FIRST RECORD OF THE GENUS ANTILLOCHERNES MUCHMORE, 1984 (PSEUDOSCORPIONES, CHERNETIDAE) FROM HISPANIOLA

The family Chernetidae is the most diverse among pseudoscorpions, with more than 700 species and 110 genera. They are found all over the world, under the bark of trees, in leaf litter and caves, as well as a variety of other habitats (Harvey, 2013; Bedoya-Roqueme & Quirós-Rodríguez, 2018). According to Bedoya-Roqueme & Quirós-Rodríguez (2018), within chernetids, the genus Antillochernes is represented by seven species, distributed from Florida to the Colombian Caribbean: A. muchmorei (Dumitresco & Orghidan, 1977), A. bahamensis Muchmore, 1984, A. biminiensis Muchmore, 1984, A. cruzensis Muchmore, 1984, A. floridensis Muchmore, 1984, A. jamaicensis Muchmore, 1984 and A. bullerenguesis Bedoya-Roqueme & Quirós-Rodríguez, 2018. This genus is closely related to the genus Parachernes Chamberlin, but differs by the presence of setae on the pleural membrane of the abdomen (Muchmore, 1984).

Regarding Hispaniola, an island shared by the countries of Dominican Republic and Haiti, a total 36 species and 13 families of pseudoscorpions have been recorded, with Chernetidae being represented by 10 genera, 10 extant species and 3 other fossil species (Carrero-Jiménez & Santos, 2020; Dunlop et al., 2020; Perez-Gelabert, 2020).

The present contribution records the genus Antillochernes Muchmore, 1984 for the first time from Hispaniola Island. This new record originates from material deposited at the Arachnological Collection of the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural “Prof. Eugenio de Jesús Marcano”, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (MNHNSD). The identification of this material was done using the taxonomic keys proposed by Muchmore (1984) and by consulting the works of Dumitresco & Orghidan (1977), and Bedoya-Roqueme & Quirós-Rodríguez (2018). The specimens were examined with an EMZ-5TRD zoom stereo with SWF20X eyepieces and a Leitz HM-LUX binocular microscope with Periplan GF 12.5X M eyepieces. Photographs were taken with a Canon EOS 7D camera using a 65 mm f/2.8 macro lens and with an iPhone model 6s plus.

Taxonomy

Family Chernetidae Menge, 1855

Genus Antillochernes Muchmore, 1984

Antillochernes sp. MNHNSD 08.165 (2♀, figures 1-2): La Altagracia Province. Parque Nacional del Este [Parque Nacional Cotubanamá], Boca de Yuma, San Rafael del Yuma (18°21´35´´N 68°37´10´´W), 60 m a. s. l. 26.III.2002. B. Farrell, K. Guerrero. Canopy fogging.

Figure 1. Specimen of Antillochernes sp. from Dominican Republic (A-C). A, dorsal view; B-C, lateral view showing the setae on the pleural membrane of the abdomen (B, abdominal segments 6-7-8; C, abdominal segments 9-10).

Figure 2. Collecting site of the new record of the genus Antillochernes from Hispaniola.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Juan Almonte for the elaboration of the map, Lucy Martínez-Guerrero and Corey Poindexter-Ramírez, The University of Arizona, United States, for providing useful suggestions on the manuscript. Sebastián Vélez, Worcester State University, United States, for the photography equipment facilitations.

Cited Literature