Neocarus spelaion sp. n. (Parasitiformes, Opilioacaridae), a new species of cave dwelling Neocarus from Minas Gerais state, Brazil

Abstract

A new cave dwelling species of the genus Neocarus (Parasitiformes: Opilioacarida: Opilioacaridae) is described from adult females and males collected in Minas Gerais state, southeast Brazil. Five or six d-type setae on palps, females with pregenital area hairless, genital setae smooth, cylindrical ovipositor with two terminal lobes, and males with genital and pregenital setae variable in shape, some being smooth and pointed, others ribbed and pointed, are the combinations of characters that define the new species.

A new species of Neocarus (Opilioacaridae) from a Brazilian ferruginous geosystem and notes on natural history

“…11). Small abnormalities in body setae (Araújo et al 2018a) or the duplication of pores (Bernardi and Borges-Filho 2018) has been observed in other species. Here, for the first time, abnormalities are seen in complete structures, such as the palp.…”

“…The number of described species of Opilioacarida from collections in karst areas and caves in Brazil is increasing (Bernardi et al 2013b(Bernardi et al , c, 2014Araújo et al 2018a;Bernardi and Borges-Filho 2018). This is due to the intensification of sampling efforts in this habitat as the result of environmental licensing processes.…”

“…Opilioacarida is a group of species with interesting feeding habits. The material ingested by them is composed of large fragments of solid material of vegetable, animal and/or microbiological origin (van der Hammen 1966;Walter and Proctor 1998;Klompen 2000;Araújo et al 2018a;Bernardi and Borges-Filho 2018). Although small invertebrates (especially mites) have been observed in the stomach contents of N. simmonsi, it is still not possible to say whether species in this group are predators or scavengers.…”

“…The Americas stand out as a region of great diversity with 26 described species and four genera. Brazil presents the greatest diversity known to date, with 11 species and four genera, of which Brasilacarus and Amazonacarus are endemic to the country, while Neocarus and Caribeacarus also occur in other regions (van der Hammen 1969;Vázquez and Klompen 2009;Bernardi et al 2013b, c;Vázquez et al 2015;Araújo et al 2018a;Bernardi and Borges-Filho 2018;Vázquez et al 2020). Nonetheless, the number of known species is likely to represent only a small fraction of the group's diversity, as new records of undescribed Opilioacarida have been reported (Bernardi and Borges-Filho 2018;Monte and Bichuette 2020).…”

“…Several of the species in Brazil have been collected in caves, in spite of not presenting morphological specializations for subterranean environments. However, it is still unclear whether these species have a preference for this type of environment or whether these records are due to the increased sampling effort directed to cave fauna in recent years (Bernardi et al 2012(Bernardi et al , 2013b(Bernardi et al , 2013c(Bernardi et al , 2014Araújo et al 2018a;Bernardi and Borges-Filho 2018). Collections of Opilioacarida in inventories of cave communities have generally been sporadic, with little information being recorded about the biology of these organisms.…”