Troglocubazomus Teruel, 2003

Teruel, Rolando & Rodríguez-Cabrera, Tomás M., 2019, Two remarkable new species of Hubbardiidae Cook, 1899 (Arachnida: Schizomida) from eastern Cuba, Ecologica Montenegrina 20, pp. 40-54 : 46-48

Genus Troglocubazomus Teruel, 2003

Figs. 5–8 , 10–11 , 13

Troglocubazomus Teruel, 2003: 39 , 41–43. Armas, 2004: 37, 53. Teruel, 2007: 39, 46–52; fig. 11; tab. II. Armas & Teruel, 2009: 447–450. Teruel, 2011: 22, 33, 36, 81–82, 87; figs. 86–88; tabs. 3, 6. Moreno & Villarreal, 2012: 75; tab. 3. Moreno et al., 2014: 248; tab. 6. Armas et al., 2017: 534–536, 544. Teruel, 2017a: 46. Teruel, 2018: 40, 46.

Type species. Schizomus orghidani Dumitresco, 1977 , by original designation.

Diagnosis (emended). Size moderately large for the family (4–6 mm). Coloration: immaculate pale yellowish, with chelicerae and pedipalps orange to light reddish and male abdominal segments X–XII and flagellum orange to reddish brown. Body without clavate setae. Cheliceral movable finger: ventrointernal margin with serrula and guard tooth, ventroexternal margin smooth (lacking lamella and teeth). Pedipalps sexually not dimorphic nor polymorphic (short and robust in both sexes); trochanter lanceolate, with femoral articulation very wide and on dorsal position (i.e., parallel to the trochanter longitudinal axis) and with apex conspicuously produced into a large, flat triangular projection, internal spur variable from moderate to absent (even between pedipalps of the same individual); patella and tibia subcylindrical and ventrally armed with spiniform macrosetae (not especially enlarged or knife-shaped). Propeltidium lacking true ocelli and eyespots; anterior process with two apical setae (1 + 1) and 2–4 pairs of dorsal setae (median pairs usually incomplete or absent). Metapeltidium entire. Leg IV femur moderately slender, anterodorsal margin angled at 75° to slightly less than 90°. Male: abdomen slightly attenuate distally; tergites I–II with 1–2 / 2–3 pairs of anterior microsetae (one pair occasionally incomplete or missing); tergites II–VII with setation unmodified (standard formula 2 / 2 / 2 / 2 / 2 / 2); segment X slightly modified (slightly more sclerotized than usual and darkened); segment XI moderately modified (more sclerotized than usual, darkened, and with a dorsosubmedian pair of long, thickened, sinuose macrosetae); segment XII lacking posterodorsal process but highly modified: heavily sclerotized, swollen, darkened, dorsally with distal third sloped down at about 90° (so the flagellar joint is transversely semicircular instead of round), and with 3–4 pairs (dorsomedian, dorsosubmedian, dorsolateral and lateral) of enlarged, sinuose to sickle-shaped macrosetae. Flagellum large, with pedicel/bulb angled at 180°; pedicel very short and wide; bulb broadly oval and depressed, with a very large and deep pair of oblique ventrolateral furrows, dorsal surface shallowly convex and lacking any distinct relief such as conspicuous protuberances, pits or furrows (only with a very wide and shallow depression all along); setation pattern: single dm 1, dm 4, vm 1 and vm 5, paired dl 1, dl 2, dl 3, vm 2, vm 3, vl 1 and vl 2, with dm 1 located basally on bulb, dm 4 in subapical position, lateral patch of microsetae highly developed (setae conspicuously larger than usual). Female: flagellum with three flagellomeres and two annuli; setation pattern per flagellomere: none / single dm 1 and vm 1, paired dl 1 and vm 2 / single dm 4 and vm 5, paired dl 2, dl 3, dl 4, vm 3, vl 1 and vl 2. Spermathecae with two pairs of simple and very similar lobes (median pair clearly longer than lateral pair): not fused or bifurcate, elongate-conical, thick, sinuose, lacking apical bulbs and coarsely fenestrate. Chitinized arch very well sclerotized, broadly V-shaped. Gonopod short and wide.

Subordinate taxa. Only two widely allopatric, troglomorphic troglobite species are known to date: Troglocubazomus orghidani (Dumitresco, 1977) and Troglocubazomus inexpectatus sp. n.

Distribution (fig. 13). This genus is endemic to southeastern Cuba, where it is known from two isolate coastal caves more than 200 km apart, in the opposite extremes of the Sierra Maestra Mountains.

Remarks. Several other independent, limestone karstic outcrops plenty of caves with the same ecological conditions (figs. 10–11) are scattered across the Sierra Maestra Mountains, especially along its southern coast between the two known occurrences of Troglocubazomus . Thus, it is reasonable to predict additional occurrences and the discovery of more species of this genus there.

Figures

Figures 5-6. 5 Adult male holotype of Troglocubazomus inexpectatus sp. n., habitus: a) dorsal view; b) lateral view. 6 Adult male topotype of Troglocubazomus orghidani included here for comparison, habitus: a) dorsal view; b) lateral view.

Figures 7-8. 7 Adult male holotype of Troglocubazomus inexpectatus sp. n., close-ups: a) pedipalps, lateral view; b) abdominal segments IX–XII and flagellum, dorsal view; c) abdominal segments IX–XII and flagellum, lateral view. 8 Adult male topotype of Troglocubazomus orghidani included here for comparison, close-ups: a) pedipalps, lateral view; b) abdominal segments IX–XII and flagellum, dorsal view; c) abdominal segments IX–XII and flagellum, lateral view.

Figures 9-11. 9 Ecological conditions at the type-locality of Antillostenochrus eremita sp. n.: a) overview of the area; b) detail, the types were found under the larger tree at center; c) exact finding spot, see the large rocks semi-buried at the tree base. 10 Ecological conditions at the type-locality of Troglocubazomus inexpectatus sp. n.: a) overview of the area; b) detail, see the cave entrance at bottom right; c) exact finding spot, the holotype was found under the rock turned-over at center. 11 Ecological conditions at the type-locality of Troglocubazomus orghidani included here for comparison: a) overview of the area; b) detail, the cave entrance is located at bottom left; c) exact finding spot, see the senior author in the moment of collecting a topotype.

Figures 12-13. 12 Map showing the geographical distribution of Antillostenochrus eremita sp. n. (red symbol) and the remaining Cuban populations of the genus (yellow symbols). Image frame = 450 x 195 km. 13 Map showing the geographical distribution of Troglocubazomus inexpectatus sp. n. (red symbol) and Troglocubazomus orghidani (yellow symbol). Image frame = 450 x 195 km.