Crossopriza parsa, Huber, 2022

Huber, Bernhard A., 2022, Revisions of Holocnemus and Crossopriza: the spotted-leg clade of Smeringopinae (Araneae, Pholcidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 795 (1), pp. 1-241 : 180-185

Crossopriza parsa sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:03DA29E6-CDB9-46E6-82D7-DD5CA85571D9

Figs 353A , 726–744

Diagnosis

Distinguished from known congeners by details of male palp ( Figs 729–730, 733–735 ; long and slender procursus slightly curved towards ventral, with prolateral process accompanying ventral sclerite; distal bulbal sclerite with prominent ventral process and distinctive set of prolateral apophyses; palp similar to C. srinagar sp. nov.), by male chelicerae ( Figs 731–732 ; lateral apophyses prominent in frontal view, weakly protruding in lateral view), and by epigynum ( Fig. 741 ; strongly sclerotized lateral elements; pockets close together).

Etymology

The species name is derived from the Old Persian name of Persepolis, ‘ pārsa ’; noun in apposition.

Type material

Holotype IRAN – Fars • ♂; Persepolis ; 29.983° N, 52.900° E (see Remarks below); 18 Aug. 1973; A. Senglet leg.; MHNG.

Other material examined

IRAN – Fars • 5 ♂♂, 7 ♀♀; same collection data as for holotype; MHNG • 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀; S of Fahlyān ; 30.000° N, 51.583° E; 4 Sep. 1975; A. Senglet leg.; MHNG .

Material assigned tentatively (see Variation below)

IRAN – Fars • 6 ♂♂, 9 ♀♀; W of Dasht-e-Arjân [ Dascht-e Aržan ]; 29.683° N, 51.850° E; 3 Sep. 1975; A. Senglet leg.; MHNG • 1 ♀; “ Aliâbâd ”; 30.017° N, 53.000° E (see Remarks below); 9 Jun. 1974; A. Senglet leg.; MHNG • 4 ♀♀; “Barm-e-peere-Ghaibi” (see Remarks below); 28.898° N, 52.540° E; 29 May 2000; Y.M. Marusik and K. Elmi leg.; ZFMK Ar 5208. – Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad • 4 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀; Charām [Choram]; 30.733° N, 50.733° E; 23 May 1974; A. Senglet leg.; MHNG • 1 ♀; “route de Yasudj”; 30.467° N, 51.500° E (see Remarks below); 25 May 1974; A. Senglet leg.; MHNG .

Remarks

The coordinates on A. Senglet’s original labels are usually to the nearest minute (i.e., ± 2 km), but in some cases the actual collecting spot seems to be even farther away than that. The type locality is possibly closer to ~ 29.93° N, 52.89° E (ruins of Persepolis).

There are several “Aliâbâd” in Fars, none of them close to the coordinates on the original label; maybe the collecting site was Haji Abad (29.99° N, 52.92° E).

The original coordinates of “route de Yasudj” define a spot in Fars Province, slightly outside of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, but the label says Kohkiluyeh.

A locality with the name “Barm-e-peere-Ghaibi” is repeatedly cited in the arachnological literature (always referring to the same collecting event) but does apparently not exist (F. Mozaffarian, pers. com., Feb. 2021). The name possibly refers to Barm-e Peer, a small lake close to the Palace of Ardashir Pāpakan at approximately 28.898° N, 52.540° E. Alternatively, an anonymous referee suggested that it may refer to a shrine called “Pir-e Qeybi” in the vicinities of Shiraz (29.488° N, 52.497° E).

Description

Male (holotype)

MEASUREMENTS. Total length 4.3, carapace width 1.7. Distance PME–PME 95 µm; diameter PME 105 ×130 µm; distance PME–ALE 25 µm; diameter AME 100 µm; distance AME–AME 30 µm. Leg 1: 44.5 (12.9 + 0.7 + 12.0 + 16.4 + 2.5), tibia 2: 8.9, tibia 3: 6.1, tibia 4: 6.7; tibia 1 L/d: 75; femora 1–4 diameters: 0.23, 0.21, 0.20, 0.20.

COLOR (in ethanol). Carapace ochre-yellow, with distinct brown mark anteriorly in median pit; sternum dark brown to black; legs ochre-yellow, without darker rings, with small black lines on femora and (few) on tibiae; abdomen gray, with few and indistinct dorsal dark marks; ventrally with dark band limited to anterior and posterior part, absent from median part (behind gonopore).

BODY. Habitus similar to C. sahtan sp. nov. (cf. Fig. 391 ). Ocular area slightly raised. Deep thoracic pit and pair of shallow furrows diverging from pit toward posterior margin. Clypeus unmodified, only rim slightly more sclerotized than in female. Sternum wider than long (1.1/0.7), unmodified. Abdomen slightly elongated, dorso-posteriorly angular to conical.

CHELICERAE. As in Figs 731–732 , with two pairs of apophyses; lateral pair set with small sclerotized scales; median pair with one large modified cone-shaped hair each; distance between tips of modified hairs 70 µm; lateral stridulatory ridges clearly visible in dissecting microscope.

PALPS. As in Figs 726–728 ; coxa with rounded retrolateral hump; trochanter barely modified; femur distally strongly widened, with rounded ventral protrusion, proximally with prolateral stridulatory pick, without retrolateral transversal line, without retrolateral proximal process but some slightly stronger hairbases on retrolateral-ventral ridge; femur-patella joints shifted toward prolateral side; tibia-tarsus joints shifted toward retrolateral side; tarsus without macrotrichia; procursus ( Figs 729–730 ) weakly curved towards ventral, with low prolateral hump proximally followed with thick ridge set with numerous long hairs, long dorsal hairs mostly straight or weakly curved, procursus tip with ventral sclerite accompanied by flat prolateral sclerite, with further membranous elements; genital bulb ( Figs 733–735 ) with simple basal sclerite connected to distal (main) sclerite, sperm duct opening not seen; distal sclerite without retrolateral ridge, with two distinctive prolateral apophyses and long ventral process.

LEGS. Femur 1 with single row of ~28 ventral spines; without curved hairs; few vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at 4%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1, present on other leg tibiae; tarsal pseudosegments indistinct and irregular, only at distal tip ~2–3 regular pseudosegments.

Male (variation)

Tibia 1 in 12 males (incl. holotype): 9.9–12.4 (mean 11.3). Some males with few indistinct darker specks behind gonopore, but never with distinct dark pattern. All males other than those from type locality and from S of Fahlyān with slightly different procursus tip and slightly different processes on distal bulbal sclerite: in males from Dasht-e Arjân, the apophysis accompanying the ventral distal sclerite of the procursus is simple and weakly sclerotized (arrow in Fig. 738 ); the elements of the distal bulbal sclerite are slightly different in shape ( Fig. 739 ). In males from Choram, the procursus tip appears intermediate between those from Persepolis and those from Dasht-e Arjân; the bulb appears identical to males from Persepolis. The chelicerae in all these males appear identical. They also share the ‘incomplete’ pattern ventrally on the abdomen, i.e., with almost no dark marks behind the gonopore.

Female

In general similar to male but without spines on legs, apparently without stridulatory files on chelicerae, and with stridulatory organ consisting of pair of weakly sclerotized but distinct processes posteriorly on carapace and pair of small but distinct light brown plates anteriorly on abdomen. Tibia 1 in 21 females: 8.8–12.5 (mean 10.0). Epigynum as in Figs 740–741 , main epigynal plate roughly triangular, barely protruding, laterally posteriorly heavily sclerotized with pair of low depressions, medially with pair of pockets on both sides of median rim (distance 30 µm); internal median structure visible in uncleared specimens; posterior plate light brown, short but wide. Internal genitalia ( Figs 736–737 , 742–744 ) with large elongate pore plates converging anteriorly, dorsal arc slender, ventral arc medially widened and strongly sclerotized, apparently without pouch-like modification.

Females from S of Fahlyān, Dasht-e Arjân, “Aliâbâd”, and Choram appear identical to those from Persepolis. In females from “Barm-e-peere-Ghaibi” the lateral epigynal sclerites are less strongly developed.

Distribution

Known from several localities in Iran, Fars and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Provinces ( Fig. 353A ).

Figures

Fig. 353. Known distribution of Crossopriza Simon, 1893; autochthonous species part 2 (cf. Fig. 352): species with main cheliceral apophyses in frontal position and epigynal pockets close together. The figure is split into two to avoid too much overlap; the split is not meant to reflect any natural grouping of species. The single record of C. maculipes from China is not shown (see text).

Figs 726–728. Crossopriza parsa sp. nov.; non-type male from Iran, Persepolis (MHNG); left palp, prolateral, dorsal, and retrolateral views. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.

Figs 729–739. Crossopriza parsa sp. nov.; non-type male and female from Iran, Persepolis (MHNG) (729–737) and male from Iran, W of Dasht-e-Arjân (MHNG) (738–739). 729–730. Left procursus, prolateral and retrolateral views; arrow: prolateral process. 731–732. Male chelicerae, frontal and lateral views. 733–735. Left genital bulb, prolateral, dorsal, and retrolateral views. 736–737. Cleared female genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. 738. Left procursus, prolateral view; arrow: prolateral process. 739. Left genital bulb, prolateral view. Abbreviation: vs = ventral sclerite. Scale bars = 0.3 mm.

Figs 740–744. Crossopriza parsa sp. nov.; female from Iran, Persepolis (MHNG). 740–741. Abdomen and epigynum, ventral views. 742–744. Cleared female genitalia, dorsal view with dorsal arc tilted backwards, ventral view, and regular dorsal view. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Figs 391–398. Crossopriza Simon, 1893, live specimens. 391–392. C. sahtan sp. nov., male and female from Oman, Wadi Ghul. 393–395. C. tiwi sp. nov., males and female with egg-sac from Oman, Wadi Tiwi. 396–398. C. dhofar sp. nov., male and female from Oman, Ain Razad, and female from Oman, Wadi Nahiz.