Spintharus leverger, LeMay & Agnarsson, 2020

LeMay, Gabriel A. & Agnarsson, Ingi, 2020, New species of smiley-faced spider Spintharus (Araneae, Theridiidae) from Brazil, and comments on unobserved diversity in South America, ZooKeys 915, pp. 17-24 : 17

Spintharus leverger sp. nov. Figure 2A-N

Type material.

Holotype female from Santo Antônio de Leverger, Mato Grosso, Brazil, 29.vii.1992, A.A. Lise & A. Braul, in MCTP. Paratype male with same data, deposited in the SMNH.

Additional material.

Brazil: Mato Grosso, Santo Antônio de Leverger, 29.vii.1992, A.A. Lise & A. Braul, 4 females, 1 male, (MCTP); Chapada dos Guimarães, 15-26.vii.1992, A.A. Lise & A. Braul, 1 male, (MCTP); Rio Grande do Sul, Quaraí, 4-28.v.1991, A.A. Lise, 2 females, (MCTP)

Diagnosis.

Spintharus leverger sp. nov. differ from all other Spintharus species by the large and robustly sclerotized spermathecae of the female genitalia (Fig. 2G-I ) and the tight distal compression of male palpal sclerites, with most of the tegulum exposed (Fig. 2N ).

Description.

Female: Total length 4.72. Cephalothorax 1.10 long, 1.03 wide, 0.82 high, yellow-brown with slightly darker shading laterally. Sternum 0.90 long, 0.58 wide, extending half way between coxae IV, yellow. Abdomen 3.50 long, 1.53 wide, 1.50 high, elongated oval without humps (Fig. 2A-C ). Four pairs of juxtaposed clustered white blotches run along the dorsal side. White blotches appear slightly fragmented. Brown markings follow the dorsolateral edges of the abdomen from anterior to posterior, joining together just anterior of the center of the abdomen to form a narrow strip. A pair of small dark bulbous spots appear posterolaterally on the abdomen. All eyes elevated on cephalothorax and approximately equal in size, anterior median eyes 0.08 in diameter, anterior lateral eyes 0.12 in diameter. All eyes located within one eye diameter from each other, except the posterior medians, which are 0.13 apart. Leg I femur 2.23, patella 0.65, tibia 1.63, metatarsus 2.24, tarsus 0.61. All legs pale yellow, with the metatarsus of legs I, II, and IV slightly browner.

Epigynum with very large and robustly sclerotized spermathecae and relatively small copulatory openings, with clearly sclerotized edges (Fig. 2G-I ).

Male: Total length 3.52. Cephalothorax 1.10 long, 0.88 wide, 0.64 high, yellow with slightly darker shading laterally. Sternum 0.75 long, 0.51 wide, extending half way between coxae IV, light yellow. Abdomen 2.45 long, 0.89 wide, 0.88 high. All eyes elevated on cephalothorax and approximately equal in size, anterior median eyes 0.08 in diameter, anterior lateral eyes 0.13 in diameter. All eyes located within one eye diameter apart from each other, except the posterior medians, which are 0.14 apart. Leg I femur 2.19, patella 0.51, tibia 1.53, metatarsus 2.28, tarsus 0.55. All legs yellow.

Male pedipalp with all sclerites tightly packed at the distal end of the tegulum, leaving the tegulum largely exposed, embolus relatively short (Fig. 2J ).

Etymology.

This species epithet refers to the municipality of Santo Antônio de Leverger, the location in which the holotype female was collected.

Figures

Figure 2. Spintharus leverger LeMay & Agnarsson, sp. nov. Holotype female and paratype male from Mato Grosso, Santo Antonio de Leverger. Female (A-C); A dorsal B ventral C lateral. Male (D-F); D dorsal E ventral F lateral G-I epigynum G digested dorsal H digested ventral I undigested ventral J palp ventral. Male from Mato Grasso, Chapada dos Guimaraes. Male (K-M); K dorsal L ventral M lateral N male pedipalp, ventral. Note that male from Chapada dos Guimaraes has sclerites slightly less juxtaposed at the terminus of the palp.