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Two new harvestman species (Arachnida: Opiliones) from the collection of Siberian Zoological Museum

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Alexey N. Tchemeris at National Research Tomsk State University
Alexey N. Tchemeris
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Abstract and Figures

The paper presents diagnoses and descriptions of two new harvestman species: Nemaspe- la gagrica sp.n. (♂) from Abkhazia and Trogulocratus kyrghyzicus sp.n. (♂) from Kyrghyzstan. Both species are figured and their distribution is mapped.
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© ARTHROPODA SELECTA, 2013
Arthropoda Selecta 22(1): 4146
ABSTRACT. The paper presents diagnoses and
descriptions of two new harvestman species: Nemaspe-
la gagrica sp.n. () from Abkhazia and Trogulocratus
kyrghyzicus sp.n. () from Kyrghyzstan. Both species
are figured and their distribution is mapped.
ÐÅÇÞÌÅ. Äàííàÿ ðàáîòà ïðåäñòàâëÿåò ñîáîé
äèàãíîçû è îïèñàíèÿ äâóõ íîâûõ âèäîâ ñåíîêîñ-
öåâ: Nemaspela gagrica sp.n. () èç Àáõàçèè è
Trogulocratus kyrghyzicus sp.n. () èç Êèðãèçèè. Îáà
âèäà èëëþñòðèðîâàíû, è ïðèâåäåíû êàðòû èõ ðàñ-
ïðîñòðàíåíèÿ.
Introduction
The present work is based on the opilionid material
retained at the Siberian Zoological Museum of the
Institute for Systematics and Ecology of Animals SD
RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia. During the examination of
recently acquired collections, two new species of the
genera Nemaspela ilhavý, 1966 and Trogulocratus
Roewer, 1940, from Abkhazia and Kyrghyzstan re-
spectively, have been found.
The aim of this paper is to describe and diagnose
both new species. The specimens used for this study
have been shared between the Siberian Zoological Mu-
seum (ISEA, curator: G.N. Azarkina) and the Zoologi-
cal Museum of the Moscow State University, Russia
(ZMMU, curator: K.G. Mikhailov). Abbreviations used
in the text and table: Fm  femur, Pt  patella, Tb
tibia, Mt  metatarsus, Tr  tarsus. Clypeus is the
space between the ocularium and the front margin of
the carapace. All measurements are in mm.
Survey of species
Nemaspela ilhavý, 1966
The genus Nemaspela belongs to the family Nem-
astomatidae and includes troglobiont species inhabit-
ing caves of the Crimea and the Caucasus [Lebedinsky,
1914; Charitonov, 1941; Ljovuschkin, Starobogatov,
1963; Ljovuschkin, 1972; Martens, 2006]. The genus
Nemaspela was recently revised by Chemeris [2009]
and consists of six valid species: N. abchasica (Ljo-
vuschkin et Starobogatov, 1963) [Russia: Krasnodar
Territory; Abkhazia]; N. birsteini Ljovuschkin, 1972
[Abkhazia]; N. caeca (Grese, 1911) [Ukraine: the
Crimea]; N. femorecurvata Martens, 2006 [Georgia];
N. kovali Chemeris, 2009 [Russia: Kabardino-Balka-
ria]; N. sokolovi (Ljovushkin et Starobogarov, 1963)
[Russia: Krasnodar Territory]; see Chemeris [2009]
for further details. Thus, Nemaspela gagrica sp.n. de-
scribed below is a seventh species of this interesting
genus.
Nemaspela gagrica sp.n.
Figs 16, Map 1.
Types. HOLOTYPE: 1 (ISEA, SZM 000.0019), W Cauca-
sus, Abkhazia, Triangle Distr., nr. Gagry Mts, Arabika Plateau,
Arabika Mt., Sarma Cave, 1100 & 1300 m a.s.l., 20.IX.2011, P.V.
Rudko. PARATYPES: 1 (ISEA, SZM 000.0020), together with
the holotype.
ETYMOLOGY. The new species is named after
the type locality, Gagry Mts in Abkhazia.
DIAGNOSIS. By its general appearance, this spe-
cies is most similar to N. abchasica, N. caeca and N.
femorecurvata, but clearly differs from all of them in
Two new harvestman species (Arachnida: Opiliones)
from the collection of Siberian Zoological Museum
Äâà íîâûõ âèäà ñåíîêîñöåâ (Arachnida: Opiliones)
èç êîëëåêöèè Ñèáèðñêîãî Çîîëîãè÷åñêîãî Ìóçåÿ
A.N. Tchemeris
À.Í. ×åìåðèñ
Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Institute of Biology, Ecology, Soil, Agriculture and Forest Sciences, Tomsk State University, Lenin
avenue 36, Tomsk 634010 Russia. E-mail: opiliones@mail.ru
Êàôåäðà çîîëîãèè áåñïîçâîíî÷íûõ, Èíñòèòóò áèîëîãèè, ýêîëîãèè, ïî÷âîâåäåíèÿ, ñåëüñêîãî è ëåñíîãî õîçÿéñòâà, Òîìñêèé ãîñó-
äàðñòâåííûé óíèâåðñèòåò, ïðîñïåêò Ëåíèíà 36, Òîìñê 634010 Ðîññèÿ. E-mail: opiliones@mail.ru
KEY WORDS: Opiliones, Nemaspela, Trogulocratus, new species, Abkhazia, Kyrghyzstan.
ÊËÞ×ÅÂÛÅ ÑËÎÂÀ: Opiliones, Nemaspela, Trogulocratus, íîâût âèäû, Àáõàçèÿ, Êèðãèçèÿ.
42 A.N. Tchemeris
Map 1. Distribution of Nemaspela gagrica sp.n.
Êàðòà 1. Ðàñïðîñòðàíåíèå Nemaspela gagrica sp.n.
Figs 16. Nemaspela gagrica sp.n., male holotype: 1  body, dorsally; 2  body, laterally; 3  chelicerae, laterally; 4  chelicerae,
frontally; 5  glans, dorsally; 6  palp, laterally.
Ðèñ. 16. Nemaspela gagrica sp.n., ãîëîòèï, ñàìåö: 1  òåëî, âèä ñâåðõó; 2  òåëî, âèä ñáîêó; 3  õåëèöåðà, âèä ñáîêó; 4 
õåëèöåðà, âèä ñïåðåäè; 5  ãîëîâêà ïåíèñà, âèä ñâåðõó; 6  ïàëüïà, âèä ñáîêó.
43
Two new harvestman species (Arachnida: Opiliones)
Character N. abchasiña N. caeca N. femorecurvata N. gagrica sp.n.
Apophysis on
the basal
segment of male
chelicera
Very low, peaked
[Chemeris, 2009: figs 22, 27;
Ljovuschkin &
Starobogatov, 1963: fig. 4]
Short and clavate, strongly
extending forward
[Chemeris, 2009: figs 25, 29;
Ljovuschkin, Starobogatov,
1963: fig. 2]
Absent [Martens,
2006: fig. 14]
Elongate and clavate,
strongly extending
forward [present
data], Figs 14
Palp
Femur straight; patella
always shorter than the
femur; normal structure,
without tooth [Chemeris,
2009: fig. 31]
Femur straight; patella equal
to or slightly exceeds the
femur; normal structure,
without tooth [Chemeris,
2009: fig .34]
Femora recurved;
patella equal to the
femur [Martens,
2006: fig. 14]
Palp slightly swollen;
femora recurved;
patella shorter than
the femur [present
data], Figs 2, 6
Penis
Glans slightly thickened,
gradually turning into long
stylus [Chemeris, 2009: fig.
40; Ljovuschkin,
Starobogatov, 1963: fig. 4]
Stylus very short, kidney-
shaped; glans cone-shaped,
sharply narrowed towards
stylus [Chemeris, 2009: fig.
42; Ljovuschkin,
Starobogatov, 1963: fig. 2]
Stylus short; glans
only slightly
thickened, gradually
turning into hort
stylus [Martens,
2006: fig. 14]
Glans sligthly
thickened, gradually
turning into long
stylus [present data],
Fig. 5
Table 1. Main diagnostic characters between four Nemaspela species.
Òàáëèöà 1. Îñíîâíûå äèàãíîñòè÷íûå ïðèçíàêè ÷åòûðåõ âèäîâ Nemaspela.
the structure of the apophysis on the basal segment of
male chelicerae, somewhat swollen palps and recurved
palpal femora (cf. Figs 14, 6). By the penis structure,
N. gagrica sp.n. is closest to N. abchasica. See also
Table 1.
DISTRIBUTION: Abkhazia, the type locality only
[present data].
DESCRIPTION. MALE. Measurements. Body:
length 1.91; width 1.08. Cephalothorax length 0.70.
Eye tubercle width 0.22. Clypeal length 0.22. Cheli-
cera: basal segment length 0.77; distal segment length
0.6; length of forceps 0.58; length of aphophysis 0.23.
Penis: length 1.56; width at base 0.22. Length of palp
and legs:
The body is weakly chitinized (Figs 12). Carapace
and scutum are divided by poorly visible furrow, both
are almost smooth, with hardly noticeable sculpture.
Cephalotorax and tergites of abdomen without sharp
borders. Abdominal sternites distinct, with a longitudi-
nal row of hairs in the middle. Supracheliceral lamellae
smooth. Rudimentary ocularium (Figs 12) is raised.
Eyes absent. Chelicerae long, their basal segment with
the clavate apophysis strongly extending forward, with
hairs on its top (Figs 24). Distal and basal segments
dorsally with hairs. Claw digits with numerous, flat
micro-setae (Fig. 4). Palps (Figs 2, 6) slightly swollen,
covered with short and long prominent hairs. Trochant-
ers long and slightly bent, ventrally with 4-5 tubercles
extending forward and with apical hairs. Femora re-
curved. Patellae shorter in length than the femora. Legs
Fm Pt Tb Mt Tr Total
Palp 1.71 1.55 1.38 0.98 5.62
Legs
I 4.02 0.71 2.62 6.01 2.22 15.58
II 6.52 0.71 5.99 12.11 4.92 30.25
III 4.31 0.70 2.71 6.18 2.62 16.52
IV 5.33 0.76 3.71 8.28 3.31 21.39
long, coxa covered with tubercles and hairs. Femora
long, pseudosegments are located in the medial part of
femora, with their number as follows: I  913; II 
1720; III 1011; IV 1416. Claws long, cres-
cent, identical in all four pairs. Penis long as in all
Nemaspela species [see Chemeris, 2009: fig. 43]: glans
sligthly thickened (Fig. 5), gradually turning into sty-
lus; stylus long and thin, expanded at its basis; glans
covered with spicules directed backward. Coloration
as in other Nemaspela species [see Chemeris, 2009].
FEMALE: unknown.
Trogulocratus Roewer, 1940
The genus Trogulocratus belongs to the family
Trogulidae. It can be distinguished from other trogulid
genera by the number of tarsal segments and tarsal leg
formula that is 2 1 3 3. To date, the genus has
been restricted to the eastern Mediterranean, with the
four valid species included as follows: T. apenninicus
Marcellino, 1965 (Italy); T. intermedius Roewer, 1940
(Crete); T. rhodiensis Gruber, 1963 (Greece: Rhodos);
T. tunetanus Roewer, 1950 (Tunisia). The descriptions
of these species and information about their distribu-
tion can be found in the following works: Marcellino
[1965]; Roewer [1940, 1950]; and Gruber [1963]. The
fifth new species described below represents the first
record of the genus from Middle Asia.
Trogulocratus kyrghyzicus sp.n.
Figs 716, Map 2.
Types. HOLOTYPE: 1 (ISEA, SZM 000.0060), Kyrghyzstan,
Chatkal Mt. Range, Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve, between Iiri-Kol
Lake and Kuturma Pass (ca. 41°32.7¢N, 72°01.0¢E), 22002400 m
a.s.l., 29.05.1993, S.V. Ovchinikov. PARATYPES: 2  (ISEA,
SZM 000.0063) and 1 (ZMMU), together with the holotype; 2
 (ISEA, SZM 000.0066) and 1 (ZMMU), Fergana Mt.
Range (N-part), S-slope of Baubash-Ata Mt., 35 km N of Arslan-
bob Vil. (ca. 41°22.8N, 72°56.6¢E), 21002400 m a.s.l.,
18.05.1993, S.V. Ovchinikov.
44 A.N. Tchemeris
Figs 716. Trogulocratus kyrghyzicus sp.n., male holotype: 7  body, dorsally; 8  chelicerae, frontally; 9  chelicerae, laterally;
10  palp, laterally; 11  tarsus of I legs; 12  tarsus of II legs; 13  tarsus of III and IV legs; 14  penis, dorsal view; 15  penis,
lateral view; 16  glans, laterally.
Ðèñ. 716. Trogulocratus kyrghyzicus sp.n., ãîëîòèï, ñàìåö: 7  òåëî, âèä ñâåðõó; 8  õåëèöåðà, âèä ñïåðåäè; 9  õåëèöåðà,
âèä ñáîêó; 10  ïàëüïà, âèä ñáîêó; 11  ëàïêà 1-é ïàðû íîã; 12  ëàïêà 2-é ïàðû íîã; 13  ëàïêà 3-é è 4-é ïàð íîã; 14  ïåíèñ,
âèä ñâåðõó; 15  ïåíèñ, âèä ñáîêó; 16  ãîëîâêà ïåíèñà, âèä ñáîêó.
45
Two new harvestman species (Arachnida: Opiliones)
ETYMOLOGY. The new species is named after
the country of origin, Kyrghyzstan.
DIAGNOSIS. T. kyrghyzicus sp.n. is closest to T.
rhodiensis [cf. Rambla, 1968], but can easily be distin-
guished by the following characters: the glans of penis
cone-shaped and the dorsum behind the hood with oval
eminence (Figs 7, 1113).
DISTRIBUTION. Kyrgyzstan [present data].
DESCRIPTION. MALE. Measurements. Body:
length 5.18; width 1.84. Hood length 0.73, width 0.68.
Distance between eyes 0.45. Chelicera: basal segment
0.74; distal segment 0.35; length chela 0.36. Penis:
length 1.45; width of base 0.16. Length of palp and
legs:
forms the hood. Eyes slightly raised (without ocular-
ium) and situated at the base of the hood. Chelicera
small (Figs 89). Basal segment long. All segments
with rare setae. Distal segment and claw equal in length.
Palp relatively small and short (Fig. 10), covered with
rare hairs. Patella and tarsus small and equal in length.
Tarsus without claw. Legs (Fig. 7) First pair short and
somewhat swollen. Femora, patellae, tibiae and meta-
tarsi of all legs almost completely covered with hook-
shaped integument projections. Tarsi of all legs not
polynomial. Number of tarsal segments: I  2, II  1,
III  3, IV  3 (Figs 1113). Each tarsus has a
relatively long claw (Figs 7, 1113). Penis (Figs 14
15): corpus thin along its entire length, glans (Fig. 16)
cone-shaped, covered with spicules. Coloration. The
body and legs of living specimens covered with a con-
tinuous thin layer of sand grains and small-sized parti-
cles giving the body colour a light sandy-ochre appear-
ance; only palps, chelicera and tarsi of legs remain free
of this cover.
FEMALE: unknown.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. The author is extremely
grateful to Mr P.V. Rudko, Mr D.A. Sidorov and Ms
L.T. Kharlamova for giving access to their material
collected from caves of Abkhazia and for clarifying the
locality data. Dr D.V. Logunov (Manchester, UK) is
thanked for general editing of the ms and help with
translating it into English.
Map 2. Distribution of Trogulocratus kyrghyzicus sp.n.
Êàðòà 2. Ðàñïðîñòðàíåíèå Trogulocratus kyrghyzicus sp.n.
Fm Pt Tb Mt Tr Total
Palp 0.33 0.16 0.26 - 0.16 0.91
Legs
I 0.97 0.51 0.70 0.63 0.41 3.22
II 1.69 0.75 1.18 1.26 0.82 5.70
III 1.08 0.52 0.91 1.02 0.50 4.03
IV 1.19 0.72 1.11 1.42 0.51 4.95
Body (Fig. 7) small and robust, elongated and oval.
Body integument papillose. Dorsal surface of carapace
and abdominal tergites fused together forming a con-
tinuous shield. Dorsum behind the hood with oval emi-
nence. Odoriferous glands of carapace and supra-cheli-
ceral lamella absent. The anterior edge of carapace
46 A.N. Tchemeris
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Responsible editor D.V. Logunov
... Although Grese (1911, under Nemastoma) described the first Nemaspela species, Ljovuschkin & Starobogatov (1963) provided the first penis drawings of the three Nemaspela (Ljovuschkin & Starobogatov 1963, under Burešiolla) species. In later works, Martens (2006), Chemeris (2009Chemeris ( , 2013 and Karaman (2013) provided drawings and photographs of all known species of Nemaspela. ...
... Species of Nemaspela have been reported from three geographically distant karstic regions: the Caucasus, the Crimea, and the Dinaric Karst. In this contribution, we therefore discuss two geographically limited Nemaspela groups: the eastern group distributed in the Caucasus and the Crimea (Martens 2006;Chemeris 2009Chemeris , 2013, and the western one distributed in the Dinaric Karst (Karaman 2013). Based on the recent literature, there are no records of Nemaspela from the intermediate territory. ...
... Chemeris (2009) provided the first revision of the genus Nemaspela Šilhavý, 1966 in its main distribution area, i.e., the Caucasus and Crimea. The following seven species of the genus from the Caucasus and Crimea have been described: Nemaspela caeca (Grese, 1911) (Grese 1911), N. abchasica (Ljovuschkin & Starobogatov, 1963) and N. sokolovi (Ljovuschkin & Starobogatov, 1963) (Ljovuschkin & Starobogatov 1963), N. birsteini Ljovuschkin, 1972(Ljovuschkin 1972, N. femorecurvata Martens, 2006(Martens 2006, N. kovali Chemeris, 2009(Chemeris 2009) and N. gagrica Chemeris, 2013(Chemeris 2013. Recently, Nemaspela ladae Karaman, 2013(Karaman 2013, the eighth species of the genus, was described from Bosnia and Herzegovina. ...
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... minutus Snegovaya, 2011, both from Krasnodar Krai in the Russian Caucasus (Snegovaya & Chumachenko 2011). Chemeris (2013) described Trogulocratus kyrghyzicus Chemeris, 2013 from Kyrgyzstan, which Kury et al. (2020) placed under Calathocratus. This presently is the easternmost published record of the genus. ...
... C. kyrghyzicus (Chemeris, 2013) Kyrghyzstan 5.2 memory of a friend, Juan Antonio Zaragoza Miralles, recently deceased. Amazingly, a sample of Calathocratus from the southern Portuguese Algarve region, collected in 2019, proved to belong to a morphologically different and new species, which is also described herein. ...
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The genus Calathocratus is reliably recorded from the Iberian Peninsula, encompassing two new species described herein. Both species are small, have a similar overall morphology, like a dorsal median area devoid of papillae, but they are very different in penial morphology. Calathocratus zaragozai sp. nov. from the Valencian-Alicante mountains in Spain has a unique subapical stylus and a glans with large setae, while Calathocratus algarvensis sp. nov. from the Algarve region in Portugal, has a stout apical stylus and a glans with short, robust setae. Descriptions are complemented with the first record of teratological anophthalmia in Tro-gulidae and several observations of citizen science. A discussion on related species is included.
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... All Nemaspela species are exclusively troglobiotic and are characterized by the corresponding morphological configuration: they are eyeless, with a smooth light brown to yellowish body cuticle, darker pedipalps, legs and even darker chelicerae, and extremely extended appendages. The eleven Nemaspela species (including those described here) display a rather disjunct distributional pattern; they are scattered more or less along the western part of the Greater Caucasus Mountains (eight species), over the southern part of the Crimea (one species) and in the Balkan Peninsula (two species) (Chemeris 2009;Tchemeris 2013;Kozel et al. 2020); Georgia harbours four species (Chemeris 2009;Tchemeris 2013). There is a lengthy debate about the phylogenetic relationships between Nemaspela and an apparently closely related genus of uncertain affinity, Hadzinia Šilhavý, 1966 (Novak & Kozel 2014). ...
... All Nemaspela species are exclusively troglobiotic and are characterized by the corresponding morphological configuration: they are eyeless, with a smooth light brown to yellowish body cuticle, darker pedipalps, legs and even darker chelicerae, and extremely extended appendages. The eleven Nemaspela species (including those described here) display a rather disjunct distributional pattern; they are scattered more or less along the western part of the Greater Caucasus Mountains (eight species), over the southern part of the Crimea (one species) and in the Balkan Peninsula (two species) (Chemeris 2009;Tchemeris 2013;Kozel et al. 2020); Georgia harbours four species (Chemeris 2009;Tchemeris 2013). There is a lengthy debate about the phylogenetic relationships between Nemaspela and an apparently closely related genus of uncertain affinity, Hadzinia Šilhavý, 1966 (Novak & Kozel 2014). ...
Two new species of the genus Nemaspela Šilhavý from caves in Georgia (Opiliones: Nemastomatidae)
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2021
Two highly specialized endemic troglobiotic harvestman species of the genus Nemaspela Šilhavý, 1966 are described. N. melouri sp. nov. from Melouri Cave and N. prometheus sp. nov. from Prometheus Cave (Sataplia-Tskaltubo karst massif, Imereti region, western Georgia), respectively. Despite the fact that the entrances of the caves are positioned only 2.5 km apart, the new taxa differ from each other distinctly by presence vs. absence of male cheliceral apophysis, which is lacking in the second species. A key to the Caucasian species of the genus is provided. Relationships of Nemaspela species within the genus and with hypothetical epigean ancestors are discussed.
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... However, exploration of the opilionid fauna within Georgian caves dates to the mid-twentieth century when Ljovuschkin & Starobogatov (1963) and Ljovuschkin (1972) described troglobiontic Nemastomatidae species. Martens (2006) and Chemeris (2009Chemeris ( , 2013 described additional species followed by more novelties documented by Martens et al. (2021). The only species from the northern slope of the Greater Caucasian mountain range originates from Kabardino-Balkaria in southern Russia (Chemeris 2009), all other species are native to Georgia (Map 1). ...
An additional species of the genus Nemaspela Šilhavý, 1966 from a cave in Georgia, with a note on Nemaspela melouri (Opiliones: Nemastomatidae)
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2023
A cavernicolous harvestman species, Nemaspela kotia sp. nov., is described from the Kotia Cave (=Kotiasklde Cave) in Zemo Imereti plateau, Imereti Region, West Georgia. Its males lack a cheliceral apophysis, a feature shared with the Georgian cave-dwelling Nemaspela femorecurvata Martens, 2006 and N. prometheus Martens, Maghradze & Barjadze, 2021. Besides, Nemaspela melouri Martens, Maghradze & Barjadze, 2021, known only from its type locality, is found in Solkota Cave (Tskaltubo Municipality, Sataplia-Tskaltubo karst massif, Imereti region, West Georgia). A key for the identification of the known species of Nemaspela is provided.
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... The family Trogulidae has a paleo-Mediterranean distribution and occurs all over this region from northern Africa and the Iberian Peninsula eastwards to the Near East, i.e. to the Caucasus countries (Šilhavý, 1966;Staręga, 1966) and Turkey (Gruber, 1968;Schönhofer et al., 2013), and northwards to the Alps and central Europe (Martens, 1978). Eastwards the species' diversity fades out in the Iranian Alborz Mts (Snegovaya et al., 2021), Kyrgystan (Tchemeris, 2013) and Tajikistan (specimens in CJM) where only isolated species from widely separated localities are present. To date the family comprises fi ve genera and 56 species (Schönhofer, 2013). ...
The description of a new species of Anarthrotarsus Šilhavý from Greece and a discussion about the genus (Arachnida: Opiliones: Trogulidae)
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2022
  • REV SUISSE ZOOL
Anarthrotarsus trichasi sp. nov., a second species of the genus Anarthrotarsus Šilhavý, 1967 is described based on fresh material from the northeastern part of the island of Crete, Greece. The male holotype of the type species of the genus Anarthrotarsus was discovered on the island of Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece, but no other conspecific specimens were found there ever since. This also holds true for the population from Crete, from where a female paratype was collected. Genital morphology of male specimens from both populations markedly differs, and that of the holotype from Corfu is even unique among Trogulidae. Though the tarsal formula (1-1-1-1 in the four walking legs) is identical in both populations, penis morphology, the main generic character of Anarthrotarsus, clearly separates them. A close relationship of A. trichasi sp. nov. with species of the genus Calathocratus Simon, 1879 is supposed but awaits molecular genetic affirmation.
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... Four caves that crowd the top of the world deepest caves list are located in Abkhazia: three in the Arabika Massif of the Gagra Mt Range (Veryovkina Cave: -2212 m; Arabika Cave System: -2199 m; Sarma Cave: -1830 m) and one in the Khipsta Massif of the Bzyb Mt Range (Snezhnaya Cave System: -1760 m). Recent biospeleological investigations of these caves resulted in the discovery of several troglobitic invertebrate taxa at the extreme depths, e. g., Amphipoda (Sidorov et al. 2015(Sidorov et al. , 2018Sidorov & Samokhin 2016), Diplopoda (Antić et al. 2018), Opiliones (Tchemeris 2013) and Collembola (Jordana et al. 2012). ...
Cave water walker: an extremely troglomorphic Troglaphorura gladiator gen. et sp. nov. (Collembola, Onychiuridae) from Snezhnaya Cave in the Caucasus
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2019
  • ZOOTAXA
A new springtail genus and species of the family Onychiuridae, Troglaphorura gladiator gen. et sp. nov., is described from deep Snezhnaya (Snow) Cave System (-1760 m) in the West Caucasus. Postantennal organ with only a single unlobed vesicle, sense organ of third antennal segment with sensory rods of complex structure, foot complex with missing empodia and extremely long thin claws as well as relatively long appendages, primitive dorsal chaetotaxy and presence of 1+1 pseudocelli on the head posterior part are extraordinary characters within the family but diagnostic for new genus and species. Extreme troglomorphy of new species is discussed. It was sampled in epineustonic habitats in bottom part of the cave and represents a genuine example of troglomorphic neustonic and hygropetric collembolan life form—a cave water walker.
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... et Taiti (Gongalsky, Taiti, 2014), принадлежащего к крымскому, ранее считавшемуся эндемичным, роду Typhloligidium. Сенокосцы (Opiliones) рода Nemaspela распространены исключительно в пещерах Крыма, Кавказа и Балкан (Chemeris, 2009;Tchemeris, 2013;Karaman, 2013), а пещерные ложноскорпионы (Pseudoscorpionida) рода Pseudoblothrus напротив распространены в Крыму, а также в Западных Альпах и на Азорских островах (Harvey, 1991). Схожая ситуация с другими представителями троглобионтной фауны, однако в достаточной мере их географические связи еще не прослежены. ...
To the question of speleofauna formation in the Crimean Peninsula
Conference Paper
Full-text available
  • Sep 2017
Possible pathways for and the time of the formation of troglobiont communities in the caves of the Crimean Peninsula are analyzed.
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An annotated list of the Georgian harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones)
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2023
An annotated list of the Georgian harvestmen was prepared based on literature and unpublished collection data, in which 48 species belonging to 19 genera within six families are included. Twenty-seven species are endemic to the Caucasus Ecoregion, while 10 species are endemic to Georgia. Five species are highly specialized cavernicolous ones and are only known from caves. Former subspecies Nemastoma suberbum bacuriana Mkheidze, 1959, is ranked as an independent species, Paranemastoma bacurianum (Mkheidze, 1959) ( comb. nov. et stat. nov. ); Metaplatybunus hypanicus Šilhavý, 1966, is justified as a junior synonym of Metaplatybunus georgicus Mkheidze, 1952 ( syn. nov. ).
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Preliminary results of invertebrate animals study in the Veryovkina Cave (The Western Caucasus, Abkhazia) [In Russian]
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2018
The preliminary results of invertebrate animals study in the Veryovkina Cave, collected during research speleological expeditions in the period of 2017-2018 are presented in the paper. According to the results of these biospeleological studies at this time in the Veryovkina Cave 15 species of invertebrates were noted. Based on the findings, preliminary comparative analysis of the invertebrates distribution in the caves of the Arabika karst massif is presented.
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Harvestmen from the Caucasus (Arachnida, Opiliones, Nemastomatidae)
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2006
  • Senckenberg Biol
A collection of about 600 specimens of the family Nemastomatidae from the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Southern Russia) with the adjacent parts of northern Iran and northern Turkey is treated taxonomically, with some data on the biology and ecology as well. In this general area, 24 species have been recorded, of which 23 have been revealed in this collection. Two genera and eleven species are described as new: Caucnemastoma gen. n., Vestiferum gen. n., Paranemastoma iranicum sp. n. (holotpe/HT ♂), Giljarovia triangula sp. n. (HT ♂), G. trianguloides sp. n. (HT ♂), G. vestita sp. n. (HT ♂), G. thoracocornuta sp. n. (HT ♀), Caucnemastoma golovatchi sp. n. (HT ♂), Vestiferum alatum sp. n. (HT ♂), Mediostoma variabile sp. n. (HT ♂), M nigrum sp. n. (HT ♂), M armatum sp. n. (RT d), Nemaspela femorecurvatum sp. n. (HT ♂). Holotypes are deposited in the Zoological Museum of the Lomonossow University, Moskau, Russia, except for Mediostoma variabile sp. n., M armatum sp. n. and M nigrum sp. n. (in Senckenberg-Museum, Frankfurt am Main, SMF) and Nemaspela femorecurvatum sp. n. (temporarily in coll. J. Martens, finally in SMF). Nemastoma suchumium Roewer 1951 and Nemastoma charitonovi Mchedze 1952 are found to be new synonyms of Paranemastoma kalischevshyi (Roewer 1951). The Caucasus area s. l. appears to harbour more than half of all known genera of the Nemastomatinae, i.e. Nemastoma C. L. Koch 1836, Paranemastoma Redikorzev 1936, Histricostoma Kratochíl 1958, Giljarovia Kratochvíl 1959, Nemaspela Šilhavý 1966, Mitostoma Roewer 1951, Caucnemastoma gen. n., Vestifierum gen. n., Mediostoma Kratochvíl 1958. The fauna is basically ancient, highly endemic (genera Giljarovia, Nemaspela, Caucnemastoma, Vestiferum, 91.6 % and 44.4 % at the species and generic level, respectively). Differentiation and radiation of the majority of taxa apparently at least partly dates back to Tertiary times. This definitely allows to identify the Caucasus s. l. as the most prominent centre of West Palearctic nemastomatid diversification, which is located in the ancient Mediterranean area. A finer zoogeographical analysis shows, it is the Northwest Caucasus, especially the so-called Kuban Biogeographical Province that is particularly rich faunistically and harbours most of the small-range species of the region (7 species of 5 genera); several of them are even endemic to this relatively small area. This fully agrees with conventional wisdom, as this area supports the region's most dense, diverse and humid forest formations known with particularly rich terrestrial arthropod faunas. A number of highly characteristic troglobitic nemastomatid species are likewise endemic in the northwestern Caucasus, all belonging in the genus Nemaspela which marginally occurs also in the Crimea. Generally, the same concerns the genus Giljarovia which, however, is almost fully endemic in the Caucasus. Giljarovia is likewise particularly species-rich in the northwestern part of the Caucasus s. l., where it must have undergone profound speciation in situ. Giljarovia and Nemaspela seem to be closely related and may have originated from the same ancestor, Nemaspela being the subterraneous off-shoot of what is now Giljarovia. The vertical distribution of Caucasian Nemastomatidae appears to range from virtually sea-level along the Black Sea and Caspian Sea coasts to the alpine belt above timber line (only two basically forest-dwelling species reaching up to 2800 m and 3000 m a.s.l., respectively), with the bulk of species retrticted to the forest belt(s) at various altitudes. However, the fauna above timberline is still sparsely investigated and more species may turn up. The two species of Vestiferum gen. n. comprise the first nemastomatid species which camouflage their body and appendages with small earth and detritus particles, similar to Trogulidae and Dicranolasmatidae. As the sole nemastomatid species so far known, the long-legged Paranemastoma superbum penetrates into the herb layer. © E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung (Nägele u. Obermiller), 2006.
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[On the fauna of Crimean caves
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