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Quapawjapyx osage Sendra gen. et sp. nov. Holjapyx nimiipuu Sendra sp. nov., in Sendra, Jiménez-Valverde, Selfa et Cupello, 2026. |
Abstract
We studied a significant collection of Japygidae (Diplura) deposited in the Texas A&M University Insect Collection, sampled from several caves in North America, mostly in the early 21st century by a group of American speleologists. Among this biological material, a new genus and species, Quapawjapyx osage Sendra gen. et sp. nov., is described from four caves in Arkansas, and a new species, Holjapyx nimiipuu Sendra sp. nov., from five caves in Idaho; both are named in honor of native American tribes. Quapawjapyx osage can be distinguished from Indjapyx, Paurojapyx, and Parindjapyx – which share symmetrical cerci – by the combination of the shape and disposition of the glandular and sensory setae on the first urosternite, together with differences in cercal ornamentation. Holjapyx nimiipuu is characterized by the presence of two conspicuously large predental denticles on the right cercus. Both new taxa of cavernicolous japygids show slight cave-adaptation features, such as large body size, slight elongated appendages, and a small increase in the placoid sensilla of last antennomere. These two new taxa double the number of known cave-adapted japygids in North America, a seemingly low figure that is nonetheless comparable to other karst regions worldwide.
Keywords: Japygoidea, cave-adapted fauna, Nearctic region, taxonomy
Class Diplura Börner, 1904
Superfamily Japygoidea Ewing, 1942
Family Japygidae Haliday, 1864
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| Quapawjapyx osage Sendra gen. et sp. nov. A. Paratype, ♂ (TAMU-ENTO X1831026). B, D–E. Paratype, ♂ (TAMU-ENTO X1832015). C. Holotype, ♀ (TAMU-ENTO X1831147). A. Habitus. B. Last antennomere; placoid sensilla remarked by spotted line. C. Lacinia with interior laminae and mandible. D. Dorsal portion on third antennomere with pores. E. Metathoracic claws. |
Genus Quapawjapyx Sendra gen. nov.
Etymology: The generic name is in honor of the Quapaw Nation of Native Americans, who thrived along the lowlands of the Arkansas river five hundred years ago. Today, they live alongside much later European settlersfrom other nations.
Quapawjapyx osage Sendra gen. et sp. nov.
Etymology: The specific epithet is in honor of the Osage Nation of Native Americans, who now reside in Osage County, Oklahoma. They arrived and thrived a few hundred years ago in the northern mountains of Arkansas.
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| Holjapyx nimiipuu Sendra sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (TAMU-ENTO X1831140). A. Habitus. B. Last antennomere. C. Distal portion of urite X including cerci. D. Left cercus. E. Right cercus; placoidsensilla remarked by dash line. |
Holjapyx nimiipuu Sendra sp. nov.
Etymology: ‘Nimiipuu’ (‘we, the people’) is the name by which the Nez Perce Native American tribe refers to themselves. They have thrived in the Pacific Northwest of North-America for more than ten thousand years and today live primarily on their tribal reservation in Idaho. We dedicate this new species to the Nimiipuu people and to their enduring struggle for survival.
Alberto Sendra, Alberto Jiménez-Valverde, Jesús Selfa and Mario Cupello. 2026. New Cave japygids (Diplura: Japygidae) from North America. European Journal of Taxonomy. 1043(1); 166–198. DOI: doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2026.1043.3217
