Akela scaloneta Rubio, Baigorria & Stolar, 2023

Rubio, Gonzalo D., Baigorria, Julián E. M. & Stolar, Cristian E., 2023, Unveiling some unknown jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) from Argentina: descriptions of seven new species, Peckhamia 294 (1), pp. 1-22 : 16-17

Akela scaloneta Rubio, Baigorria & Stolar , sp. nov.

LSID urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:A7899B30-7FFB-4EAE-92F6-2E59301EC0C2 Figures 62-72

Type material. Male holotype (IBSI-Ar 1838) from Argentina, Misiones, Candelaria, Urutaú Natural Reserve (S27.4802°, W55.7925°), 5 February 2021, G . Rubio, J . Baigorria & C . Stolar coll . Paratypes: 1 male, 1 female (IBSI-Ar 1579), same data as holotype .

Etymology. The specific name is a noun (nickname) in apposition that refers to the Argentina’s national team of soccer, a sort of symbolic van with the coach Lionel Scaloni at the wheel.

Diagnosis. Males of A. scaloneta sp. nov. differ from those of other Akela species by having an embolus thin and long, and one tooth on the promargin of the chelicerae ( Figures 64-65 ; compare with illustrations in Metzner, 2023). Females resemble those of A. charlottae Peckham & Peckham, 1896 in having two coupling pockets, but differ from this and any other Akela by having longer copulatory ducts making a complete turn ( Figures 71-72 ; compare with illustrations in Metzner, 2023).

Description. Male (holotype). Carapace length 1.27, width 0.94; abdomen length 1.25. Carapace ( Figures 62- 64 ) intense orange color, cephalic region black, except among PLEs which is orange (dorsal view), covered with small translucent white hairs, thoracic slope covered with few black separate setae. Clypeus low, black. Anterior face of chelicerae dark brown, blackish, the rest brown; outer edge of the paturon with a keel; one promarginal tooth and one retromarginal tooth. Legs without rings, yellow colored, palps darker, something orange. Palp small, bulb elongated; embolus thin and long, arising and fixed prolaterally to tegulum, embolus tip on apex retrolaterally; RTA small, with the tip curved pointing ventrally; bulb protruding basally from the cymbium. Abdomen dorsum pale yellow, homogeneous, covered evenly with many grey scattered setae; venter and spinnerets pale yellow ( Figures 62-63 ).

Female (paratype). Carapace length 1.37, width 1.04; abdomen length 2.00. Carapace ( Figures 67-69 ) light brown, yellowish orange, cephalic region black-greyish, except among PLEs which is light brown, hairiness as in the male. Clypeus low, light brown-yellow. Chelicerae light brown; two promarginal teeth and one retromarginal tooth. Palps and legs light brown, yellowish-orange colored, without rings. Abdomen dorsum as in male, darker posteriorly (completely darker when in life), venter and spinnerets pale yellow ( Figure 68 ). Epigyne with a small plate, slightly sclerotized, two coupling pockets (CP) and two spermathecae barely visible ( Figure 70 ), copulatory duct making a complete turn (e.g. left CD clockwise when viewed ventrally) and dorsally connected to each spermatheca ( Figures 71-72 ).

Natural history. Akela scaloneta sp. nov. was found at Urutaú Natural Reserve, within the ecoregion known as Southern Cone Mesopotamian Savanna. All individuals were collected at dry restored grassland at former grazing plots, dominated by tall grass species like Sorghastrum and Paspalum , mixed with medium sized bushes like Baccharis dracunculifolia . Cattle and fire were absent from the area for at least 5 years before the sampling. The spiders were collected at the lower section of grass species, always near the ground.

Distribution. Only known from northeast of Argentina, in the south of Misiones.

Other material examined. 2 males, 2 females (IBSI-Ar 1612) from Argentina, Misiones, Candelaria, Urutaú Natural Reserve (S27.4802°, W55.7925°), 5 February 2021, G . Rubio, J . Baigorria & C . Stolar coll.

Figures

Figures 62-66. Male of Akela scaloneta sp. nov. (holotype IBSI-Ar 1838). 62, Habitus dorsal. 63, Same, lateral. 64, Same, frontal. 65, Left palp, ventral view. 66, Same, retrolateral.

Figures 67-72. Female of Akela scaloneta sp. nov. (paratype IBSI-Ar 1579). 67, Habitus dorsal. 68, Same, lateral. 69, Same, frontal. 70, Epigyne, ventral view. 71, Same, cleared. 72, Same, CD course detail.