Lamyctes tristani

Lamyctes tristani (Pocock, 1893) Fig. 1 Examined material. 41 specimens: NHMUK 015991449, 1 ♀, Cinq Cases, 16. 03. 1974; NHMUK 015991450, 2 ♀, Malabar, 14. 02. 1975; NHMUK 015991451 1 ♀, Picard, 28. 02. 1975; NHMUK 015991452, 3 ♀, 1 juvenile, Cinq Cases B. F., 20. 03. 1974; NHMUK 015991453, 2 ♀, Picard, 23. 02. 1974; NHMUK 015991454, 2 ♀, Cinq Cases, 24. 03. 1974; NHMUK 015991458, 3 ♀, Malabar, 08. 06. 1974; NHMUK 015991455, 1 ♀, 1 juvenile, Aldabra, 30. 01. 1975; NHMUK 015991456, 21 ♀, Picard, Summer 1975, leg. V. W. Spaull; NHMUK 015991457, 2 ♀, 1 juvenile, Ochna litter, Cinq Cases B. F., 23. 03. 1974. Remarks. The 38 specimens from the Aldabra Atoll (from Cinq Cases, Malabar, and Picard) for which sex can reliably be determined are all females, such that the population is parthenogenetic. They are likely conspecific with L. tristani as described from the Chagos Archipelago (Popovici et al. 2024), sharing the distinctly reduced spinous process on the tibia of leg pair 12, often taking the form of a rounded bump (Fig. 1 C). The stability of this character is however uncertain as specimens from localities in the Aldabra Atoll exhibit conspicuous variation in the shape of the process (Fig. 1 D, Table 1). Additional similarities between these two populations include the morphology of the forcipular coxosternite (Fig. 1 A, B), the number of antennal articles, and the number and shape of the spurs on the female gonopods (Fig. 1 E). Variability in the characters of antennal article number, number, and distribution of coxal pores and shape of the distal spinous process on the tibia of leg pair 12 are listed in Table 1 and compared with putatively conspecific individuals from the Chagos Archipelago, excluding anamorphic stages.