Paractenoscia cavernicola, Taiti & Rossano, 2015

Taiti, Stefano & Rossano, Claudia, 2015, Terrestrial isopods from the Oued Laou basin, north-eastern Morocco (Crustacea: Oniscidea), with descriptions of two new genera and seven new species, Journal of Natural History 49 (33), pp. 2067-2138 : 2082-2086

Paractenoscia cavernicola sp. nov.

( Figures 9–11)

Material examined

Holotype: ♂, St. 8, leg. S. Taiti and C. Rossano, 28 April 2004 ( MZUF 9473 ) . Paratypes: 3 ♂, 9 ♀♀, same data as holotype ( MZUF 9473 ) .

Description

Maximum length: ♂, 3.5 mm; ♀, 4.8 mm. Body outline as in Figure 9A. Colourless body. Back smooth with some scattered pointed scale-setae ( Figure 9B); noduli laterales with b/c and d/c co-ordinates as in Figure 9C. Cephalon ( Figure 9D, 9E) with suprantennal line slightly bent downwards in the middle; eyes absent. Pereonites 1–3 with convex distal margins and rounded posterior corners; pereonites 4–7 with progressively more acute corners ( Figure 9F). Telson triangular with slightly convex sides ( Figure 9G). Antennule ( Figure 9H) with third article longer than first and second; third article with two petaliform apical aesthetascs, two petaliform aesthetascs in the middle and one pointed aesthetasc closer to proximal margin. Antenna ( Figures 9I, 11A) with flagellum slightly longer than fifth article of peduncle; flagellar articles subequal in length; a row of three aesthetascs on second and four aesthetascs on third flagellar article. Mandible with molar penicil consisting of three long and two short setae; left mandible ( Figure 10A) with 2 + 1 free penicils and two lines of scales between the two groups of free penicils; right mandible ( Figure 10B) with 1 + 1 free penicils. Maxillule outer branch with 4 + 6 (4 pectinate) teeth; inner branch with two short stout penicils ( Figure 10C). Maxilla ( Figure 10D) deeply bilobate with setose apex, inner lobe slightly larger than outer one, bearing verruca-like protuberances at the base and with tuft of short segmented sticks near medial margin. Maxilliped ( Figure 10E) endite with a line of setae in the middle and no penicil; first article of palp with two strong setae. Pereopods with a row of scales on distal margins of ischium, merus and carpus.

Male: Antenna with fifth article of the peduncle distinctly enlarged ( Figure 11A). Pereopod 1 ( Figure 11B) with no distinct sexual modifications. Pereopod 7 ( Figure 11C) ischium with straight sternal margin. Pleopod 1 ( Figure 11D) exopod subtriangular; endopod with pointed apical part slightly bent outwards. Pleopod 2 ( Figure 11E) endopod with apical part flagelliform, distinctly longer than exopod. Pleopod 3–5 exopods as in Figure 11F– H.

Etymology

From the Latin ‘ cavernicolus ’ = cavernicolous, cave-dwelling. The name refers to the locality of collection: Ghar-Knadel Cave.