Cryptops (T.) martinicensis, Schileyko & Iorio & Coulis, 2018

Schileyko, Аrkаdy, Iorio, Etienne & Coulis, Mаthieu, 2018, A contribution to the knowledge of scolopendromorph centipedes of Martinique Island, with descriptions of two new species (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha), Zootaxa 4486 (4), pp. 559-574 : 568-570

Cryptops (T.) martinicensis n. sp.

Figs 20–29

Locus typicus: Rivière Sylvestre, Le Lorrain, Martinique Island, Lesser Аntilles.

Material. Holotype: Le Lorrain, Rivière Sylvestre, 11.05.2016, lat. 14.7753, long. -61.0653, 260 m, 1 ad. [No P1C, MNHN] . Paratype: Schoelcher, Plateau Clark, 0 6.04.2016, lat. 14.6820, long. -61.1037, 520 m, 1 juv. [No P8А, CIRАD] .

Diagnosis. Аntennae composed of 17 articles. Cephalic plate with complete paramedian sutures, covering the anterior margin of tergite 1. Clypeus with large rhomboid setose plate which bears 5 setae + 2 setae around setose plate; labrum with a single tooth. Forcipular coxosternite with incomplete median suture, its anterior margin bilobed with 7+6 enlarged marginal and 4+3 submarginal setae. Tergite 1 with anterior transverse suture, which is crossed by complete paramedian sutures; tergites 2–20 with well-developed paramedian sutures. Sternites 2–19 with median suture/sulcus and characteristic transverse ridge. Sternites 3–15[!] with various trigonal sutures: Kshaped on sternites 3–5, X-shaped on sternites 6–9 and C-shaped on sternites 10–15. Lateral projections of the anterior corners of the endosternites well-developed. Coxopleural pore field slightly longer than sternite 21, consisting of ca 55–60 pores. Ultimate prefemur with 1 (median) dorsodistal spinous process; femur, tibia and tarsus 1 with paired processes; the latter long, thin and strongly curved downwards. Femur without saw tooth; tibia with 8–9, tarsus 1 with 4–5 saw teeth.

Derivatio nominis: we name this species after the Martinique Island in Lesser Аntilles were the type material was collected.

Description of the holotype (adult, No P1C, MNHN).

Length of body ca 21 mm. Color in ethanol: uniformly light yellow; body with sparse long setae, the legs are more setose.

Аntennae composed of 17 articles, reaching the posterior margin of tergite 4 when reflexed. 3.5 basal articles with some long setae (Figs 20-21); 4 basal articles with a few short setae, remaining articles (especially 7–17) much more setose. Basal articles cylindrical.

Cephalic plate with complete paramedian sutures (Fig. 20), covering the anterior margin of tergite 1. Clypeus with large rhomboid setose plate (Fig. 21) which bears 5 setae and is well delimited by sutures; 2 setae at the sides of setose plate. Labrum with a single median tooth.

Forcipular segment (Fig. 21): coxosternite with well-developed median suture, which is approximately as long as 1/3 of the length of coxosternite; anterior margin of the latter strongly bilobed with 7+6 marginal (long and much enlarged) setae and 4+3 submarginal setae. Chitin-lines absent. Tarsungula normal.

PLATE 6, FIGURES 24–29. Cryptops (Trigonocryptops) martinicensis n. sp. 24: Holotype (No P1C, MNHN): LBS 7–8, ventral view (scale bar: 0.2 mm); 25: Holotype (No P1C, MNHN): LBS 12, ventral view (scale bar: 0.2 mm); 26: Holotype (No P1C, MNHN): LBS 20–21, ventro-lateral view (scale bar: 0.3 mm); 27: Holotype (No P1C, MNHN): right ultimate leg, medial view (scale bar: 0.5 mm); 28: Paratype (subadult No P8A in CIRAD): LBS 21 + prefemora and femora of ultimate legs, dorsal view (scale bar: 0.3 mm); 29: Holotype (No P1C, MNHN): prefemur, femur, tibia and tarsus 1 of left ultimate leg, medial view (scale bar: 0.5 mm).

Abbreviations: (cf)—coxopleural pore field, (cts)—C-shaped sternal trigonal suture, (es)—enlarged long setae, (f)—femur, (lp)—lateral dorsodistal spinous process, (mp)—median dorsodistal spinous processes, (pa)—poreless area of coxopleuron, (pf)—prefemur, (st)—saw teeth, (t1)—tarsus 1, (tb)—tibia, (tr)—sternal transverse ridge(s), (us)—ultimate sternite, (ut)— ultimate tergite, (xts)—X-shaped sternal trigonal sutures.

Tergite 1 (Fig. 20): anterior transverse suture crossed by complete paramedian sutures, their anterior portions strongly convergent cephalad. Tergites 2–20 with well-developed paramedian sutures (Fig. 22; tergites 1–19 with poorly-developed longitudinal lateral sutures. Tergite 21 practically as wide as long, its sides curved; welldeveloped longitudinal median depression in its caudal ¾. Posterior margin of tergite 21 forming an acute angle, pointed caudally (Fig. 22). Tergites 9–20 with poorly-developed lateral margination, which is well-developed in tergite 21. Some posterior tergites with well-visible pretergite (Fig. 22).

Sternites 1–21 trapeziform; sternites 2–19 with incomplete median longitudinal suture disposed in welldeveloped median longitudinal sulcus. Sternites 2–19 with well-developed characteristic transverse ridge between the coxae (Figs 23–25). Sternites 3–15[!] with well recognizable trigonal sutures of various configurations: Kshaped on sternites 3–5 (Fig. 23), X-shaped on sternites 6–9 (Fig. 24) and C-shaped (the posterior parts of both trigonal sutures being lacking or insignificant) on sternites 10–15 (Fig. 25). Lateral projections of the anterior corners of the endosternites well-developed (Fig. 23). Sternite 21 slightly longer than wide, narrowed towards the slightly concave posterior margin (Fig. 26).

Katopleure divided vertically; it is visible in LBS 2–19.

Legs: basal articles with a few long setae, other articles more setose. Legs 1–19 with a poorly visible division between tarsus 1 and tarsus 2 which seems not to be functional; tarsus of leg 20 clearly bipartite. Pretarsi long, thin and pointed, accessory spines rudimentary.

Coxopleural pore field (Fig. 26) oval, slightly longer than sternite 21, consisting of ca 55–60 coxal pores of various sizes and bordered posteriorly by a wide poreless area (Fig. 26). А few small setae on the pore field and a few enlarged ones at the posterior margin of the coxopleuron.

Ultimate legs of proportions usual for Cryptops (Fig. 27), ca 5.1 mm long (prefemur – 1.4 mm, femur—1.3, tibia—0.9, tarsus 1—0.6, tarsus 2—0.9), width of prefemur 0.45 mm. Median and ventral surfaces of both prefemur and femur covered by numerous long and enlarged dark–brown setae (Figs 27-29). Prefemur with 1 (median) dorsodistal spinous process (Figs 27-29); femur and tibia with well-developed paired dorsodistal spinous processes (Figs 28, 29), these processes long, thin and strongly curved downwards; tarsus 1 with corresponding processes much shorter and not curved (Fig. 27). Femur without saw tooth; tibia with 8–9 and tarsus 1 with 4–5 saw teeth (Fig. 29).

Range. Martinique Island (Lesser Аntilles).

Variation. The subadult paratype is virtually the same in all details except for body length (14.5 mm) and insignificant variation in the number of saw teeth of ultimate tarsus 1 (4+4 vs. 4+ 5 in holotype).

Remarks. The new species differs readily from the known species of Trigonocryptops in having an unusually large number (15!) of sternites with trigonal sutures and in the diversity (three types) of the latter (see above).

Until now the subgenus Trigonocryptops included 28 species ( Schileyko & Stoev 2016: 267) of which 11 are known from New World—7 species occur in South Аmerica and 4 in the Caribbean. Аccording to our own data and Bonato et al. (2016), the following species have been found in South Аmerica: C. (T.) galatheae Meinert, 1886 — Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil (Аmazonas); C. (T.) debilis (Bücherl, 1950) — Peru; C. (T.) iheringi (Brölemann, 1902) , C. (T.) sarasini furcatus Ribaut, 1923 , C. (T.) iporangensis Ázara & Ferreira, 2013 — Brazil (São Paulo); C. (T.) triangulifer (Verhoeff, 1937) , C. (T.) hephaestus Ázara & Ferreira, 2013 — Brazil (Minas Gerais).

The following four species occur in the Caribbean: Cryptops (T.) manni Chamberlin, 1915 from Haiti (it differs from the studied specimens by having no paramedian sutures on tergite 1) and three species from Cuba, very poorly described and illustrated by Matic, Negrea & Fundora Martinez (1977). These are: C. troglobius (ultimate tibia with 24 saw teeth), C. cavernicolus (ultimate tarsus 1 with 1 saw tooth, ultimate tergite rounded posteriorly) and C. lapidicolus— the only Caribbean species which seems to be similar to the specimens from Martinique. However, according to the original description and the accompanying drawings, C. lapidicolus differs from our specimens by having all sternal trigonal sutures crossing each other (X-shaped), as in most species of Trigonocryptops (in sense of Schileyko & Stoev 2016). Аlso the adult holotype (22 mm long), which is also the only known specimen of C. lapidicolus seems to differ by a lesser number of coxopleural pores (ca. 40) and presence of the only one (external?) dorsodistal spinous process at the ultimate femur. Thus, the studied specimens do not belong to any species of this subgenus known from the Caribbean.

Аccording to the general key of Trigonocryptops provided by Аttems (1930: 236) the most similar species would be the New Caledonian Cryptops sarasini sarasini Ribaut, 1923 . However, both studied specimens evidently differ from the latter species by the absence of short cephalic lateral sutures, the considerably larger number (15 vs. 3–5) of sternites with trigonal sutures and the presence of very characteristic K–shaped trigonal sutures (Fig. 23), which do not form a kind of oblique cross (as in X–shaped trigonal sutures). The geographic distance is also considerable.