Tayshaneta sprousei, Ledford, Joel, Paquin, Pierre, Cokendolpher, James, Campbell, Josh & Griswold, Charles, 2012

Ledford, Joel, Paquin, Pierre, Cokendolpher, James, Campbell, Josh & Griswold, Charles, 2012, Systematics, conservation and morphology of the spider genus Tayshaneta (Araneae, Leptonetidae) in Central Texas Caves, ZooKeys 167, pp. 1-102 : 35-36

publication ID

https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.167.1833

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/682154E9-5DD3-7C19-1D15-AA40373A7693

treatment provided by

ZooKeys by Pensoft

scientific name

Tayshaneta sprousei
status

sp. n.

Tayshaneta sprousei   ZBK sp. n. Figs 27 A–C48A–F 59

Type data.

Male holotype from Constant Sorrow Cave, Camp Bullis, Bexar County, Texas, 6-March-2001, G. Veni, 29.63N, 98.58W, (AMNH).

Etymology.

This species is named in honor of Peter Sprouse, fellow caver, biologist and collector of several Tayshaneta species in Texas caves.

Other material examined.

USA: Texas: Bexar County: Breached Dam Cave, 4-October-1995, J. Reddell, M. Reyes, 1 juv., (TMM);Breached Dam Cave, 1-November-2000, J. Reddell, M. Reyes, 1 ♂, (TMM).

Diagnosis.

Tayshaneta sprousei may be separated from all Tayshaneta species by having the following combination of characters: male palpal tarsus undivided, tapering apically (Fig. 48C); retrolateral tibial spine elongate, 0.5 × length of palpal tarsus; embolus oval, smooth along margins (E, Fig. 48D); ventral sclerite short, less than the width of the embolus (Fig. 48B, D–F).

Description.

Male (holotype). Body length 1.1, carapace 0.47 long, 0.40 wide, length 1.18 × width. Carapace pale yellow, sparsely setose; eyes surrounded by faint dark markings (Figs 27 A–C). Legs elongate and thin, femur I 1.19 × carapace length, covered in fine setae and with few scattered spines. Palpal tarsus entire, tapering apically (TS, Fig. 48C); retrolateral tibial spine straight, sculptured throughout, length 0.49 × tarsus length. Bulb suboval, length 1.52 × width; embolus oval, smooth along margins (E, Fig. 48D), length 2.0 × width; ventral sclerite short, less than embolus width (VS, Figs 48B, D–F). Abdomen pale yellow, without pattern, 0.63 long, 0.50 wide, covered in fine setae.

Variation(n = 2). Total length 1.10-1.12; carapace length 1.18-1.36 × carapace width; length femur I 1.19-1.2 × carapace width.

Distribution.

Known from two caves in Bexar County, Texas (Fig. 59).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Arachnida

Order

Araneae

Family

Leptonetidae

Genus

Tayshaneta