendolpher, 1995, is the most diverse Neotropical genus of Schizomida with 63 described species (
The species that compose Rowlandius were recognized as a species group long before the genus was erected, when almost all species of Schizomida were placed in Schizomus Cook, 1899 (the historical “trash can” of the order). The first attempt to subdivide Schizomus into species groups was made by
Almost 80% of Rowlandius species with a known male have striking secondary sexual dimorphism, i.e., the male pedipalp segments are much longer than that of the conspecific females. An interesting case of dimorphism is present in R. gracilis Teruel, 2004 and R. potiguar Santos, Ferreira & Buzzato, 2013, where the same population has both heteromorphic males with long pedipalp articles and homeomorphic males with shorter, female-sized pedipalp articles (
Rowlandius has an extensive geographic distribution, occurring from Cuba to Brazil. A major radiation of the genus seems to have occurred in the Greater Antilles, where the vast majority of the known species are found (
In the present article, a new species of Rowlandius is described and illustrated from the state of Ceará, northeast Brazil. Additionally, the Rowlandius dumitrescoae group is rediagnosed, an identification key to its species is provided, and the relationships of the new species are discussed.
The material studied is deposited in Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal de Rio de Janeiro (
The keys were built based on the material analyzed and the original descriptions (in the case of species with no specimens available for examination). Males are unknown for Rowlandius sul and this species was not included in the male key. The preparation and illustrations of the spermathecae follow
Acronyms used:
AMN anterior median notch of the chitinized arch
Dm dorso-median setae of abdomen and flagellum
Dl dorso-lateral setae of the abdomen and flagellum
LL lateral lobe of spermathecae
ML median lobe of spermathecae
Msp microsetae patch of the male flagellum
Vl ventro-lateral setae of the abdomen and flagellum
Rowlandius ubajara Santos, Ferreira & Buzzato, 2013: Brazil, Ceará, Ubajara, Ubajara National Park, 11–14.i.2013, 3°50'24.42"S 40°54'3.96"W, 869m a.s.l., Carlos Frankl Sperber, Thiago Gechel Kloss, Fabiene Maria de Jesus and Gabriel de Oliveira Lobregart leg. (1 male,
Rowlandius potiguar Santos, Ferreira & Buzzato, 2013: Brazil, Rio Grande do Norte, Martins, 6°5'7.87"S 37°55'6.62"W, 319m a.s.l., C. Fukushima and A. Giupponi leg. (8 females,
Diagnosis. Male pedipalps of some species sexually dimorphic, with femur and patella extremely elongated, and femur strongly bent proximally (Figs
Distribution. Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Jamaica, Martinique (Windward Islands) and Puerto Rico (Fig.
Large specimens, male body total length 4.01mm, females 3.85mm (chelicerae and flagellum not included). Spermathecae similar to R. potiguar, but stalk of LL thicker and curved in the apical third; R. pedrosoi sp. n. with stalk of LL and ML with several glandular pores. Lateral tip of chitinized arch “V-shaped”, with obtuse angle, greater than 150°, which distinguishes R. pedrosoi sp. n. from R. potiguar and R. linsduarte. Heteromorphic males present, with α (long pedipalps) and β (shorter pedipalps, but longer than those of females) heteromorphics, similar to R. potiguar. Male flagellum with setae Dm1 exactly between the main globose area of the flagellum and the stalk, such as in R. linsduarte and differently from R. potiguar and R. ubajara.
Holotype: Brazil, Ceará, Santa Quitéria, Gruta P-08, 41529 mE / 9495881 mN SAD‘69S, 15–21.vii.2014, Pellegatti and Pedroso leg. (1 male,
The species name is in honor of arachnologist Denis Rafael Pedroso, friend and collector of the type series (of this and many other new species of arachnids).
Male holotype. Color (Fig.
Prosoma (Fig.
Opisthosoma (Fig.
Flagellum (Fig.
Chelicerae (Fig.
Details of the chelicera and pedipalps of Rowlandius pedrosoi sp. n., male (
Pedipalp (Figs
Spermathecae of paratype (Fig.
The type locality is the largest cave in the state of Ceará, formed as a sloping crack (Fig.
Noteworthy of mention is a rare find of a secondary capilliconidium of a (probable) Basidiobolus sp. fungus among the cheliceral G7 setae (Fig.
1 | Occurs in Brazil | 2 |
– | Occurs in the Caribbean or Central America | 5 |
2 | Male pedipalp trochanter trapezoid in mesal view, with biggest edge facing downwards; apical region of trochanter with a small protrusion that does not touch the articulation of the trochanter-femur; pedipalps showing sexual dimorphism, i.e. larger than those of females; males with heteromorphs; posterodorsal process-XII long | 3 |
– | Male pedipalp trochanter cylindrical in mesal view; apical region of trochanter without a small protrusion (all apical region is the articulation trochanter-femur); males without heteromorphs; pedipalps without sexual dimorphism; posterodorsal process-XII short | 4 |
3 | Posterodorsal process on abdominal segment XII with wide base (exceeding the width of the flagellum pedicel), with rhombus apex, almost as wide as the base of the process; flagellum wider in the basal third; in dorsal view, the dorsal projections of the flagellum reach the lateral border of the flagellum (see |
R. ubajara (state of Ceará) |
– | Posterodorsal process on abdominal segment XII with narrow base (not exceeding the width of the flagellum pedicel), with thin apex (much narrower than the base); flagellum wider in the median region; in dorsal view the dorsal projections do not reach or surpass the lateral borders of the flagellum (see |
R. linsduarte (state of Paraíba) |
4 | Posterodorsal process on abdominal segment XII wider than long; base of the male flagellum dorsal projections not connected, i.e. with a median projection between them (see |
R. potiguar (state of Rio Grande do Norte) |
– | Posterodorsal process on abdominal segment XII longer than wide (Fig. |
R. pedrosoi sp. n. (state of Ceará) |
5 | Flagellum with one posteromedian depression | 6 |
– | Flagellum without a posteromedian depression | 7 |
6 | Flagellum with dorsal risings in lateral view | R. decui (Cuba) |
– | Flagellum without dorsal risings in lateral view | R. dumitrescoae (Costa Rica) |
7 | Dorsum of flagellum, in lateral view, with big median rising, connected by a parabola-shaped region between lateral and posterior bulge | R. cousinensis (Jamaica) |
– | Dorsum of flagellum, in lateral view, flat-shaped between lateral and posterior bulge | 8 |
8 | Pedipalp dimorphic (elongated segments); flagellum in lateral view with median region and stalk at the same level | R. insignis (Martinique) |
– | Pedipalp not dimorphic; flagellum in lateral view with median region higher than the level of the stalk | 9 |
9 | Flagellum lanceolate; flagellum in lateral view with flat posterior region | R. monensis (Jamaica) |
– | Flagellum nearly globose; flagellum in lateral view with elevated posterior region | R. peckorum (Puerto Rico) |
1 | Occurs in Brazil | 2 |
– | Occurs in the Caribbean or Central America | 6 |
2 | Median lobes of spermathecae long, finger shaped; stalk of lateral lobes slightly curved and without globose structure in the apex (slightly wider than the rest of the stalk); chitinized arch procurved | R. ubajara (state of Ceará) |
– | Median lobes of spermathecae short , cone shaped; stalk of lateral lobes curved and with globose structure in the apex; chitinized arch cordiform | 3 |
3 | Chitinized arch of spermathecae with rounded inferior part (posterior branch); median lobes closer to the anterior part of the chitinized arc | 4 |
– | Chitinized arc of spermathecae with “V” shaped inferior part (posterior branch); median lobes closer to the posterior part of the chitinized arc | 5 |
4 | Lateral lobes of spermathecae with a winding stalk and a small globose structure at the apex (globe less than twice the width of the base) | R. sul (state of Pará) |
– | Lateral lobes of spermathecae with an arched stalk and a large globose structure at the apex (globe twice as wide as the base) | R. linsduarte (state of Paraíba) |
5 | Chitinized arch of spermathecae with central region of the anterior part “V” shaped | R. potiguar (state of Rio Grande do Norte) |
– | Chitinized arch of spermathecae with central region of the anterior part almost straight | R. pedrosoi sp. n. (state of Ceará) |
6 | Median lobes of spermathecae close to the base of the chitinized arch and distant to the base of the lateral lobes; lateral lobes long, stalk curved, apex discoid | R. dumitrescoae (Costa Rica) |
– | Median lobes of spermathecae distant to the base of the chitinized arch and close to the base of the lateral lobes; lateral lobes long or short, stalk curved or not, and apex rounded or discoid | 7 |
7 | Lateral lobes of spermathecae short; median and lateral lobes with their bases in the same line (one is not anterior or posterior to the other) | R. monensis (Puerto Rico) |
– | Lateral lobes of spermathecae long; base of the lateral and median lobes not in the same line | 8 |
8 | Posterior region of the chitinized arch of spermathecae straight | R. cousinensis (Jamaica) |
– | Posterior region of the chitinized arch of spermathecae curved | 9 |
9 | Lateral and median lobes of spermathecae close to the anterior region of the chitinized arch; median and lateral lobes with their bases in the same line | R. peckorum (Jamaica) |
– | Lateral and median lobes of spermathecae in the center of the chitinized arch; median lobes positioned anteriorly to lateral lobes | R. insignis (Martinique) |
In general, species groups facilitate comparisons and identifications in speciose genera as they comprise a subset of a genus, and make the process of understanding relationships more comprehensible (
Species groups and complexes proposed by
Group | Complex | Species |
---|---|---|
dumitrescoae group | dumitrescoae complex | R. dumitrescoae |
R. decui | ||
primibiconourus complex | R. cousinensis | |
R. primibiconourus | ||
R. longipalpus | ||
R. brevipatellatus | ||
viridis complex | R. gladiger | |
R. monensis | ||
R. desecho | ||
R. biconourus | ||
R. insignis | ||
R. peckorum | ||
R. viridis |
Groups | Subgroups | Species | Diagnostic character |
---|---|---|---|
I | R. biconourus | “Presence of a dorsal spur on the heteromorphic pedipalp trochanter of the male.” | |
R. ramosi | |||
R. recuerdo | |||
II | R. abeli | “Spermathecae differs significantly from the general pattern present in congeners.” | |
III | R. decui | “Spermathecae with the terminal bulb underdeveloped and short middle lobe.” | |
R. digitiger | |||
IV | R. cubanacan | “Long and subequal spermathecae with the terminal bulb underdeveloped.” | |
R. labarcae | |||
V | V-1 | R. negreai | “Spermathecae with terminal bulbs well developed, with lateral lobes clearly longer and with a larger bulb.” |
R. monticola | |||
V-2 | R. baracoae | ||
V-3 | R. toldo | ||
R. gladiger | |||
R. alayoni | |||
R. siboney | |||
R. terueli |
Body | Male holotype |
Female paratype |
---|---|---|
Total body: L | 4.01 | 3.85 |
Propeltidium: L | 1.25 | 0.98 |
Propeltidium: W | 0.67 | 0.61 |
Metapeltidium: L | 0.62 | 0.24 |
Metapeltidium: W | 0.25 | 0.29 |
Abdomen: L | 2.3 | 2.00 |
Abdomen: W | 0.9 | 0.92 |
Flagellum: L | 0.37 | 0.25 |
Flagellum: W | 0.23 | 0.07 |
Pedipalp: L | ||
trochanter | 0.82 | 0.58 |
femur | 2.06 | 0.56 |
patella | 1.84 | 0.62 |
tibia | 0.91 | 0.53 |
tarsus + claw | 0.54 | 0.41 |
Leg: I L | ||
coxa | 0.42 | 0.61 |
trochanter | 0.33 | 0.33 |
femur | 1.18 | 1.23 |
patella | 1.55 | 1.53 |
tibia | 1.07 | 0.99 |
basitarsus | 0.33 | 0.21 |
telotarsus | 0.55 | 0.3 |
Leg: IV L | ||
femur | 1.06 | 1.24 |
patella | 0.51 | 0.55 |
tibia | 0.82 | 0.89 |
basitarsus | 0.67 | 0.67 |
telotarsus | 0.47 | 0.46 |
Studies on South American Schizomida revealed Rowlandius species inhabiting Brazil (
List of species maintained, removed, and added to the dumitrescoae group.
Species maintained | Species removed | Species added |
---|---|---|
R. cousinensis | R. primibiconourus* | R. linsduarte |
R. decui | R. longipalpus | R. potiguar |
R. dumitrescoae | R. gladiger | R. sul |
R. monensis | R. desecho | R. ubajara |
R. peckorum | R. biconourus | R. pedrosoi sp. n. |
R. insignis | R. viridis |
Some Rowlandius illustrated in the literature are potentially part of the dumitrescoae group, but are not presently included, once no material was accessible during the preparation of the work. One of them is an undescribed species from Tortuguero, Costa Rica, illustrated by
An interesting character observed in some species of Rowlandius (e.g. R. dumitrescoae, R. insignis, R. potiguar and R. pedrosoi sp. n.) is the strong sexual dimorphism of the palps. The femur and patella of the pedipalps are extremely long in α-heteromorphic males compared to females and homeomorphic males, as reported by
Rowlandius is the only short-tailed whip scorpion genus found in the dry biome of Caatinga (
We thank Denis Rafael Pedroso (