The first troglobitic species of Whiteheadiana Perrault, 1994 (Carabidae: Clivinini) from Brazil

Abstract

The Neotropical genus Whiteheadiana (Carabidae: Scaritinae: Clivinini: Clivinina) was proposed by Perrault (1994) as a new genus after his systematic analysis based on morphological characters. Currently, four species are known in this genus W. latidens (Putzeys, 1861), W. longicollis (Putzeys, 1861) W. minor (Putzeys, 1866), and W. stenocephala (Brullé, 1837), and only three of them are recorded for Brazil. This work aims to describe the first troglobitic species of Whiteheadiana. All specimens used in this study were obtained from the Coleção de Invertebrados Subterâneos de Lavras (ISLA) da UFLA and the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZSP). Male and female genitalia were dissected following the procedures modified by Liebherr and Will (1998). The photographs and measurements were obtained with a Leica M25A stereomicroscope. Ultrastructural analyses were conducted through the use of a scanning electron microscope TM4000. Illustrations and figures were processed in Photoshop and Illustrator. The terminology adopted for the description was based on the morphological characters followed by Perrault (1994) and Dostal & Vieira (2018). Whiteheadiana sp.n is recognized by the following characters: Color yellowish to brownish. Head elongated, right mandible with a carina, eyes reduced, glossal sclerite of ligula with two pairs of setae, gula with sides diverging posteriorly. Protibia is barely flat, the outer distal edge of protibial with four triangular, ventrally oriented teeth. Elytra with one pair of apical setae, membrane wings reduced, and all the sternites with a pair of umbilicated punctures. This new species is peculiar to the genera since it presents troglomorphic features and is the first troglobitic species of the genus. Furthermore, it is only recorded for the Toca do Gonçalo Caves, located in Campo Formoso, Bahia state, Brazil, and can be considered highly threatened due to recent changes in its habitat.