Plutogeophilus jurupariquibaba, Bonato & Ferreira, 2023

Bonato, Lucio & Ferreira, Rodrigo Lopes, 2023, Assessing troglomorphic and phylogenetically informative traits in troglobionts: a new cave-dwelling centipede illuminates the evolution of a soil-dwelling lineage (Chilopoda: Geophilidae), Organisms Diversity & Evolution (New York, N. Y.) 23 (4), pp. 833-856 : 841-842

Plutogeophilus jurupariquibaba sp.n. ( Figs. 2 , 3 , and 4)

Diagnosis. A Plutogeophilus species reaching a body length of ca. 5 cm, with around 53–57 pairs of legs. Cephalic plate without transverse suture. Antenna ca. 4 times as long as the head. Antennal articles elongate, both the distal and the intermediate ones ca. 2 times as long as wide. Three to four pairs of clypeal setae, including one inside the clypeal area. Labrum with ca. 8–10 sclerotized tubercles in the adult. Each lateral part of labrum ca. 3 times as wide as long. Cephalic pleurites without setae, with an additional suture across the anterior part. Mandibular lamella with> 25 elongate teeth in the adult. Second maxillary claw> 4 times as long as wide at the basis, and slightly shorter than the third article. Exposed part of the forcipular coxosternite ca. 1.8 times as wide as long. Chitin-lines incomplete, pointing lateral to the condyles. Forcipular trochanteroprefemur about as long as wide, tarsungulum ca. 1.5 times as long as the latter, with a stout basal denticle and not distinctly flattened distally. Poison calyx poorly elongate, inside intermediate articles. Trunk metasternites about as long as wide in the anterior part of trunk, longer than wide in the posterior part. Pore fields entire only on the most anterior segments, where they are ca. 3 times as wide as long, with the anterior margin slightly concave, and on the most posterior segments, where they are ca. 1.5 times as wide as long. Legs slightly longer than the width of the body, except for the first pair. Leg claws ca. 4–5 times as long as wide, with the anterior accessory spine distinctly longer than the posterior one. Metatergite of the ultimate leg-bearing segment ca. 1.3 times as wide as long, posterior margin medially truncate. Coxal pores> 30 in the adult. Metasternite of the ultimate leg-bearing segment 1.4–1.5 times as long as wide in the female, ca. as long as wide in the male. Female ultimate telopodite slender, with tarsus 2 much elongate and only slightly shorter than tarsus 1. Male ultimate telopodite moderately swollen, with tarsus 2 poorly elongate and only half the length of the tarsus 1. Ultimate claw without accessory spines. Male gonopods apparently uni-articulated.

Etymology: from the Tupi-Guarani “jurupariquibaba ,” which literally means “devil’s comb” and is used by Brazilian Indians to refer to centipedes.

Holotype: ISLA 11879, ♂ with developed gonopods, 42 mm long, collected by R. L. Ferreira, 7.IV.2012, in ethanol; originally entire, subsequently divided into three pieces (cephalic capsule, including antennae; maxillary complex and mandibles; trunk). A detailed description is in Appendix.

Type locality: Brazil, São Paulo, near Iporanga, Areias System, Areias de Cima cave.

Figures

Fig.2 Living specimen of Plutogeophilus jurupariquibaba gen.n. sp.n. in the Areias de Cima cave, 7.IV.2012 (photo by Robson Zampaulo)

Fig.3 Plutogeophilus jurupariquibaba gen.n. sp.n.: a anterior part of body, dorsal view; b–c head and forcipular segment, dorsal and ventral views, respectively; d–e posterior part of body, dorsal and ventral views, respectively. Photos: ♂, ISLA 11879, holotype. Scale bars: 0.4 µm