Metagonia guianesa Huber, 2020

Huber, Bernhard A. & Villarreal, Osvaldo, 2020, On Venezuelan pholcid spiders (Araneae, Pholcidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 718, pp. 1-317 : 181-184

Metagonia guianesa Huber sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C22A01AC-C7D8-48A6-B50D-21986D8035D1

Figs 646–649 , 654–656 , 1052

Metagonia Ven 54 – Eberle et al. 2018 (molecular data). — Huber et al. 2018: 71.

Diagnosis

Distinguished from most congeners by unmodified male chelicerae, by modifications of male clypeus ( Fig. 648 ; two pairs of light rounded processes at rim), and by female internal genitalia ( Figs 649 , 655– 656 ; elongate median receptacle). From a very similar closely related undescribed relative from Brazil (“ M. Br16-216” in Eberle et al. 2018; Huber et al. 2018) by minor details of procursus and clypeus shape.

Etymology

The species name refers to the type locality of this species in the Guiana Highlands; adjective.

Type material VENEZUELA – Bolívar • ♂ holotype, ZFMK (Ar 22018), at km 109 from El Dorado (6.013° N, 61.391° W), ~ 800 m a.s.l., 3 Dec. 2002 (B.A. Huber).

Other material examined

VENEZUELA – Bolívar • 1 ♂, 4 ♀♀, ZFMK (Ar 22019), 1 ♀, 13 juvs in pure ethanol, ZFMK (Ven 02/100-54), same collection data as for holotype • 2 ♀♀, ZFMK (Ar 22020), at km 102 from El Dorado (6.063° N, 61.400° W), ~ 500 m a.s.l., 2 Dec. 2002 (B.A. Huber) .

Description

Male (holotype)

MEASUREMENTS. Total body length 2.7, carapace width 0.87. Distance PME–PME 135 µm; diameter PME 90 µm; distance PME–ALE 15 µm; AME absent. Leg 1: 27.9 (6.8+0.4 +6.6+ 12.4 +1.7), legs 2 and 4 missing, tibia 3: 2.7; tibia 1 L/d: 73.

COLOR (in ethanol). Entire prosoma pale ochre-yellow to whitish; legs ochre-yellow, with darker (brown to black) patellae and tibia-metatarsus joints; abdomen monochromous whitish.

BODY. Habitus as in Brazilian Metagonia ‘Br16-216’ (cf. Fig. 644 ). Ocular area barely raised. Carapace without thoracic groove. Clypeus with two pairs of light rounded processes at rim ( Fig. 648 ). Sternum slightly wider than long (0.58/0.50), unmodified. Abdomen elongate, dorsally projecting beyond spinnerets.

CHELICERAE. Unmodified (except indistinct widening proximally laterally; Fig. 648 ).

PALPS. As in Figs 646–647 ; coxa unmodified; trochanter with rounded retrolateral ventral apophysis; femur with pair of low ventral humps; retrolateral trichobothrium on tibia in very distal position; procursus with simple pale ventral hinged process, main branch divided distally into retrolateral and prolateral sclerites connected by complex membranous elements; retrolateral part distinctively bent toward ventral, prolateral part with short subdistal branch; genital bulb with indistinct dorsal coneshaped hump, embolus simple, with distal spine.

LEGS. Without spines and curved hairs, few vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at 8%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1; tarsus 1 with>20 pseudosegments, poorly visible in dissecting microscope.

Male (variation)

Legs 1 missing in second male.

Female

In general similar to male (cf. Fig. 645 ). Tibia 1 in five females: 5.3–5.7 (mean 5.5). Epigynum ( Fig. 654 ) unsclerotized simple plate, with small knob-shaped structure at posterior rim, internal receptacle visible in uncleared specimens. Internal genitalia ( Figs 649 , 655–656 ) apparently symmetric, with elongate median receptacle, small pore plates far apart.

Distribution

Known from two neighboring localities in the Venezuelan state Bolívar (Fig. 1052).

Natural history

All specimens were collected from the undersides of leaves.

Figures

Figs 646–649. Metagonia guianesa Huber sp. nov.; from Bolívar, km 109 from El Dorado (type locality; ZFMK Ar 22019). 646–647. Left male pedipalp, prolateral and retrolateral views. 648. Male ocular area, clypeus, and chelicerae, oblique frontal view. 649. Cleared female genitalia, dorsal view. Scale lines: 0.3 mm.

Figs 650–656. Metagonia Simon, 1893; epigyna, ventral views and cleared female genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. 650–653. M. latigo Huber sp. nov.; ‘left-sided’ and ‘right-sided’ females (both cleared genitalia in dorsal views) from Falcón, Cerro Santa Ana (type locality; ZFMK Ar 21999). 654– 656. M. guianesa Huber sp. nov.; from Bolívar, km 109 from El Dorado (type locality; ZFMK Ar 22019).

Figs 640–645. Metagonia Simon, 1893; live specimens. 640–643. M. mariguitarensis (González- Sponga, 1998); males and females with egg sacs from Bolívar, Ciudad Guayana. 644–645. M. sp. ‘Br16- 216’ (undescribed); from Brazil, Manaus, Reserve Ducke; this species is very similar to M. guianesa Huber sp. nov.; of which no live photos are available.