A new cave-dwelling Maxchernes Feio, 1960 (Pseudoscorpiones: Chernetidae) from Brazil

ABSTRACT

During a survey of caves in a seasonally dry tropical forest area in northeastern Brazil, a new species of the genus Maxchernes was discovered and it is formally described here. The new species, named Maxchernes kapinawai sp. n., has affinities with M. iporangae, known from São Paulo State, Southeast Brazil. The new species, obtained from Pernambuco State, Northeastern Brazil, is characterized by the robust pedipalps, the measurements of pedipalpal femur, and patella different from other known Maxchernes species, in addition to the number of chelal teeth and males larger than females. This new species also represents the north-most record of Maxchernes genera so far. Ecological and conservation comments are included, as well as a map including reports known about the previous species.http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:A0E5D949-5441-4F02-A4BE-9BE51DFEEAFA

KEYWORDS:

• Arachnida
• Caatinga
• South America
• speleology
• taxonomy

Acknowledgments

To Dr Solange Xavier dos Santos and Izabel Cristina Moreira for their collaboration in the Biodiversity Laboratory of the State University of Goiás, Anápolis, Brazil. We are grateful to Dra. Cleide Albuquerque, Dr. Enrico Bernard, and two reviewers for providing helpful comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001. EB was financed by a doctoral scholarship from CAPES and by a postdoctoral grant from CAPES and Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE) (process number 88887.353052/2019-00). We also thank FACEPE for the postdoctoral scholarship to AFAL [BFP-0010-2.05/19]. E. Tizo-Pedroso thanks CNPq, FAPEG, and PROBIP-UEG for their research grants.