The family Lechytiidae is here reported from China for the first time. A new species of the genus Lechytia from Yunnan Province is described and illustrated under the name Lechytia yulongensis sp. n

Zhang, Feng

Zhang, Fubin

Repository of the Academy's Library

Hungarian Natural History Museum, BudapestActa Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 60(3), pp. 217–225, 2014FIRST REPORT OF THE FAMILY LECHYTIIDAE (ARACHNIDA: PSEUDOSCORPIONES) FROM CHINA, WITH THE DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIESFubin Zhang and Feng Zhang*The Key Laboratory of Invertebrate Systematics and ApplicationCollege of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei 071002, P. R. ChinaE-mail: dudu06042001@163.comThe family  Lechytiidae is here reported from China for the first time. A new species of the genus Lechytia from Yunnan Province is described and illustrated under the name Lechytia yulongensis sp. n.Key words: pseudoscorpion, taxonomy, Lechytia.INTRODUCTIONThe Lechytiidae Chamberlin, 1929, is a small family of Pseudoscorpiones, presently including 24 species in a single genus (Harvey 2013). Lechytiids show extensive distribution ranges, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical areas. However, they are quite small, easily overlooked and seldom collected, with the result that the distribution of Lechytia is very poorly known. The sole genus Lechytia was established by Balzan (1892) in the subfamily Chthonii-nae. Later Lechytia was placed in the tribe Lechytiini (Beier 1932, Chamberlin 1929, Hoff 1956, Muchmore 1975) or the subfamily Lechytiinae (Morikawa 1960, Murthy & Ananthakrishnan 1977) of the family Chthoniidae. Harvey (1992) elevated the tribe Lechytiini to family status as Lechytiidae.While examining pseudoscorpion specimens collected from Jade Dragon Snow Mountains, Yunnan Province of China, we found three lechytiid speci-mens with four trichobothria on the dorsum of the chelal hand, ib and isb forming a transverse pair basally and eb and esb forming a longitudinal pair centrally; cheliceral rallum a linear row of eight blades, all straight except the second one from subdistal end which is strongly recumbent; the apical seta of palpal coxa acuminate; no coxal spines; no intercoxal tubercle; the spinneret present in males as a distinct, rounded elevation; and the genital area with the anterior setae bordering the genital opening acuminate, but the posterior ones bifurcate at tips. We here describe this new species under the name Lechytia yulongensis sp. nov., which is the first member of the genus Lechytia and the family Lechytiidae known from China.Acta zool. hung. 60, 2014218 ZHANG, F. & ZHANG, F.MATERIAL AND METHODSThe terminology used in this paper follows Chamberlin (1931), Harvey (1992) and Judson (2007). All specimens are preserved in 75% alcohol. They were examined and illus-trated using a Leica 205A stereomicroscope with a drawing tube, which was also used for the measurements. Detailed examination was carried out with an Olympus BX53 general optical microscope. Temporary slide mounts were made in glycerol. All measurements are given in mm. The type specimens are deposited in the Museum of Hebei University (MHBU), Baoding City, China.The following abbreviations are used in the text for the trichobothria: b = basal; sb = sub-basal; st = sub-terminal; t = terminal; ib = interior basal; isb = interior sub-basal; ist = interior sub-terminal; it = interior terminal; eb = exterior basal; esb = exterior sub-basal; est = exterior sub-terminal; et = exterior terminal; dx = duplex trichobothria. Carapacal chaetotaxy is ex-pressed in the form 6–2 (18), where 18 refers to the total number of setae, 6 the number on the anterior margin and 2 the number on the posterior margin.TAXONOMYLechytia yulongensis sp. n. (Figs 1–4)Type material. Holotype male (Ps.-MHBU-YN12080301): China, Yunnan Province, Yulong County, Jade Dragon Snow Mountains, Maoniuping (27°08′N, 100°13′E), alt. 3254 m, 3 August 2012, Aki Nakamura leg. Paratypes: two males (Ps.-MHBU-YN12080302-03), same data as for holotype.Etymology. The specific name refers to the type locality.Diagnosis. This new species is characterized by the following combina-tion of characters:  carapace with two indistinct eye spots, the anterior margin finely denticulate; marginal teeth of chelal fingers well developed and distinct-ly retrorse; male with well-developed spinneret on movable finger of chelicera; both apical setae of palpal coxa simple at tip (hoffi species-group); eleventh sternite apparently reduced; chela 3.55–3.59 times longer than broad; palpal fe-mur 4.00 times longer than broad; movable finger 1.36–1.37 times longer than hand; trichobothria b and sb only about one areolar diameter apart.Description. Male – Chelicera, carapace, legs and abdomen yellowish-brown; palp light brown (Fig. 1).Carapace (Figs. 2a, 4b): subquadrate, somewhat longer than broad, constricted an-teriorly; surface with fine, anastomosing, transverse striations; no epistome present, but anterior margin slightly convex and with 10–11 distinct denticles; posterior part with sq-uamous sculpturing; with two indistinct eye spots, each almost one ocular diameter from anterior margin; carapacal chaetotaxy: 6–2, (18) , the pre-ocular seta shorter than others in anterior row.Acta  zool. hung. 60, 2014219FIRST REPORT OF LECHYTIIDAE (PSEUDOSCORPIONES) FROM CHINACoxal area (Figs 3a, 4f): coxa I with a low, triangular apical projection; two long setae at tip of manducatory process, setae P 2+3, I 7, II 5, III 6, IV 7, all setae acuminate, including apical setae of palpal coxa; no coxal spines; no intercoxal tubercle.Chelicera (Figs 2b, 4c): about 0.60–0.70 as long as carapace; palm with 5 setae, of which a short one located laterally; galeal seta located at middle of movable finger; fixed finger with one large tooth, and three roughened ridges proximally; movable finger with an acute apical tooth and 3 pointed, conspicuous middle teeth; movable finger with a dis-tinct spinneret hump. Rallum consisting of 8 blades, the subdistal blade strongly recum-bent, others straight (Fig. 3d).Palp (Figs 2c–2f, 3b, 4a): chela robust; trochanter 1.60–1.80, femur 4.00, patella 1.77–1.83 and chela 3.55–3.59 times longer than broad; chelal hand 1.56–1.59 times longer than broad; movable chelal finger 1.36–1.37 times longer than hand; chelal finger curved in dor-sal view. Fixed finger with 41–43 pointed, retrorse teeth, movable finger with 35 retrorse teeth, depressed basally; fixed finger with a small accessory tooth on inner side about at level of second marginal tooth. Trichobothria: ib, isb, eb and esb on dorsum of hand, ib and isb situated basally, eb and esb situated medially; fixed finger with four (et, it, est and ist), plus two special sensory hairs (dx) present, located near the tip of fixed finger; movable finger with four (t, b, sb, st), b situated slightly closer to sb than to t; b and sb only about one areolar diameter apart; sensilla absent.Abdomen (Figs 3c, 4g) ovate, tergites and sternites undivided, eleventh sternite greatly reduced, only a narrow, thin membrane existing between tenth sternite and ventral anal plate. Tergal chaetotaxy: 4–5: 4–5: 6: 6: 6: 6: 6: 6: 6: 4: T2T: 0; sternal chaetotaxy: 8–9: (3)29–33(3): (3)8(3): 12: 10: 10: 10: 8: 2TT2: –: 2; lateralmost ones on anterior tergites and smaller than those medially, and lateral two on each tergite set close together; anterior genital operculum with 8–9 setae, genital opening slit-like in basal half, each side with 10–12 marginal setae, anterior setae bordering genital opening acuminate, posterior ones bifurcate.Fig. 1. Lechytia yulongensis sp. n., holotype, male: habitus, dorsal view.Acta zool. hung. 60, 2014220 ZHANG, F. & ZHANG, F.Fig. 2. Lechytia yulongensis sp. n., holotype, male: a = carapace, dorsal view, b = left chelicera, dorsal view, c = left chela, lateral view, d = tip of movable finger, dorsal view, e = tip of fixed finger, dorsal view, f = left palp (minus chela), dorsal view, g = left leg I, lateral view, h = left leg IV, lateral view. Scale bars: 100 μm (d, e), 150 μm (b), 250 μm (a, c, f–h).Acta  zool. hung. 60, 2014221FIRST REPORT OF LECHYTIIDAE (PSEUDOSCORPIONES) FROM CHINALegs I (Figs 2g, 4d) and IV (Figs 2h, 4e); robust, surfaces nearly smooth; leg I femur 3.17–3.50 times longer than deep, leg IV femur+patella 2.31–2.33 times longer than deep. Tarsi with two elongate openings along dorsal surface each with crenulate margins.Measurements (length/breadth or depth, in mm, ratios in parentheses). Male (hol-otype and paratypes). Body length 1.38–1.44. Carapace 0.37–0.40×0.35–0.37 (1.06–1.08). Chelicera 0.24–0.26×0.13 (1.85–2.00), movable finger length 0.12–0.13. Palpal trochanter 0.16–0.18×0.10 (1.60–1.80), femur 0.40×0.10 (4.00), patella 0.22–0.23×0.12–0.13 (1.77–1.83), chela 0.61–0.64×0.17–0.18 (3.55–3.59), hand 0.27–0.28×0.17–0.18 (1.56–1.59), movable finger length 0.37–0.38 (1.36–1.37×hand). Leg I trochanter 0.10–0.11×0.08 (1.25–1.38), femur 0.19–0.21×0.06 (3.17–3.50), patella 0.11×0.05–0.06 (1.83–2.20), tibia 0.12–0.14×0.04–0.05 (2.40–2.80), tarsus 0.24×0.03 (8.00); leg IV trochanter 0.15×0.09 (1.67), femur+patella 0.35–0.37×0.15–0.16 (2.31–2.33), tibia 0.25–0.27×0.07 (3.57–3.86), metatarsus 0.13–0.14×0.05–0.06 (2.33–2.60), te-lotarsus 0.19–0.21×0.03 (6.33–7.00).Distribution. China (Yunnan Province).Remarks. Because of few collections, Lechytia species have rarely been studied in recent years and little is known about the relationships between them. However, two distinct species-groups can be recognized in this genus (Muchmore 1975, 2000, Judson 1992), the L. arborea species-group and the L. Fig. 3. Lechytia yulongensis sp. n., holotype, male: a = coxal region, ventral view, b = left chela, dorsal view, c = male genital opening, d = rallum. Scale bars: 30 μm (d), 50 μm (c), 250 μm (a, b).Acta zool. hung. 60, 2014222 ZHANG, F. & ZHANG, F.Fig. 4. Lechytia yulongensis sp. n., holotype, male: a = left chela, lateral view, b = carapace, dorsal view, c = left chelicera, dorsal view, d = left leg I, lateral view, e = left leg IV, lateral view, f = apex of the palpal coxae, g = genital area of male.Acta  zool. hung. 60, 2014223FIRST REPORT OF LECHYTIIDAE (PSEUDOSCORPIONES) FROM CHINAhoffi species-group. The L. arborea species-group has the following characters: (1) apical setae of palpal coxa bifurcate; (2) eleventh tergite with chaetotaxy 1T2T1; (3) spinneret of male absent or indistinct; (4) most teeth of chelal re-duced. The L. hoffi species-group is diagnosed by having: (1) apical setae of palpal coxa simple, acuminate; (2) eleventh tergite with chaetotaxy T2T; (3) male with spinneret nearly as well developed as in female; (4) chelal teeth well developed, mostly cusped. Based on these criteria, L. yulongensis sp. n. can easily be assigned to the L. hoffi species-group.Five Lechytia species had previously been recorded from Asia: L. madra-sica Sivaraman, 1980, L. indica Murthy & Ananthakrishnan, 1977 from India, L. sakagamii Morikawa, 1952 from Japan, L. himalayana Beier, 1974 from Nepal and L. asiatica Redikorzev, 1938 from Vietnam. The new species differs from L. madrasica and L. indica by the presence of eyespots on carapace, which are lacking in L. madrasica and L. indica. It can be separated from L. sakagamii by the male movable finger with a distinct spinneret hump (absent in male of L. sakagamii) and by trichobothria b and sb only about one areolar diameter apart (b and sb close together, only about half an areolar diameter apart in L. sakaga-mii). L. himalayana is distinguished from the new species by the ratio of mov-able finger longer than hand (1.20× vs 1.36–1.37×), and by possessing a much longer carapace (1.25 times as long as broad, compared with 1.06–1.08 times in L. yulongensis sp. n.). L. asiatica differs from the new species by its smaller size (palpal femur 0.3 mm vs 0.40 mm, chela 0.20 mm vs 0.27–0.28 mm), and its relatively shorter movable chelal finger (1.10× vs 1.36–1.37× hand).The new species resembles L. hoffi Muchmore, 1975 from America, both in having a spinneret hump in the male and the chelal teeth well-developed, but L. hoffi differs from L. yulongensis sp. n. in having two corneate eyes (re-duced to eye spots in L. yulongensis sp. n.) and chelal (3.55–3.59 vs 3.90–4.10) times longer than hand; furthermore, the form of teeth on the movable chelal finger is different (with 35 retrorse teeth, depressed basally), as opposed to 8–12 small, triangular teeth at distal end, followed by 19–24 long, low teeth, nearly all with cusps in L. hoffi). The new species also resembles L. kuscheli Beier, 1957 from Chile in having the apical seta of the palpal coxa simple, but it differs from the latter in having  a much more robust chela ( 3.55–3.59 times longer than broad, as opposed to 4.8 times in L. kuscheli).Considering biogeographical distribution, both L. yulongensis sp. n. and L. hoffi could  be collected nearby the Tropic of Cancer, and occurred at rela-tively high elevations. As L. hoffi has been recorded from a wide area in the western United States, we presume L. yulongensis sp. n. maybe have a wide-spread distribution in China (or Asia).Members of family Lechytiidae are distributed worldwide with eleven species recorded from Sou t h and North America, six species from Africa, one Acta zool. hung. 60, 2014224 ZHANG, F. & ZHANG, F.species from Turkey, one species from Australia, and five species from Asia and the Pacific region (Harvey 2013). L. yulongensis sp. n. is the first member of the family Lechytiidae to be discovered in China; two male specimens were collected from conifer forests using the bark spraying method, and one male specimen was collected from conifer forests using Berlese extraction. There-fore we presume L. yulongensis sp. n. maybe a corticolous species, or it lives in  the soil, or in both conditions.*Acknowledgements – We express our sincere thanks to Dr. Mark S. Harvey for provid-ing some literature. We are grateful to Aki Nakamura for collecting the specimens. Dr. J. MacDermott kindly helped reviewing the original English manuscript. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31372154, 31093430), and in part by a grant of the Program of Ministry of Science and Technology of Republic of China (2012FY110803) to Dr. Feng Zhang.REFERENCESAguiar, N. O. & Bührnheim, P. F. (1992) Pseudoscorpiones foréticos de Stenodontis spini-barbis (Lin., 1758) (Coleoptera) e redescricao de Lechytia chthoniiformis (Balzan, 1890) (Pseudoscorpiones, Chthoniidae) da Ilha da Maraca-Roraima. Acta Amazonica 21: 425–433.Aguiar, N. O. & Bèhrnheim, P. F. (1992) Pseudoscorpiones foréticos de Cerambycidae (Co-leoptera) e ocorrencia dce Parachelifer Chamberlin, 1932 (Pseudoscorpiones, Cheli-feridae) na Amazonaio. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Serie Zoologia 8(2): 343–348.Balzan, L. (1891–1892) Voyage de M. E. Simon au Venezuela (Décembre 1887 – Avril 1888). Arachnides. Chernetes (Pseudoscorpiones). Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 60: 497–552.Beier, M. (1932) Pseudoscorpionidea I. Subord. Chthoniinea et Neobisiinea. Das Tierreich 57: i–xx, 1–258.Beier, M. (1974) Pseudoscorpione aus Nepal. Senckenbergiana Biologica 55: 261–280.Chamberlin, J. C. (1925) Notes on the status of genera in the chelonethid family Chtho-niidae together with a description of a new genus and species from New Zealand. Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening i Kjobenhavn 81: 333–338.Chamberlin, J. C. (1929) A synoptic classification of the false scorpions or chela-spinners, with a report on a cosmopolitan collection of the same. Part 1. The Heterosphyro-nida (Chthoniidae) (Arachnida-Chelonethida). Annals and Magazine of Natural History (10)4: 50–80.Chamberlin, J. C. (1931) The arachnid order Chelonethida. Stanford University Publications, Biological Sciences 7(1): 1–284.Harvey, M. S. (1992) The phylogeny and classification of the Pseudoscorpionida (Cheli-cerata: Arachnida). Invertebrate Taxonomy 6: 1373–1435.Harvey, M. S. (2006). A new species of Lechytia from eastern Australia (Pseudoscorpiones: Lechytiidae). Records of the Western Australian Museum 23: 13–18.Acta  zool. hung. 60, 2014225FIRST REPORT OF LECHYTIIDAE (PSEUDOSCORPIONES) FROM CHINAHarvey, M. S. (2013) Pseudoscorpions of the World, version 3.0. Western Australian Museum, Perth. http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/catalogues-beta/pseudoscorpions. (Accessed 17 May 2014).Hoff, C. C. (1956) The heterosphyronid pseudoscorpions of New Mexico. American Mu-seum Novitates 1772: 1–13.Hoff, C. C. (1963) The pseudoscorpions of Jamaica. Part 2. The genera Pseudochthonius, Paraliochthonius, Lechytia, and Tridenchthonius. Bulletin of the Institute of Jamaica, Science Series 10(2): 1–35.Judson, M. L. I. (1992) African Chelonethi. Studies on the systematics, biogeography and natural history of African pseudoscorpions (Arachnida). Ph.D. thesis, Department of Pure and Applied Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, 248 pp.Judson, M. L. I. (2007) A new and endangered species of the pseudoscorpion genus Lagy-nochthonius from a cave in Vietnam, with notes on chelal morphology and the com-position of the Tyrannochthoniini (Arachnida, Chelonethi, Chthoniidae). Zootaxa 1627: 53–68.Mahnert, V. (2001) Cave-dwelling pseudoscorpions (Arachnida, Pseudoscorpiones) from Brazil. Revue suisse de Zoologie 108: 95–148.Mahnert, V. (2011) New records of pseudoscorpions from the Juan Fernandez Islands (Chile), with the description of a new genus and three new species of Chernetidae (Arachnida Pseudoscorpiones) Revue suisse de Zoologie 118(1): 17–29.Morikawa, K. (1960) Systematic studies of Japanese pseudoscorpions. Memoirs of Ehime University (2B)4: 85–172.Muchmore, W. B. (1975) The genus Lechytia in the United States (Pseudoscorpionida, Ch-thoniidae). Southwestern Naturalist 20: 13–27.Muchmore, W. B. (2000) The Pseudoscorpionida of Hawaii Part I. Introduction and Chtho-nioidea. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Hawaii 34: 147–162.Murthy, V. A. & Ananthakrishnan, T. N. (1977) Indian Chelonethi. Oriental Insects Mono-graph 4: 1–210.Schawaller, W. (1987) Neue Pseudoscorpion-Funde aus dem Nepal-Himalaya, II (Arach-nida: Pseudoscorpiones). Senckenbergiana Biologica 68: 199–221.Sivaraman, S. (1980). Two new species of pseudoscorpions from South India (Pseudoscor-pionida, Heterosphyronida). Entomon 5: 237–242.Revised version received May 17, 2014, accepted August 14, 2014, published September 26, 2014

FIRST REPORT OF THE FAMILY LECHYTIIDAE (ARACHNIDA: PSEUDOSCORPIONES) FROM CHINA, WITH THE DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Repository of the Academy's Library