Alpaida losamigos, Deza, Mariajosé & Andía, Juan Manuel, 2014

Deza, Mariajosé & Andía, Juan Manuel, 2014, Two new species of the orb-weaving spider genus Alpaida (Araneae, Araneidae) from Peru, Zootaxa 3827 (1), pp. 67-77 : 68

Alpaida losamigos new species

( Figures 1–9 , 34–36 )

Type material. Female holotype from PERU: Madre de Dios, Cuenca Río Los Amigos, CICRA (Los Amigos ACCA Biological Station), 12º34′07″ S 70º05′ 57″W, Sep. 24, 2005, M. Deza coll., deposited in MEKRB (UAAr- 694/2005); same label data, three female paratypes (UAAr-104/2005).

Additional material examined. None.

Etymology. The specific name is a noun in apposition taken from type locality.

Diagnosis. The female is distinguished from all Alpaida except A. delicata and A. sulphurea (see Levi 1988, figs. 472−473, 640−643), by the shape of epigynum, which has a slightly curved posterior margin and median lobe ( Fig. 6 ); it differs from A. delicata by the posterior median plate narrower ( Fig. 7 ) and by the larger median lobe ( Fig. 6 ); it differs from A. sulphurea also by the narrow posterior median plate in posterior view and by lacking abdominal spines ( Figs. 1−3 ).

Description. Female (holotype): Carapace orange white with a dark V – shaped mark. Margins of thoracic area dark ( Fig 4 ). Eye measurements: AME 0.15, ALE 0.11, PME 0.14, PLE 0.12, AME-ALE 0.40, PME-PLE 0.47, AME-AME 0.11, PME-PME 0.12. Chelicerae pale orange with three retromarginal and four promarginal teeth; sternum pale orange with a dark central spot; labium, endites light orange ( Fig. 5 ). Legs yellowish white with dark marks covering 2/3 distal parts of each article, except femora. Abdomen elongate, narrower at the end, with three pairs of indistinct black-spotted humps. Dorsum of abdomen light brown with a longitudinal white guanine central band with irregular borders, and several guanine spots on the sides ( Figs. 1, 3 ). Venter with a rectangular light brown mark, spinnerets brown ( Fig. 2 ). Epigynum square or slightly longer than wide, with thick transverse lip and wide median lobe ( Fig. 6 ); in posterior view, the sides of median plate are very convex ( Fig. 7 ); spermathecae spherical; fertilization ducts slightly curved and divergent, antero-dorsally directed ( Fig. 8 ); copulatory ducts in dorsal posterior position relative to spermathecae ( Fig. 9 ). Total length 7.74; carapace length 2.53, width 1.97; clypeus height 0.08; sternum length 1.17, width 0.97; abdomen length 5.45, width 2.43, height 2.60. Leg formula I/ IV/II/III. Leg lengths (I/II/III/IV): femur 2.73/2.33/1.67/2.83; patella 1.07/0.90/0.67/0.87; tibia 2.23/1.80/1.10/ 2.03; metatarsus 2.40/1.97/1.13/2.20; tarsus 1.10/0.93/0.78/0.98; total leg 9.53/7.93/5.35/8.91.

Male. Unknown.

Variation. Females vary in carapace length from 2.48 to 2.53 (n=4).

Natural history. These spiders were collected in the understory, during night and day, in the dry season. Habitat is a warm, humid and seasonal forest; with pronounced rainfall between three to four months in rainy season (December–March). This area functions as biological corridor connecting the Manu National Park with the Tambopata National Reserve ( Rosenthal et al., 2012).

Distribution. Only known from the type locality (Cuenca Río Los Amigos, Madre de Dios, Peru).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 5. Alpaida losamigos n. sp., female holotype. 1 – 3, Habitus (1, dorsal; 2, ventral; 3, lateral). 4 – 5, Prosoma (4, dorsal; 5, ventral). Scale bars: 1 – 3: 2 mm; 4 – 5: 1 mm.

FIGURES 6 – 9. Alpaida losamigos n. sp., female genitalia. 6 – 7, Epigynum (6, ventral; 7, posterior). 8 – 9, Digested vulva (8, anteroventral; 9, anterior). (CD, copulatory ducts; CO, copulatory openings; FD, fertilization ducts; LP, lateral plate; ML, median lobe; PMP, posterior median plate; S, spermatheca; TL, transversal lip). Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 34 – 38. Distribution and habitats of Alpaida losamigos n. sp. and Alpaida penca n. sp. 34, Map of species distribution, in yellow the limits of Departments of Madre de Dios and Cajamarca; 35 – 36, rainforests of Madre de Dios (35, panoramic view of Los Amigos River; 36, habitat of Alpaida losamigos n. sp.). 37 – 38, Highlands of Cajamarca (37, panoramic view of the Cajamarca valley; 38, Agaves where Alpaida penca n. sp. inhabit).