Ammotrecha araucana Mello Leitao 1942

Ammotrecha araucana ►Mello-Leitão, 1942: 310-312, figs 7-9; ►Muma, 1971b: 12-14, fig. 23; Cekalovic, 1975: 131, 132; ►Muma, 1976: 26; Kury and Nogueira, 1999: 11; ►Harvey, 2003: 200.

HOLOTYPE: Chile: Valparaiso Region: Casablanca, [date?] (F. Gajardo Tobay), 1 female (holotype). 

Original description:
Mello-Leitão, 1942: 310-312, figs 7-9:

♀. - 22mm.  Propeltídio castanho-claro, com estreita orla anterior e contorno ocular denegridos. Quelíceras de colorido amarelo-palha, com os mucrones fulvo-escuros. Meso e metapeltídios cinzentos. Dorso do abdomen cinzento claro; os tergitos I a VIII com um par de manchas castanhas,que formam duas faixas longitudinais escuras, paramedianas.  Palpos com o fémur amarelo-palha, com o ápice castanho; tibia, protarso e tarso castanhos, escurecendo regularamente da base da tibia para o tarso. Patas com os fémures como os dos palpos, os outros segmentos castanho-claros, exceto os tarsos, que são testáceos. Face ventral do abdomen cinzento-clara uniforme. Propeltídío de comprimento e largura quasi iguais, com as bordas anterior e posterior regular e igualmente curvas; tegumentos providos de longos pelos singelos, pouco abundantes. Cômoro ocular não fazendo saliência na borda anterior e armado de dois espinhos dirigidos para diante. Lobos laterais inteiramente livres, triangulares, de lado externo convexo, lado interno e base quasi retos, pouco mais longos que largos (Fig. 7). Plágula mediana inerme.  Mesopeltídio duas vezes mais largo que longo, retangular, com longos pelos escassos. Metapeltídio mais largo que longo (da mesma largura e um pouco mais longo que o mesopeltídio), com longos pelos pouco abundantes. Abdomen quasi glabro. Placa genital formada por dois lobos alongados, de borda posterior arredondada, armada de uma fila de curtos espinhos. Esternitos III a IX com uma fila marginal posterior de curtas cerdas espiniformes. Palpos: Fémur mais dilatado em seu terço distal, inerme; tibia sem pelos cilíndricos, inerme; protarso sem pelos cilíndricos, e com longos pelos espinformes; tarso mais longo que largo; órgão terminal finamente estríado longitudinalmente em sua face interna. Patas: Patas II e III de fémur inerme; tibia com um espinho apical ventral; protarso sem espinhos dorsais, com 1-1-1 espinhos ventrais anteriores; tarsos com 1.2.2.1 espinhos ventrais.  Patas IV com o fémur inerme; tibia com longa cerda espiniforme apical ventral; protarso com longos pelos seriados dorsais; face ventral armada de 1-1-1-1-1 espinhos anteriores e um espinho apical posterior; tarso com longuíssimo pelo dorsal no segmento intermediário e armado de 2.2/2/2.1 espinhos ventrais. Quelíceras: Dedo imóvel com uma pequena elevação dorsal, ao nivel do dente principal e armado de dois dentes anteriores iguais, pequeno dente intermediário, dente principal pouco maior que os anteriores, quatro dentes basilares internos, os dois basilares geminados, o terceiro bem menor. Dedo moveI com o dente proximal e o anterior quasi iguais, separados por pequeno dente intermediário e com um pequeno dente basilar interno.

[♀. - 22mm.  Clear-chestnut propeltídium, with narrow anterior  border and ocular outline blackened. Chelicerae colored straw-yellow, with the teeth dark-tawny. Meso and metapeltidia gray.  Dorsum of abdomen light gray; tergites I to VIII with a pair of brown spots, which form two longitudinal dark paramedian bands.  Femur with palps straw-yellow with chestnut apex, tibia, tarsus, and protarsus chestnut, getting darker regularly from the base of the tibia to the tarsus. Tarsi of the femur like those of the palpi, other segments clear chestnut, except the tarsi, which are testaceous.  Ventral side of abdomen uniformly light gray.  Propeltídíum length and width almost equal, with the anterior and posterior margins regularly and equally curved; integument provided with long, single hairs, not very abundant.  Eye mound not projecting to the anterior margin and armed with two spines directed forward. Lateral lobes entirely free, triangular, the outer convex side, internal side and base quasi straight, slightly longer than wide (Fig. 7). Plagula mediana unarmed. Mesopeltidium twice wider than long, rectangular, with the long setae scarce.  Eye mound not projecting to the anterior margin and armed with two spines directed forward. Lateral lobes entirely free, triangular, the outer convex side, internal side and base somewhat straight, slightly longer than wide (Fig. 7).  Plagula mediana unarmed.  Mesopeltidium twice wider than long, rectangular, with the long setae scarce.  Metapeltidium wider than long (the same width and slightly longer than the mesopeltidium, with abundant long, thin setae. Abdomen somewhat glabrous.  Genital plaque formed by two elongated lobes, the posterior edge rounded, armed with a row of short spines.  Sternites III to IX with a posterior marginal row of short spiniform bristles.  Palps: Femur more expanded in its distal third, unarmed; tibia without cylindrical setae, unarmed; protarsus without cylindrical setae, and with long spinform setae, tarsus longer than wide, terminal organ finely striated longitudinally on its internal surface.  Legs: Legs II and III with femur unarmed, tibia with a ventral apical spine; protarsus without dorsal spines, with 1-1-1 ventral anterior spines; tarsos with 1.2.2.1 ventral spines.  Legs IV with the femur unarmed; tibia with a long ventral apical spiniform seta; protarsus with a dorsal series of long setae; ventral surface armed with 1-1-1-1-1 anterior spines and a posterior apical spine;  tarsus with long dorsal seta on the intermediate segment and armed with 2.2/2/2.1 ventral spine.  Chelicerae: Fixed finger with a small dorsal elevation, at the level of the principal tooth and armed with two equal anterior teeth, small intermediary tooth, principal tooth slightly bigger than the anterior ones, four basal internal teeth, the basal two paired, the third much smaller.  Movable finger with the proximal tooth proximal and the anterior tooth nearly equal, separated by small intermediate tooth and with a small basal internal tooth.

Fig. 7 - Lobo lateral de Ammotrecha auracana; Fig. 8. - Quelicera de Ammotrecha auracana; Fig. 9 - Placa genital de Ammotrecha auracana. [Fig. 7. - Lateral lobe of Ammotrecha auracana; Fig. 8. - Chelicera of Ammotrecha auracana; Fig. 9. - Genital  plate of Ammotrecha  auracana. Redrawn from Mello-Leitão 1942].

SUBSEQUENT ACCOUNTS:
Muma (1971b):

"Uniformly chestnut-colored propeltidium, pale abdomen, gradually darkened palpi, and legs from pale yellow on femora to chestnut-colored on metatarsi and tarsi reported by Mello-Leitão (1942) comprises unique color pattern for the genus. Mello-Leitão (1942) also stated that palpus not armed with cylinder bristles and dorsal carina small. Figure 23 is from Mello-Leitão (1942)."

Fig. 23. Ammotrecha auracana Mello-Leitão, right chelicera
of female, mesal view [redrawn from Muma 1971b]

DISTRIBUTION: Chile.  Known only from the type locality.

PUBLISHED RECORDS:  Known only from female holotype.

NOTES:  Muma (1971b) expressed disappointment at Mello-Leitão's failure to enumerate or otherwise evaluate the spinelike setae on the lateroventral surface of the palpal metatarsi, tibia and femora.  He ascribed the following  characteristics to the species in a key to Chilean solifuges: Male fixed finger without dorsal process; male cheliceral flagellum membraneous, ovate, fringed, and fixed in position; female tarsi IV with two or three segments; Tarsi IV with three segments; Fixed cheliceral finger with two anterior teeth; leg II and leg III tarsi with three to six lateroventral spinelike setae; Tarsi II and III with six lateroventral spinelike setae; fixed finger of female chelicerae with dorsal carina. Muma (1876) listed the holotype as being from "Carablanca, Chile", and stated that it was in the Museo Nacional Rio de Janeiro (MNRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.