Oncopodura ochokochi Mehrafrooz Mayvan & Kováč, 2025

Mayvan, Mahmood Mehrafrooz, Barjadze, Shalva, Maghradze, Eter & Kováč, Ľubomír, 2025, A new subterranean and troglomorphic species of the genus Oncopodura Carl & Lebedinsky, 1905 (Hexapoda, Collembola) from Samegrelo karst region in Georgia, Zootaxa 5679 (3), pp. 388-398 : 389-396

Oncopodura ochokochi Mehrafrooz Mayvan & Kováč , sp. nov.

( Figs 1–6 , Table 1)

Diagnosis. PAO with a simple lobe. Unguis elongated, untoothed. Dorsal side of manubrium with 11+11 ciliated setae and 4+4 smooth macrosetae. Dens at basal part with 1 dorsointernal hook, at the distal part with 1 dorsointernal and 1 dorsoexternal hook. Mucro with 4 teeth and 2 basal scales.

Type locality. GEORGIA, Samegrelo , Martvili, Jortsku Cave, GPS coordinates: 42°30′37.2″N, 42°25′09.3″E, the cave entrance at 665 m a.s.l.

Type material. Holotype: female on slide [JoGe101], dark zone, deep section, hand collecting on surface of a small sinter pool, 19.vi.2023, leg. Ľ. Kováč. Paratype: 1 specimen on slide [JoGe102], ibidem, hand collecting on cave floor, 22.x.2022, air temperature +11.5 °, leg. E. Maghradze. Holotype and paratype deposited in CoPJSU, Košice , Slovakia .

Description. Body appearance. Body length in holotype 1.91 mm. Colour white, without traces of pigment, body covered by hyaline scales.

Antenna. Antenna slightly longer than head, without apical bulb or scales ( Fig. 2A–F ). Length of Ant I: II: III: IV in holotype as 0.039: 0.059: 0.083: 0.13 mm respectively. Ant I ( Fig. 2D ) with 7 thick setae (6 dorsal and 1 ventral) and 10 ordinary setae – 2 dorsolateral and 8 ventral (shorter than ordinary setae on Ant II–III). Ant II with 1 small wrinkled subapical sensillum (identical with those in Ant III organ), 1 subapical modified seta ( Fig. 2E ), 4 blunt sensilla ( Fig. 2F ), 10 dorsal and 8 ventral setae and 3 ventrolateral setae. Ant III with sensory organ formed by 2 small wrinkled subapical sensilla, 2 guard setae and 1 long ventral rod-shape blunt sensillum ( Fig. 2D ), 20 dorsal and 12 ventral setae on Ant III. Ant IV with a vertical row of 4 thick medial sensilla ( Fig. 2A ), equally distant from each other, and 1 subapical modified seta in front of the fourth sensillum ( Fig. 2B ). Ventral side of Ant IV with ordinary setae, dorsal part with elongated setae.

Head. Eyes absent. PAO in form of a small, simple lobe near base of Ant I ( Fig. 3B ). Labrum with 4 prelabral setae and 3 rows of 5, 5 and 4 setae on papillae, the proximal row of labral setae is arranged in a W-shape ( Fig. 3C ). Right mandible with 4 teeth and left mandible with 3 teeth ( Fig. 3F ).

Head dorsally with scales. Head dorsally with numerous microsetae as in Figure 3A , 5 +5 inter-antennal setae and 3 setae placed posterior to PAO: 1 ciliated seta, 1 smooth seta and 1 smooth microseta. Two rows of 5 and 6 setae, respectively, posterior to prelabral setae. Head ventrally without scales, chaetotaxy as in figure 3F, all setae smooth. Labial palps with 6 proximal setae. Labial triangle with 8 smooth setae. Labium and labial triangle as in Fig. 3D .

Body. Dorsal body chaetotaxy as in figure 4A–C, the chaetotaxy follows the general pattern characteristic for the genus ( Szeptycki 1977; Jordana et al. 2012). Mesothorax extended forward slightly over the head, with a distal row of smooth spine-like setae, 1+1 subapical medial spine-like setae, 1+1 lateral trichobothria and 1+1 medial pseudopores. Metathorax with 2+2 lateral spine-like setae ( Fig. 4B ), 2+2 trichobothria and 1+1 medial pseudopores. Abdomen I with 1+1 medial pseudopores. Abd II with 1+1 trichobothrium, 2+2 medial smooth macrosetae, 1+1 lateral spine-like setae and 1+1 medial pseudopores. Abd. III with 1+1 lateral ciliated macrosetae and 1+1 medial pseudopores, 1+1 latero-posterior ciliated macrosetae and 1+1 lateral smooth spine-like setae. Abd IV with 4+4 ciliated macrosetae and 1+1 medial pseudopores. Abd V with 2+2 anterior sensilla, 5+5 ciliated macrosetae ( Fig. 4C ) and 1+1 smooth laterodistal spine-like setae. Epiproct on Abd VI with 5+5 ciliated macrosetae, 2+2 medial smooth macrosetae and 1 medial ciliated macroseta ( Fig. 5A ), paraproct with 13+13 ciliated macrosetae and 5+5 smooth setae ( Fig. 4D ). VT (collophore) with 3+3 setae, without prominent papillae. Tenaculum with 4+4 teeth, its corpus with 1 thick basal seta broadened at the base.

Legs. Without scales, chaetotaxy as in Fig. 5A–C . Leg I: trochanter with 5 setae, femur with 7 setae, Ti with 29 setae. Leg II: trochanter with 5 setae, femur with 8 setae; Ti with 27 setae and 1 spoon-like macroseta in its middle part. Leg III: trochanter with 4 setae, femur with 11 setae, Ti with 25 setae. Most Ti setae large, acuminate, and extremely finely ciliated; tenent hair slender and acuminate. Unguis ( Fig. 5D–F ) elongated, untoothed; unguis I ratio length/width: 4.34; pretarsus with 3 lobes (1 long and 2 short) and 2 short setae (1 ventral and 1 dorsal); basal lamella present, longer than half its length; unguiculus acuminate.

Furca. Length of manubrium: dens: mucro in holotype as 0.21: 0.12: 0.14 mm respectively. Ventral side of manubrium with scales, dorsal side with 4+4 smooth macrosetae, 5+5 ciliated macrosetae; 5+5 ciliated mesosetae, 1+1 ciliated distal macrosetae reaching towards the dens, 3+3 lateral microsetae and 3+3 laterodistal spine-like mesosetae ( Fig. 6A ). Ventral side of dens with scales; dorsal side of dens with ciliated macrosetae (often broken, their position can be checked easily by characteristic sockets), and dorsointernal and dorsoexternal hooks. Basal part of dens dorsointernally with 1 toothed hook, 1 smooth short conical spine (basally broadened and strongly tapered at the top) in medial position, 1 ciliated macroseta between hook and spine, and 3 macrosetae on basal tubercle on dorsal side (2 ciliated and 1 smooth macroseta). Basal part of dens dorsoexternally with 1 long, smooth conical spine in proximal position, 1 short, smooth conical spine in distal position and 2 ciliated macrosetae located between them. Distal part of dens dorsally with 2 short, smooth medial spine-like setae; dorsointernally with 1 distal dentated hook, 1 ciliated macroseta and 1 short smooth conical spine in medial position; externally with 1 long and strong distal dentated hook and 1 ciliated medial macroseta. Dens apically with 5 smooth ventral setae ( Fig. 6B ). Mucro ( Fig. 6C ) slightly longer than dens with 4 dorsal teeth (2 intermediate and 2 apical) and 2 basal scales surpassing apex of mucro.

Discussion. Among the 55 known species to date, O. ochokochi sp. nov. along with O. cavernarum Stach, 1934 , O. gledensis Baquero,Vadell & Jordana, 2007 and O. siquierae Seminario-Cordova, Baquero, Jordana &Vadell, 2018 are characteristic with PAO in form of a simple lobe ( Tab. 1). Oncopodura ochokochi sp. nov. is distinguished from the other three species by the absence of a basal sensillum on Ant. IV that is present in the others. Oncopodura ochokochi sp. nov. and O. siquierae differ from O. cavernarum and O. gledensis by basal lamella of unguis longer than half its length that is shorter or equal than half of its length in O. cavernarum and O. gledensis . Moreover, there is a difference between these similar species in the number of sensilla on Ant II: O. ochokochi sp. nov. has 4 sensilla, O. cavernarum and O. gledensis have 2 sensilla, and sensilla are missing in O. siquierae .

It is important to note that the number and position of hooks on dens in O. ochokochi sp. nov. and other Oncopodura congeners with 1 simple lobe in PAO is identical: basal part with 1 dorsointernal hook and distal part with 1 dorsoexternal and 1 dorsointernal hook.

Etymology. The name of the new species is derived from a figure “ochokochi ”, which represents in Georgian mythology the god who protects wild animals.

Remarks to ecology and adaptations. Based on its occurrence in a deep cave section, O. ochokochi sp. nov. may be assigned to troglobionts that are animals with their whole life cycle restricted to subterranean habitats. It shows a moderate level of troglomorphy, i.e morphological adaptations to cave environment: slight elongation of unguis, elongation of basal lamella of unguis that is longer than half of its length, and increase of number of sensilla on Ant II.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Jortsku Cave in Samegrelo, Martvili, Georgia. A, karst map of Georgia and location of the cave is marked with a red asterisk (adapted from Asanidze et al. 2019); B, map of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, location of the Jortsku Cave is marked with a red circle; C, main entrance of the Jortsku cave (Photo by Dragan Antić).

FIGURE 2. Oncopodura ochokochi sp. nov., dorsal view of right antennal segments I-IV. A, Ant IV (bar: 0.01 mm); B, detail of subapical modified seta near the apical sensillum on Ant IV; C, detail of long rod-shape sensillum on Ant III; D, antennal segments I-III (bar: 0.01 mm); E, detail of subapical modified seta on Ant II; F, detail of subapical sensillum on Ant II.

FIGURE 3. Oncopodura ochokochi sp. nov. A, dorsal head chaetotaxy (bar: 0.025 mm); B, PAO (bar: 0.01 mm); C, labrum (bar: 0.01 mm); D, labium and labial triangle (bar: 0.01 mm); E, left & right mandible (bar: 0.01 mm); F, ventral head chaetotaxy (bar: 0.025 mm).

FIGURE 4. Oncopodura ochokochi sp. nov. A, dorsal chaetotaxy of thorax and abdomen, ellipse – epiproct (bar: 0.05 mm); B, detail of spine-like setae (bar: 0.01 mm); C, detail of lateral macroseta (bar: 0.01 mm); D, female genital plate & Abd VI sternite with paired paraprocts (bar: 0.05 mm) (S = anterior sensillum; asterisks represent spine-like setae; circles with a slash represent pseudopores; hollow circles represent the insertion of the macrosetae).

FIGURE 5. Oncopodura ochokochi sp. nov. chaetotaxy of A, leg I (bar: 0.02 mm); B, leg II (bar: 0.02 mm); C, leg III (bar: 0.02mm); D-F, Detail of foot complex D, leg I (bar: 0.01 mm); E, leg II (bar: 0.01 mm); F, leg III (bar: 0.01 mm).

FIGURE 6. Oncopodura ochokochi sp. nov. A, manubrium dorsal side (bar: 0.02 mm); B, left dens with hooks, spines and ciliated macrosetae (bar: 0.02 mm); C, right mucro (bar: 0.01 mm).