Mallinella chengjiaani Barrion, Barrion-Dupo & Heong

Alberto T. Barrion, Aimee Lynn A. Barrion-Dupo, Josie Lynn A. Catindig, Sylvia C. Villareal, Ducheng Cai, Qianhua Yuan & Kong Luen Heong, 2016, NEW SPECIES OF SPIDERS (ARANEAE) FROM HAINAN ISLAND, CHINA, UPLB Museum Publications in Natural History 3, pp. 1-103 : 46-47

Mallinella chengjiaani Barrion, Barrion-Dupo & Heong , new species [ Figure 53 A-E]

FEMALE. Holotype female, total length 7.30mm. Cephalothorax length 3.60mm, width 2.40mm, height 1.70mm.Abdomen length 4.25mm, width 2.85mm and height 2.10mm.

Carapace. Reddish black with a median reddish brown band running from eye area to fovea, oblongate and 1.5x longer than wide. Cephalic area rounded anteriorly. Chelicerae reddish brown, 1.7x longer than wide (1.43: 0.86mm), broad base 2x wider than its apical width. Pedipalps concolorous with brownish legs and sternum, tarsus heavily spinedretrolaterally and ventrally.Maxillae longer than wide, light reddish brown with yellow apical one -third converging.Labium triangular with yellow apex. Chilum triangular. Sternum as long as wide.

Eyes. In three rows, ALE in the first row of two eyes, PLE and AME in second row of 4 eyes and PME in the third with 2 eyes. Both AER and PES rows strongly procurved. PLE and AMEs almost in a straight line. Eye diameter (mm): AME (0.21)> ALE (0.18)> PME = PLE (0.16). Eye separation (mm): PME-PLE (0.33)> AME-PLE (0.14)> AME-ALE (0.13)> PME-PME (0.12)> AME-AME (0.08)> ALE-PLE (0.07). Median ocular quad wider in front than behind (0.47 mm vs 0.43 mm) and 1.19x longer than frontal width. Clypeus height nearly 3x AME diameter along ALE and 3.7x AME diameter at AME area.

Legs. Brownish red with dark reddish brown femora I-IV. Tibia I with 4 ventral spines, II with 3 retrolateral and 6 ventral spines, III with 3-6-4-3, and IV similar to III except for having 4 retrolateral spines. Femur III and metatarsus III subequal. Leg formula 4132.

Leg measurements (mm): Abdomen. Globose, black dorsally with white longitudinal and irregular venter with two white longitudinal bands. Spinnerets uniformly yellow and relatively short.

Epigynum with transverse lip-like plate and a

pair of subparallelspermathecae with inner coils.

MALE. Unknown.

Material Examined. Holotype female, (coll. no. S0 58), CHINA, Hainan Island, Panja Town, Songtao Reservoir, 3 April 2011, AT Barrion, JLA Catindig, SC Villareal; paratype one female (coll. no. La2), Laocheng, Hongji Village, 24 April 2012, AT Barrion, JLA Catindig, SC Villareal; paratype one female (coll. no. Ha 2012-1), Haiko, 9 April 2011, AT Barrion, JLA Catindig, SC Villareal.

Diagnostic Features. Mallinella chengjiaani Barrion, Barrion-Dupo & Heong new species is similar to M. panchoi (Barrion & Litsinger, 1992) but differs from the latter in having (1) elongated and inner-coiled spermathecae, (2) femur III as long as metatarsus III, and (3) tibial supination. For example, tibia I-IV of female M. panchoi has 4 ventral spines while M. chengjiaani tibia II has 6 ventral spines.

Etymology. Patronym, in honor of Dr. Jiaan Cheng, in recognition of his outstanding legacy in improving the ecological management of rice insect pests in China, particularly, the highly invasive rice planthoppers.

Figures

Figure 53 A-E. Mallinella chengjiaani Barrion, Barrion-Dupo & Heong, new species, holotype female (A), eye pattern and bases of chelicerae (B), tibia IV (C), ventral (D) and dorsal (E) views of epigynum.