Pygmarrhopalites ashcraftensis, Zeppelini, Douglas, Taylor, Steven J. & Slay, Michael E., 2009

Zeppelini, Douglas, Taylor, Steven J. & Slay, Michael E., 2009, Cave Pygmarrhopalites Vargovitsh, 2009 (Collembola, Symphypleona, Arrhopalitidae) in United States, Zootaxa 2204, pp. 1-18 : 14

Pygmarrhopalites ashcraftensis sp. nov.

principalis -group. ( Fig. 6 )

Description. No traces of pigment, dorsal body setae short on anterior part, setae on posterior part of the great abdomen longer than third unguis ( Table 2 ). Ant.IV of holotype 1.8 times cephalic diagonal, with 6 subsegments ( Fig. 6 A), apex with a capitate sense rod. Ant. III not swollen basally; sense organ ( Fig. 6 B) with 2 parallel sense rods in a single pit; seta Aai straight and blunt; Api slender and bristle-like, Ape short and bristle-like, Ae, Ap and Ai elongate, about twice as long as Ape. Eyes 1+1. Dorsal cephalic setae slender, not spine-like, M4 -5 present ( Fig. 6 C). Metatrochanteral organ elongate ( Fig. 6 D). Seta FSa present on all tibiotarsi. All ungues very slender, with a tiny inner tooth, tunica absent. First and second unguiculi slender, with clear corner tooth. Third unguiculus lanceolate, with corner tooth. All unguiculi with short apical filament, not exceeding the ungues tips ( Fig. 6 E). Corpus tenaculum with two setae ( Fig. 6 F). Dens with 7 dorsal E setae, E1 and E3 strongly spine-like; L4 present, L1 strongly spine-like, L2–4 spine-like, 4 ventral setae rows (3,2,1,1) present ( Fig. 6 G), dental chaetotaxy in Table 3. Mucro narrow, with spoon shaped tip, gutter-like, both edges serrate ( Fig. 6 J). Anal valve without cuticular spines ( Fig. 6 H); all series of setae C normal, D5 present and D7 absent, chaetotaxy in Table 4 . Female subanal appendage palmate, deeply serrated ( Fig. 6 I).

Type material. Holotype (female) (number 2 in the slide): USA, INDIANA, Greene Co., Ashcraft Cave, 20-viii-06, J. Lewis, S. Lewis leg. ( INHS). Paratypes: 2 females marked with number 1 and 3 mounted in the same slide with the holotype, and 6 adults in alcohol, same locality as holotype ( INHS).

Etymology: This species is named for the cave from which the types were collected. Ashcraft Cave, in the northern part of the Crawford Upland of Indiana, is at least 1851 meters (1.5 miles) in length and serves as a hibernaculum for the Indiana Bat, Myotis sodalis Miller and Allen.

Remarks. Pygmarrhopalites ashcraftensis was found on riparian mud banks in a cave. The physiographic province Crawford Upland of the Interior Lowland Plateaus, climate is Cfa. This species resembles P. l a c u n a and P. marshalli in different aspects, including the shape of female subanal appendages, fourth antennal segment subdivision, and foot complex. These species can be differentiated by the number of eyes, pigments, dental chaetotaxy, and anal valve chaetotaxy.

Figures

FIGURE 6. Pygmarrhopalites ashcraftensis sp. nov.: A, Fourth antennal segment; B, Apical sensory organ of the third antennal segment; C, Posterior dorsal cephalic chaetotaxy; D, Metatrochanteral organ; E, Empodial complex (a –– first leg, b –– second leg, c –– third leg); F, Tenaculum; G, Dorsal and ventral chaetotaxy of the dens; H, Chaetotaxy of the anal valve; I, Subanal appendage of the female; J, mucro with spoon-shaped tip.