Chondromorpha lakroda, Dave & Sindhav, 2025

Chondromorpha lakroda sp. nov.

( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 )

Material Examined

Holotype Male ( SPC0003 ) from Lakroda Dam in Gandhinagar , 23° 27' 0.87'' N, 72° 48' 27.75'' E, Gujarat, India, 115 m. alt., 1 August 2023, ( Figs 3 View FIGURE 3 and 4 View FIGURE 4 ) GoogleMaps .

Paratype 1 male ( SPC0004 ) from Gadhvi village in Dang , 20° 50' 24.51" N, 73° 41' 6.14" E, Gujarat, India, 462 m. alt., 28 July 2024 GoogleMaps . 1 Female ( SPC0005 ) from Sasan village in Gir-Somanath , 21° 10' 6.31" N, 70° 35' 12.84" E, Gujarat, India, 165 m. alt., 12 July 2024 GoogleMaps .

All specimens were collected by R. A. Dave through the hand-picking method from the ground.

Diagnosis

Based on the latest synopsis and key ( Golovatch 2023), the presence of well-developed paranota, granulated metazona, indistinct pleural keels, and the absence of tarsal brushes from male legs, along with a sternal lamella or paramedian tubercles present between male coxae 4, a gonopod aperture with a posterior rim and a shortened gonopod femorite, are all indicative of this species belonging to Chondromorpha Silvestri, 1897 , basically an Indian genus ( Golovatch 2023). Among the seven presently known species of Chondromorpha , our new species differs from C. severini Silvestri, 1897 in the presence of a pair of sternal tubercles between male coxae 4, from C. xanthotricha Attems, 1898 and C. greke Golovatch, 2023 by the absence of an anterolateral tooth from paranota, from C. kelaarti Humbert, 1865 by an angular shoulder on the metaterga and trapezoid single sternal lobes between male coxae 4, and from C. kaimura Turk, 1947 in a slender and high paramedian process between male coxae 4. It is also distinguished from C. mammifera Attems, 1936 by the orange colour of the posterior part of metazona ( Sankaran & Sebastian 2017). Meanwhile, C. stadelmanni Verhoeff, 1930 is dubious, being known only from a female holotype from Sri Lanka ( Verhoeff 1930).

Etymology

The species epithet "lakroda " is a meaningful name that was chosen to honour the specific locality where the type specimen was originally collected.

Description

Length 24–27 mm (male) or 27–29 mm (female); width of midbody prozona 2 mm, metazona 3 mm for both male and female.

Colour. Adults brownish black with orange legs. Antennae black. Metazona and prozona both brownish black. Posterior parts of metazona orange and connected to paranota. Posterior parts of pleurites orange-yellow. Sternites pale yellow to orange. Legs and gonopods same in colouration as paranota.

Head and Antennae. Head slightly narrower than collum in width. Clypeus and labrum densely setose, vertex sparsely setose. Epicranial suture distinct. Antennae long, reaching until ring 5 when stretched dorsally. In length, antennomere 2> 3 = 4 = 5> 6> 1> 7; tip with four sensory cones.

Collum semi-circular. Surface with 3 rows of setae: 6+ 6 in anterior, 3+ 3 in intermediate, and 4+ 4 in posterior row; colour of dorsal surface brownish in central region, peripheral region yellowish orange.

Tegument. Body submoniliform. In width, ring 2 <3 <4 = 5−17, thereafter body tapering towards telson. Surface granulated. Stricture between prozona and metazona wide, quite profound. Metazona with three transverse rows of setae, 4/5+4/5 setae in anterior row, 3/4+3/4 setae in intermediate row, and 4/5+4/5 setae in posterior row. Transverse metatergal sulci usually distinct on rings 4–17, not reaching the bases of paranota, these being reduced on rings 18 and 19.

Paranota set high and triangular, lying parallel to axial line and below dorsal surface; broad until ring 7, acute thereafter. Anterolateral tooth on paranota absent. Paranota placed slightly lower than collum.

Limbus thin. Ozopores small and circular, formula normal (5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15–19), ozopores located in mid-lateral part of paranota.

A pair of tubercles present between male coxae 4. Sterna sparsely setose.

Telson. Epiproct broadly truncated, its tip with four spinnerets. Paraprocts nearly semi-circular, with four distinct setiferous knobs. Hypoproct semi-circular, without knobs.

Legs long and slender, in male without tarsal brushes. relative podomere lengths: femur> tarsus> tibia> postfemur> prefemur; leg 1 without adenostyle; male femora 1 and 2 each with an adenostyle.

Gonopod aperture with a posterior rim. Coxite long, subcylindrical, setose distodorsally. Cannula cylindrical in shape. Prefemorite slightly longer than both femorite and postfemoral part, densely setose as usual, with a long and stiff seta in distal region and a distal sulcus demarcating the acropodite. Femorite shortened, not twisted, slightly cube-shaped opposite basal postfemoral process ( Fig. 1B View FIGURE 1 ). Postfemoral demarcation from femorite consisting of a solenophore, a solenomere, and postfemoral processes ( Figs 1B, C View FIGURE 1 ). Solenophore long and strongly curved. Solenomere flagelliform, simple and long, with a broad base, slightly curved, distal part sheathed by lamina lateralis ( Fig. 1D View FIGURE 1 ). Seminal groove visible on mesal side.

Remarks

The new species shows a rapid walking pace and is commonly found in the vicinity of Gandhinagar, Dang and Gir-Somnath District in Gujarat, India ( Fig. 4 View FIGURE 4 ). While seven species of Chondromorpha Silvestri, 1897 have been formally described, only one has hitherto been documented from Gujarat previously ( Attems 1936). The new species is thus the second congener to be recorded from Gujarat.