Tupigea penedo Huber, 2011

Huber, Bernhard A. & Rheims, Cristina A., 2011, Diversity and endemism of pholcid spiders in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, with descriptions of four new species of the Atlantic Forest endemic genus Tupigea (Araneae: Pholcidae), Journal of Natural History 45 (5 - 6), pp. 275-301 : 289-291

Tupigea penedo Huber , sp. nov.

( Figures 4 D–H, 7A–E, 11G)

Types

Male holotype and 1♂, 2♀ paratypes from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, ∼ 4 km northwest Penedo (22 ◦ 24.5 ′ S, 44 ◦ 33,0 ′ to 33,4 ′ W), forest along river, 700–770 m a.s.l., 14–16 August 2007 (B.A. Huber), holotype and 1♀ in MNRJ , 1♂, 1♀ paratypes in ZFMK .

Etymology

The specific name is a noun in apposition, taken from the type locality. Diagnosis

Easily distinguished from known congeners by armature on male chelicerae (several small modified hairs and distal apophyses, Figure 7C ); also by male palp (femur

apophyses, procursus shape, embolic division of bulb, Figure 7A,B ), and female genitalia (distinctive arch on frontal plate; Figures 4G , 7D ).

Male (holotype)

Total body length 1.6, carapace width 0.63. Leg 1: 11.0 (3.0 + 0.3 + 2.9 + 3.8 + 1.0), tibia 2: 1.6, tibia 3: 1.1, tibia 4: 1.5, tibia 1 L / d: 55. Habitus as in Figure 4D,E ; carapace ochre-yellow, darker around thoracic furrow, ocular area and clypeus brown, clypeus medially with dark brown band (possibly with ridges like T. angelim , but no male prosoma was studied with SEM), sternum and legs pale ochre-yellow, very indistinct darker rings subdistally on femora and tibiae, abdomen pale greenish-grey with some darker bluish marks dorsally. Distance PME–PME 60 µm, diameter PME 70 µm, distance PME–ALE 70 µm; AME absent, only pair of pigment spots. Ocular area slightly elevated, thoracic furrow shallow but distinct, clypeus unmodified. Chelicerae as in Figure 7C , with small distal apophyses and distinctive modified hairs on frontal humps and near lamina. Sternum wider than long (0.46 / 0.36), unmodified. Palps as in Figure 7A,B , coxa with indistinct retrolateral apophysis, trochanter barely modified, femur with large proximal projection and two ventral apophyses more distally, with small retrolateral hump, patella relatively long ventrally, procursus short and slender (wider in dorsal than in retrolateral view, Figure 11G ), distally with distinctive sclerotized and membranous elements, bulb large, with partly membranous embolic division with terminal apophysis and transparent flap. Legs without spines and curved hairs, with some vertical hairs on tibiae dorsally; retrolateral trichobothrium on tibia 1 at 21%; tarsus 1 with ∼ 15 pseudosegments.

Variation. Tibia 1 in other male: 3.1; this male is paler but has the rings on the legs more distinct; no AME pigment spots.

Female

In general similar to male but without darker median band on clypeus; tibia 1 in two females: 1.7 (both). Epigynum frontal plate with distinctive sclerotized arch posteriorly ( Figures 4G , 7D ), internal structures visible through cuticle, posterior plate simple; internal genitalia as in Figure 7E . One female with genital plug ( Figure 4H ).

Natural history

Leaf-litter dwelling species (see above).

Distribution

Known from type locality only ( Figure 2 ).

Material examined

BRAZIL: Rio de Janeiro: ∼ 4 km northwest Penedo : 2♂, 2♀ types above ; same data, 1♂, 2♀ in pure ethanol, in ZFMK .

Figures

Figure 2. Known distribution of Tupigea. Grey shade in inset: extension of Atlantic Forest in Brazil (inset modified from Ribeiro et al. 2009). Grey shade in main map: extension of Serra do Mar biogeographic sub-region, from Silva and Casteleti (2003) in Ribeiro et al. (2009).

Figure 4. Preserved specimens of Tupigea species showing habitus, epigynum and genital plugs. (A–C) T. angelim, male (A), epigyna without (B) and with (C) genital plug. (D–H) T. penedo sp. nov., male (D, E), female (F), epigyna without (G) and with (H) genital plug. (I, J) T. maza, male (I) and epigynum (J). (K–N) T. teresopolis, epigynum (K), male (L, M), and female (N). (O, P) T. ale sp. nov., male.

Figure 7. Tupigea penedo sp. nov. Male left palp in prolateral (A) and retrolateral (B) views, male chelicerae, frontal view (C), and cleared female genitalia in ventral (D) and dorsal (E) views. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

Figure 11. Scanning electron micrographs of Tupigea teresopolis (A–F), T. penedo sp. nov. (G), and T. cantareira (H–M). (A) Male prosoma, frontal view; (B) epigynum; (C) female tarsus 4 tip with comb-hairs; (D–G) male right palps in retrolateral (D), retrolatero-dorsal (E) and dorsal (F, G) views; (H) male prosoma, dorsolateral view; (I) male chelicerae; (J) female anterior lateral spinnerets; (K) epigynum; (L) cleared female genitalia, dorsal view; (M) detail of pore plate. Scale bars: 10 µm (J, M), 20 µm (C), 80 µm (D, E), 100 µm (B, F, G, I, L), 200 µm (A, H, K).