A new species of Auyantepuia González-Sponga, 1978 (Scorpiones, Chactidae) from French Guiana

Abstract A new species of scorpion belonging to the genus Auyantepuia González-Sponga, 1978 (family Chactidae Pocock, 1893) is described on the basis of three specimens collected in a rainforest formation located in Saut Sabbat, South of Mana, French Guiana. This is the tenth species of the Guiano-Amazonian genus Auyantepuia, and the fifth reported from French Guiana.


Introduction
In the present paper, a new species of Auyantepuia is described from a rainforest formation in French Guiana. The great diversity and endemism in the Guiana region has been previously discussed and evidence from scorpion biogeographic patterns has already been used to support the Guiana region as an important area of endemism (Lourenço 1986(Lourenço , 1991(Lourenço , 2001. The description of the new species raises to ten the number of species belonging to the genus Auyantepuia and confirms again the validity of this genus (Lourenço and Qi 2007) and the disrupted and relictual pattern of geographical distribution of the genus, which is confined to the Guiano-Amazon regions, with a strong concentration of the species in the Guayana floristic province (Mori 1991). This also brings further confirmation to the very high levels of endemic species in the Guiana region.

Methods
Measurements and illustrations were made using a Motic DM143 digital stereo-microscope. Measurements follow Stahnke (1970) and are given in mm. Trichobothrial notations are those developed by Vachon (1974) and the morphological terminology mostly follows Hjelle (1990). Etymology. The specific name refers to Laura Ythier, for her contribution to the collection of the new species.
Description. based on female holotype and female paratypes. Coloration. General coloration reddish-brown. Carapace reddish-yellow, intensely marked with brownish variegated spots around the ocular tubercle and on the anterior and posterior edges of the carapace; ocular tubercle darker, almost black. Tergites reddish-brown with confluent reddish-yellow spots, on the sides and the middle of tergites, without forming a longitudinal stripe. Metasomal segments reddish-yellow, marked with variegated brownish spots on lateral and dorsal sides of segments I to V and on ventral side of segments IV and V; ventral side of segments I to III yellowish, without spots; vesicle reddish-yellow with basis of aculeus blackish and tip of aculeus reddish. Chelicerae yellowish, with variegated dark brown spots; fingers reddish-yellow with dark brown spots at their basis, reddish teeth. Pedipalps reddish-brown, with longitudinal dark brown spots. Legs yellowish, intensely marked with brownish spots. Venter and sternites yellowish to reddish-yellow; sternum reddish-yellow with darker spots; genital opercle reddish-yellow; pectines pale yellow.
Morphology. Carapace lustrous and acarinate, with some minute punctations; furrows shallow; anterior edge emarginate. Sternum pentagonal, wider than long. Tergites acarinate, almost smooth and shiny, with only minute granulations on their posterior edges. Pectinal tooth count 5-6 to 6-6, fulcra absent. Sternites smooth and shiny, VII acarinate; spiracles rounded in shape. Only metasomal segments IV and V longer than wide; metasomal tegument almost lustrous, without granulation, and with a few punctations; segment V with spinoid granulation ventrally, weakly marked. Carinae on segments I-V vestigial or absent; only dorso-lateral carinae are weakly marked on segments I to IV. Pedipalp femur with dorsal internal, dorsal external and ventral in-     ternal carinae moderately marked; internal face weakly granular; other faces smooth. Patella smooth, with vestigial carinae. Chela weakly granulated, almost smooth, with dorso-internal carina weakly marked. Dentate margins on fixed and movable fingers with 6 rows of granules. Chelicerae with dentition typical of the family Chactidae (Vachon, 1963), and with dense setation ventrally and internally. Trichobothriotaxy of type C; neobothriotaxic 'majorante' (Vachon, 1974). Relationships. Auyantepuia laurae sp. n. can be distinguished from other species of the genus Auyantepuia and, in particular, from the five species described from the Guiana region, by the following features: -A. gaillardi Lourenço, 1983 (described from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, French Guiana): (i) metasomal segments reddish-yellow, marked with variegated brownish spots on lateral and dorsal sides of segments I to V and on ventral side of segments IV and V; ventral side of segments I to III yellowish, without spots (all segments uniformely reddish in A. gaillardi), (ii) body, carapace,chelicerae, pedipalps and legs reddish-brown intensely marked with darker spots (uniform coloration without darker spots in A. gaillardi). -A. surinamensis Lourenço & Duhem, 2010 (described from Albina/Moengo, Suriname): (i) metasomal segments reddish-yellow, marked with variegated brownish spots on lateral and dorsal sides of segments I to V and on ventral side of segments IV and V; ventral side of segments I to III yellowish, without spots (all segments reddish uniformely and intensely marked with brownish spots in A. surinamensis), (ii) size 27.5-28.2 mm (19.0-20.8 mm in A. surinamensis).
-A. kelleri Lourenço, 1997 (described from Cacao, French Guiana): (i) metasomal segments reddish-yellow, marked with variegated brownish spots on lateral and dorsal sides of segments I to V and on ventral side of segments IV and V; ventral side of segments I to III yellowish, without spots (all segments uniformely dark reddish in A. kelleri), (ii) pedipalps intensely marked with dark brown spots (weakly marked in A. kelleri), (iii) occular tubercle darker, almost black (clear in A. kelleri).
-A. fravalae Lourenço, 1983 (described from Saut Pararé, French Guiana): (i) metasomal segments reddish-yellow, marked with variegated brownish spots on lateral and dorsal sides of segments I to V and on ventral side of segments IV and V; ventral side of segments I to III yellowish, without spots (brownish spots on lateral and ventral sides of segments I to V and ventral side of segments I to II well pigmented in A. fravalae), (ii) pedipalps with chelae weakly granulated, almost smooth (moderately to strongly granulated in A. fravalae), (iii) female pectines with 5-6 to 6-6 teeth (8-8 in A. fravalae).
-A. sissomi Lourenço, 1983 (described from Oyapok, French Guiana): (i) metasomal segments reddish-yellow, marked with variegated brownish spots on lateral and dorsal sides of segments I to V and on ventral side of segments IV and V; ventral side of segments I to III yellowish, without spots (only ventral side of segments I to II yellowish in A. sissomi), (ii) pedipalps with chelae weakly granulated, almost smooth (moderately to strongly granulated in A. sissomi), (iii) tergites reddish-brown with confluent reddishyellow spots, on the sides and the middle of tergites, without forming a longitudinal stripe (yellow spots on the middle of tergites forming a longitudinal stripe dividing the tergites in A. sissomi), (iv) general coloration reddish-brown (yellowish in A. sissomi).