Charinus lalylaurarum, Ythier & Giupponi, 2023

Ythier, Eric & Giupponi, Alessandro P. L., 2023, A new whip spider species of the genus Charinus Simon, 1892 (Amblypygi: Charinidae) from French Guiana, Faunitaxys 11 (61), pp. 1-5 : 1-2

Charinus lalylaurarum sp. n.

( Fig. 1 -13, Tab. I)

ZooBank:https://zoobank.org/ 29D338AB-3719-4997-AFAA-16F959ED7468

Holotype, ♂, French Guiana, Roura, Crique Marguerite, on senior author’s property (4°38'17.1"N - 52°20'09.0"W), in a garden surrounded by rainforest, within an ant nest ( Tetramorium sp. ) beneath a stone on the ground, 16/VIII/2023 (L. Ythier, L. Ythier & E. Ythier). The type specimen will be deposited in the MNRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (No. MNRJ 9389 ).

Reviewer:

Adriano B. Kury (Dept. Invertebrados, Lab. Aracnologia, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Etymology. – The specific name refers to Laly and Laura Ythier, daughters of the senior author, for their contribution to the collection of the new species.

Diagnosis. – This species can be separated from other Charinus species in northern South America, and notably from the species occurring in the Guianan region (Guayana floristic province as described in Mori, 1991), by means of the following combination of characters: carapace reddish brown with reddish yellow marks radiating from the fovea; male pedipalps showing the elongation typical of secondary sexual dimorphism; tibia of leg I with 23 articles, tarsus I with 26 articles;first tarsal article of leg I as long as sum of lengths of subsequent three articles; leg IV basitibia with 3 pseudo-articles; pedipalp femur with 3 dorsal and 3 ventral spines and patella with 3 dorsal and 3 ventral spines; median eyes developed; male carapace large with width/length ratio 1.22; peculiar habitat (collected into an ant nest under a stone on the ground).

Description (based on male holotype; measurements in Table I).

Coloration. – General coloration reddish brown to yellowish brown. Prosoma: carapace reddish brown with reddish yellow marks radiating from the fovea. Opisthosoma: tergites yellowish brown; sternites greyish. Pedipalps reddish brown with spines reddish. Legs yellowish brown.

Carapace. – Six anterior setae; frontal process rounded. Small granules, densely scattered between ocular triads and among sulci; median eyes present; lateral eyes well developed; lateral ocular triad well separated from carapace margin.

Sternum. – Tritosternum projected anteriorly, long, surpassing the base of pedipalp coxae, with two apical and two median large setae, and two smaller at its base; tetrasternum convex with a pair of large setae in its apex and three smaller at its base; pentasternum convex, slightly smaller than tetrasternum, with two large setae in its apex and one smaller at its base.

Opisthosoma. – Oblong, with fine punctuation on tergites; sternites smooth.

Genitalia. – Genital operculum with six large setae posteromedially and some smaller onesnear margin. Male gonopod with apex of fistula and base of lateral lobe sclerotized; PI of finger-like shape; LaM pronounced finger-like and with the distal portion suddenly acuminate; LoD reduced, typical of Charinidae , LoL1 long and curved, with a wider and sclerotized base, progressively reducing the width until LoL2; LoL2 short, of somewhat irregular oval shape.

Chelicerae. – Four internal teeth; the proximal one big, two median teeth of about half size of proximal one; distal tooth about 2/3 the size of proximal one, bifid, with distal cusp larger. Claw with 5 teeth.

Pedipalps. – Femur with three dorsal spines and three ventral spines; two prominent setiferous tubercles between dorsal spine III and proximal margin; a small spine between ventral spine III andproximal margin. Patella with three dorsal spines in primary series; a prominent setiferous tubercle distal to spine I, one-third length of spine I; a smaller setiferous tubercle proximal to spine III; three ventral spines. Tibia with ventral spine distally and seta between spine and distal margin. Tarsus with two dorsal spines, proximal spine one-third length of distal spine; cleaning organ with 35 setae in ventral row. Male pedipalps showing the elongation typical of secondary sexual dimorphism.

Legs. –Tibia of leg I with 23 articles; tarsus I with 26 articles;length of first tarsal article equal to sum of lengths of subsequent three articles. Leg IV basitibia with three pseudo-articles, without sclerotized, denticulate margin projecting from apex of articles; trichobothrium bt situated medially on last pseudo-article; distitibia trichobothrium bc situated closer to sbf than to bf, sc and sf series each with five trichobothria.

Comparisons. – Charinus lalylaurarum sp. n. can be easily distinguished from other Charinus species in northern South America, and notably from the species occurring in the