Three new species of cave-adapted pseudoscorpions (Pseudoscorpiones, Chthoniidae) from eastern Yunnan, China

Abstract

Three new cave-adapted chthoniid pseudoscorpions from four karst caves of Yunnan Province (China) are described, including detailed diagnosis and illustrations: Tyrannochthonius calvatussp. nov. from an unnamed cave and Dongtianfu Cave (Fuyuan County), T. capitosp. nov. from Xianren Cave (Xichou County), and Lagynochthonius daidaiensissp. nov. from Daidai Cave (Qiubei County). All three species are endemic to Yunnan. Tyrannochthonius calvatussp. nov., lacking the carapaceal antero-median setae and having intercalary teeth on the movable chelal finger only, is a peculiar chthoniid species.

Five new epigean Lagynochthonius species (Pseudoscorpiones, Chthoniidae) from southern China

“…At present, this chthoniid genus contains 79 species, of which 32 are distributed in China ( Hou et al 2023a ; WPC 2024 ). Because the biodiversity of cave environments has received a high attention in recent years, most of the reported Lagynochthonius species from China are cave-dwelling ( Li et al 2019 ; Hou et al 2022a , b , 2023a , b ), and only seven species, Lagynochthonius brachydigitatus Zhang & Zhang, 2014, L. harveyi Zhang & Zhang, 2014, L. leptopalpus Hu & Zhang, 2012, L. medog Zhang & Zhang, 2014, L. niger Hu & Zhang, 2012, L. sinensis Beier, 1967 and L. tonkinensis Beier, 1951, are reported in epigean environments. In this study, five new species of Lagynochthonius are described, all of them collected from epigean habitats in southern China.…”