Ephippiochthonius rimicola ( Mahnert, 1993 ) Mahnert, 1993

Zaragoza, Juan A., 2017, Revision of the Ephippiochthonius complex in the Iberian Peninsula, Balearic Islands and Macaronesia, with proposed changes to the status of the Chthonius subgenera (Pseudoscorpiones, Chthoniidae), Zootaxa 4246 (1), pp. 1-221 : 110-112

Ephippiochthonius rimicola ( Mahnert, 1993) , n. comb.

(Fig. 168)

Chthonius (Ephippiochthonius) rimicola Mahnert 1993: 975 –976, figs 8–12, table 1.

Type locality. Spain, Canary Islands, Santa Cruz de Tenerife province, Hierro Island, Tiñor (27°47′18″N, 17°56′00″W; 920 m a.s.l.) .

Distribution. Spain: Canary Islands.

Diagnosis (♂ ♀). A small, epigean Ephippiochthonius species of the tetrachelatus -group. Movable cheliceral finger with isolated subapical tooth (di) and with prominent spinneret in female, distinctly reduced in male; lyrifissure ldb present; two pairs of eyes with lenses, anterior margin of carapace usually with 2 (rarely 1 or 3) preocular microsetae on each side, posterior margin with 2 medial macrosetae and 2 lateral microsetae; chelal hand distinctly depressed at level of ib / isb, with rounded hump distad of ib / isb and an abrupt slope between trichobothria ib / isb and eb; fixed chelal finger with 17–22 teeth; movable chelal finger with 6–9 pointed teeth at the distal half and 8–11 low and rounded vestigial teeth in the basal half, all the dental row with dental canals; pedipalpal femur (♀) 5.2–5.4, (♂) 5.4–5.7 times longer than broad, length (♂ ♀) 0.47–0.56 mm; chela (♀) 4.2–4.7, (♂) 4.8–5.3 times longer than deep, length (♂ ♀) 0.65–0.77 mm; ratio movable chelal finger/chelal hand (♂) 1.4–1.5, (♀) 1.3–1.4; all chelal lyrifissure patterns present, most with their standard complements, hd is absent.

Type material examined. 1 ♂, 1 ♀ paratypes ( MHNG), Spain, Canary Islands, Santa Cruz de Tenerife province, La Palma Island, road from Santa Cruz de La Palma to Fuencaliente , Villa de Mazo , Las Cuevas ravine, Cueva de Belmaco (28°34′47″N, 17°46′31″W; 348 m a.s.l.), 11.V.1993, leg. B. Hauser .

Non-type material examined. Spain, Canary Islands, Santa Cruz de Tenerife province, Hierro Island , 1 ♀ ( MHNG), Valverde (27°48′41″N, 17°54′55″W; 584 m a.s.l.), 0 7.III.1983, leg. C. Besuchet ; Hierro Island, 1 ♂, 1 ♀ ( MHNG), El Golfo, San Andrés, Mirador de Jinama (27°45′47″N, 17°58′51″W; 1236 m a.s.l.), 0 8.III.1983, leg. C. Besuchet .

Description (♂ ♀). Small, epigean species. Integument pigmented; marked hispid granulation on lateral surface of carapace, on cheliceral hand and on bases of chelal fingers.

Carapace as long as broad or slightly broader than long; anterior margin almost straight, medially very weakly prominent and dentate; two pairs of well developed eyes with lenses and reflecting tapeta, anterior eyes strongly convex, 0.035 mm from anterior margin of carapace, diameter 0.040 mm, posterior eyes with weakly convex lens, 0.030 mm from anterior eyes, diameter 0.040 mm. Chaetotaxy: 18 setae and 1–3 (usually 2) preocular microsetae on each side, posterior margin with 2 medial macrosetae and 2 (exceptionally 1 or 3) lateral microsetae, setal formula mm 4mm:6:4:2:m 2m, anteromedial setae 0.08–0.11 mm long, sublateral ocular setae 0.0 6– 0.08 mm long, posteromedial setae 0.09–0.12 mm long, posterolateral setae very short, microsetal in size, 0.01 mm long; 4 lyrifissures anteriorly and 2 posteriorly.

Chelicera with 6 setae and 2 lateral microsetae on hand, seta vb 0.03 mm long, microseta 0.02 mm long; hand with 5 dorsal and 1 ventral lyrifissure, lyrifissure ldb present. Fixed finger with 7–8 teeth decreasing in size proximally and 1–2 proximal microtubercles, distal tooth larger than others. Movable finger with an isolated subapical tooth (di), with 5 teeth decreasing in size proximally, distal tooth larger than others; spinneret prominent in female, strongly reduced in male; seta gl 0.57 from base of movable finger. Rallum with 11 blades. Serrula exterior about 14 blades.

Chaetotaxy of tergites 4:4:4:4:6:6:6:6:1T2T1:4:1T2T1:0; tergites IX and XI each with 2 sublateral tactile setae (0.17–0.21 and 0.27–0.31 mm long, respectively). Chaetotaxy of sternites 10:(3)9–12(3):(1–2)6–9(2):8– 10:6:6:6:6:2T1T2:0:2, lateral setae on sternite III microsetal in size, sternite X with 2 submedial tactile setae; in addition, genital notch of male flanked by 6–8 setae on each side and 4+4 internal glandular setae.

Pedipalpal coxa with 5 setae (including 2 on manducatory process), distal marginal seta of disk 0.07–0.08 mm long; coxa I 3 + 3 marginal microsetae, distal marginal seta 0.06–0.07 mm long; II 4 + 5–10 bipinnate coxal spines, III 5 + 3–5 bipinnate coxal spines and IV 3–5; intercoxal tubercle bisetose.

Pedipalp with femoral chaetotaxy 3:6:2:5–6:1. Chela (Fig. 168) with hand distinctly depressed at level of ib / isb, with rounded hump distad of ib / isb and an abrupt slope between trichobothria ib / isb and eb; dorsal-antiaxial surface of the chelal hand between the hump and trichobothria eb / esb flattened, limited by a marked edge; ventral intercondylar bow-like protuberance (ip) present; chaetotaxy 4:5:3, seta ph3 lacking, setae ih1, ih3 and ih4 approximately level with trichobothria ib / isb; distal end of hand and bases of chelal fingers with sclerotized condylar complex. Fixed finger with 17–22 mostly pointed teeth, decreasing in size proximally, all with dental canals, dental row reaching up to sensilla pc level, 3 microtubercles at base; tip of finger with an accessory tooth (td) on antiaxial face; tip of fixed chelal finger of male with a deep hollow on paraxial face and a pronounced subdistal protuberance (sp); 5 teeth at level of est / it occupying 0.1 mm, distance between successive apices 0.020– 0.023 mm; one pair of very short antiaxial sensory setae (as), 0.015–0.020 mm long, very closer together, distance between them 0.023–0.025 mm, finger depth at the base 0.050–0.053 mm. Distal half of movable finger with 6–9 triangular teeth with dental canals reaching level of trichobothrium st or slightly proximad; basal half without marginal lamina, up to trichobothrium sb or sensilla pc level with 8–11 low and rounded vestigial teeth, all with dental canals except the most proximal, 2 microtubercles at base; basal apodeme long and apically indented; coupled sensilla pc distinctly proximad of sb. Trichobothria as in Fig. 168; ist well distad of esb and level with lyrifissure fb; distance between ib / isb and esb slightly longer than that between ib / isb and the base of the hand; distance between st and sb 2.2 times longer than that between sb and b. All chelal lyrifissure patterns present, most with their standard complements, lyrifissure hd is absent, hp can be rarely duplicated.

Measurements and ratios. Female holotype and paratypes, female ratios in brackets, followed, when different, by males in square brackets: Body 1.52 [1.08]. Carapace (♀ ♂) 0.36–0.45/0.36–0.46. Chelicera 0.35/0.17 [0.31/ 0.15], movable finger 0.19 [0.15]. Pedipalp: femur (♀ ♂) 0.47–0.56/0.08–0.11 (♀: 5.2–5.4) [♂: 5.4–5.7], patella (♀ ♂) 0.18–0.23/0.10–0.14 (1.7–1.9) [1.8–2.1], chela 0.65–0.77/0.13–0.19 (4.2–4.7) [4.8–5.3], hand 0.28–0.34 (1.8–1.9) [2.0–2.1], movable finger 0.40–0.46; ratio movable finger/hand (1.3–1.4) [1.4–1.5]; ratio femur/movable finger 1.2, femur/carapace 1.2–1.3, chela/carapace 1.7–1.8, chela/femur 1.4.

Remarks. Ephippiochthonius rimicola was originally considered to belong to the machadoi -group ( Mahnert 2011a), which is here placed in the genus Occidenchthonius . However, the absence of chelal hand seta ph3, the presence of chelal lyrifissures ma1 and ma2, and the position of the chelal setae ih1, ih3 and ih4 (approximately level with trichobothria ib / isb) place E. rimicola in the tetrachelatus -group of Ephippiochthonius . This species is known from the following Canarian islands: El Hierro, Gran Canaria, La Palma, Lanzarote and Tenerife; specimens of populations from El Hierro and La Palma, examined during this study, share the absence of chelal lyrifissure hd as a diagnostic characteristic (quite exceptional within the tetrachelatus -group), but this needs to be confirmed in populations of other islands. Amongst the species of the tetrachelatus -group known from the Iberian Peninsula and Macaronesia having 1–3 lateral microsetae in the posterior row of the carapace and an isolated subapical tooth on the movable cheliceral finger, E. rimicola differs from the microphthalmic species E. aguileraorum in having two pairs of eyes with distinct convex lenses, shorter pedipalpal articles and trichobothrium ist level with lyrifissure fb (versus distinctly distad in E. aguileraorum ). The above description incorporates in part that of Mahnert (1993) and additional data provided by Mahnert (2011a).