Corresponding author: János Novák (
Academic editor: Pavel Stoev
The
Pseudoscorpions belonging to the family
Known distribution of the family
Their strange morphology aside, feaellids are also of fundamental importance in understanding the evolution of character systems in pseudoscorpions (
In this paper, we are describing
The specimens were found during an inventory in the collections of the Hungarian Natural History Museum (HNHM) and stored in 70% ethanol. They were cleared in a 3:1 mixture of lactic acid and gelatine to be examined with a Zeiss Stemi 2000-c stereomicroscope and a Zeiss Axioskop 2 light compound microscope. Drawings and measurements were made with the aid of the Zeiss Axioskop 2 microscope. Measurements were taken using the Olympus Soft Imaging analySIS work 5.0 software. Digital images were taken with a custom-made BK Plus Lab System by Dun, Inc. with integrated Canon EOS 7D Mark II, microscopic lens (5× and 10× magnification) and the Zerene stacker version 1.04 software. Scanned electron images were taken from temporarily dried specimens mounted on copper wire, using a Hitachi TM4000 Plus scanning electron micrograph (SEM). Mensuration follows the reference points in
Cheliceral trichobothriotaxy:
Holotype female from the Maldives, Kabudu Island (might refer to Kaudu [
The name of the species refers to the obscure evolutionary and geographic origins of the species that is unlikely to have evolved on the young island that is the locus typicus.
Maldive Islands (Fig.
A typical
(Holotype female, paratype male and female).
Measurements (in mm, ratios in parentheses):
Aside from
It differs from
The new species differs from
In the case of
The specimens were found in soil samples of the Hungarian Natural History Museum and collected by Mr. Győző Horváth who was a friend of Dr. Sándor Mahunka (former director of HNHM, Department of Zoology) and occasionally collected soil samples for the museum. The collecting label clearly points to the Maldives, however, the island name Kabudu is suspected to be a misspelled form of Kaudu [
The present-day distribution of
The present finding is the first record of the
While our focus is the description of a new species, the study of relevant literature also reveals inconsistencies in the description of
Since Chamberlin’s first key to the family (
1 | All four anterior lobes of carapace with approximately equal width, and placed equidistantly from each other. Presence of a pair of enlarged, thick-walled bursa in male genitalia (Australia) | 2 [ |
– | Clear differences in length and/or in width of anteromedian and anterolateral lobes of the carapace, and/or in the distance between them | 5 |
2 | Cheliceral rallum present. Pedipalpal femur 1.78–1.91× longer than broad (female); chela with pedicel 0.510–0.580 mm (female) and palpal femur 0.600–0.640 mm (female) |
|
– | Cheliceral rallum absent | 3 |
3 | Trichobothrium |
|
– | Trichobothria |
4 |
4 | Trichobothrium |
|
– | Trichobothrium |
|
5 | All four anterior lobes of carapace with the same width | 6 |
– | Anterior lobes of carapace with unequal width | 10 |
6 | Anterior lobes of carapace have approximately equal length. Anteromedian lobes much closer to anterolateral ones than to each other. Pedipalpal femur 1.78× longer than broad (South Africa, Swaziland) |
|
– | Anteromedian lobes clearly longer than the anterolateral ones | 7 |
7 | On fixed chelal finger |
8 |
– | On fixed chelal finger |
9 |
8 | All four anterior lobes of the carapace rather conical, the anteromedian lobes somewhat longer than the anterolaterals. Pedipalpal femur robust, 1.77× (female). Pleural membrane with a dorsal and a ventral row of 14–14 sclerotised pleural platelets. (South Africa) | |
– | Anterior lobes of carapace clearly more robust, the anteromedian ones rather triangular, the anterolateral ones conical. The two anteromedian lobes much longer than the anterolateral ones. Pedipalpal femur unusually attenuated, 2.06× (male) longer than broad. Pleural membrane with a dorsal row of 10 and a ventral row of 11 sclerotised pleural platelets. (South Africa) |
|
9 | Pronounced and triangular dorsomedial process on prolateral corner of palpal femur near its base is absent. All four anterior lobes of the carapace long and triangular, the anteromedian ones somewhat longer than the anterolaterals. Pedipalpal femur 1.66× (female) longer than broad. Pleural membrane with a dorsal and a ventral row of 15–15 sclerotised pleural platelets. (South Africa) |
|
– | A pronounced and triangular dorsomedial process on the prolateral corner of palpal femur near its base is present. All four anterior lobes of the carapace robust and rather conical, the anteromedian ones somewhat longer than the anterolaterals. Palpal femur length/width ratio is 1.70–1.73× (female) and 1.76× (male). Pleural membrane with a dorsal row of 15 and a ventral row of 14 sclerotised pleural platelets. (Maldives) | |
10 | Anteromedian lobes are approximately two times wider than the anterolateral ones. Dorsal line of chela concave, approximately at the middle of fixed finger a strong protuberance is present. Pedipalpal femur 1.77–1.86× (female) and 1.80–1.89× (male) longer than broad. (Kenya) |
|
– | Anterolateral lobes are clearly wider than the anteromedian ones | 11 |
11 | Anterolateral lobes at least two times broader than anteromedian ones and are flattened at their apical part. Pedipalpal femur 1.80× (female) and 1.61× (male) longer than broad (Democratic Republic of Congo) |
|
– | Anterolateral lobes less than two times broader than anteromedian ones and are triangular or at least rounded at their apical part | 12 |
12 | All four anterior lobes of carapace are placed equidistant from each other. Chelae are approximately as long as the palpal femora. Pedipalpal femur 1.72–1.90× longer than broad. Trichobothrium |
|
– | Anteromedian lobes are closer to each other than to the anterolateral ones. Chelae are distinctly shorter than palpal femora. Palpal femur length/width ratio is 1.90× (female). Trichobothrium |
|
The authors thank Dr László Dányi for facilitating access to the HNHM material, and Edit Horváth (HNHM) for assistance in locating the collection data, as well as the collector Mr Győző Horváth. We are grateful for Dr Mark S. Harvey for comparing our specimens against other undescribed species from his collections, and to Mag. Christoph Hörweg for sending critical literature. We are grateful to the reviewers, Dr Mark S. Harvey and Edwin Bedoya-Roqueme, for their valuable comments on the manuscript.