Mallinella (Mallinella) sphaerica, Jin, Chi & Zhang, Feng, 2013

Jin, Chi & Zhang, Feng, 2013, Two new Mallinella species from southern China (Araneae, Zodariidae), ZooKeys 296, pp. 79-88 : 81-83

Mallinella (Mallinella) sphaerica sp. n. Figs 1-15

Type material.

Holotype ♂, CHINA, Zhejiang Province : Tianmu Mountain (30°18'N, 119°27'E), alt. 262m, Lin’an City, 25 July 2011, C. Jin leg. Paratype: 1♀, same data as holotype.

Diagnosis.

According to Dankittipakul et al. 2012, this species should belong to sub-group 3 of the fronto species-group. Males can be distinguished from these in other Mallinella species by the spherical median part of the median apophysis and the irregular rolled apex of the conductor in ventral view (Figs 10, 14). The female is extremely similar to that of Mallinella cymbiforma Wang, Yin & Peng, 2009, but differs from the latter by the thinner copulatory ducts (Figs 8, 13), the wider posterior margin of the epigynal plate (Figs 7, 12), and MOA wider at the back (MOA wider at the front in Mallinella cymbiforma ).

Etymology.

The specific name is a Latin adjective and refers to the spherical median part of the median apophysis.

Description.

Male (holotype). Total length 6.27; prosoma 3.11 long, 2.14 wide; opisthosoma 2.96 long, 1.99 wide. Diameters of eyes: AME 0.20, ALE 0.15, PME 0.15, PLE 0.15. Distances between eyes: AME–AME 0.08, AME–ALE 0.10, ALE–ALE 0.55, PME–PME 0.13, PME–PLE 0.25, PLE–PLE 0.78, ALE–PLE 0.05. MOA 0.48 long, anterior 0.50, posterior 0.43. Clypeal height 0.75. Labium 0.58 long, 0.50 wide. Sternum 1.35 long, 1.28 wide. Leg measurements: leg I 10.36 (2.55, 0.77, 2.35, 2.65, 2.04), II 9.90 (2.50, 0.92, 2.04, 2.60, 1.84), III 9.29 (2.35, 0.82, 1.94, 2.65, 1.53), IV 12.09 (2.70, 0.92, 2.60, 3.88, 1.99). Leg formula: 4123.

Carapace (Fig. 1) blackish-brown; fovea black, slightly swollen. Both eye rows (Fig. 3) procurved in dorsal view. Clypeus dark brown. Chelicerae dark brown, distally yellowish-brown. Endites yellowish-brown. Labium triangular, dark brown, distally yellowish-brown. Sternum brown and furnished with sparse black setae, lateral margin with small, pointed extensions fitting in coxal concavities. Legs brown, femora dark brown, coxae yellowish-brown; metatarsi II–IV distally with ventral hair tufts. Opisthosoma (Fig. 1) oval, longer than wide, dorsum with three pairs of white lateral patches (the third connected), followed by one transverse white patch centrally. Dorsal scutum reddish-brown, about half as long as opisthosoma. Venter grey-black, covered with three irregular longitudinal white stripes; posterior ventral spines thin (Fig. 5), arranged in a single row. Spinnerets pale yellow.

Palpal organ (Figs 9-11, 14, 15). RTA digitiform, slightly wider at base, gradually tapering towards pointed apex. Cymbial fold broad, approximately half as long as cymbium. Apex of median apophysis bifid, with sharply pointed tips on both ends; the median part of median apophysis spherical; baso-retrolateral fold narrow, triangular, apex pointed. Apex of conductor irregularly rolled. Embolus bifurcate, lateral ramus shorter than mesal ramus, with pointed apices.

Female (paratype). Total length 8.26; prosoma 3.57 long, 2.55 wide; opisthosoma 4.28 long, 2.75 wide. Diameters of eyes: AME 0.20, ALE 0.18, PME 0.18, PLE 0.18. Distances between eyes: AME–AME 0.08, AME–ALE 0.10, ALE–ALE 0.60, PME–PME 0.15, PME–PLE 0.28, PLE–PLE 0.88, ALE–PLE 0.05. MOA 0.53 long, anterior width 0.45, posterior width 0.50. Clypeal height 1.03, Labium 0.63 long, 0.63 wide. Sternum 1.53 long, 1.53 wide. Leg measurements: leg I 8.68 (2.45, 0.97, 1.94, 1.79, 1.53), II 8.47 (2.19, 0.97, 1.79, 1.99, 1.53), III 8.00 (2.19, 0.92, 1.68, 2.14, 1.07), IV 10.34 (2.14, 1.02, 2.24, 3.06, 1.68). Leg formula: 4123.

Coloration and pattern (Fig. 2) as in male, but the color of coxae slightly paler than in male. Median furrow and scutum indistinct.

Epigyne-vulva (Figs 7, 8, 12, 13). Epigynal plate small, nearly reniform, with swollen posterior margin; copulatory openings hidden in a groove. Spermathecae large and oval; copulatory ducts thin; slender fertilization ducts invisible in dorsal view.

Distribution.

China (Zhejiang).