Eusparassus xerxes ( Pocock, 1901 ) Moradmand & Jäger, 2012

Moradmand, Majid & Jäger, Peter, 2012, Taxonomic revision of the huntsman spider genus Eusparassus Simon, 1903 (Araneae: Sparassidae) in Eurasia, Journal of Natural History 46 (39 - 40), pp. 2439-2496 : 2481-2485

Eusparassus xerxes ( Pocock, 1901) comb. nov.

( Figures 19 , 20 , 23B )

Sparassus xerxes Pocock, 1901: 489–490 (description of male and female; syntypes, examined).

Olios xerxes – Gravely 1931: 240–241, figs 5A, 6A (transfer); Sethi and Tikader 1988: 35, figs 157–162.

Type material

Syntypes: 3 ♂♂, 1 ♀, 10 immatures, IRAN: Bushehr Province: 1 male, 1 female, 1 juvenile, Bushehr (sub Bushier ), F.W. Townsend leg. ( NHM 1882.109 ) ; 4 subadult males, 3 juveniles, Port Reshire near Bushier , F.W. Townsend leg. ( NHM 0.5.9.36.41) ; 1 subadult male, 1 subadult female, 1 juvenile, Bushier, F.W. Townsend leg. ( NHM 7.88.33) ; 1 male, PAKISTAN: Baluchistan Province: Ormara, Makran Coast , F.W. Townsend leg. ( NHM 1899.10.6.7) ; 1 male, Ormara, Makran Coast , F.W. Townsend leg. ( NHM 0.5.6.20) .

Additional material examined

1 ♂, 5 ♀♀, PAKISTAN: 1 ♂, 4 ♀♀, Azad Kashmir: Panjur ( Mozaffarabad : Kupwara , 34 ◦ 28 ′ 10" N, 73 ◦ 39 ′ 0" E), E. Zugmayer leg. ( ZSM A20110058 ) ; 1♀, Azad Kashmir: Kedsch, E. Zugmayer leg. ( ZSM A20110051 ) .

Diagnosis

Large Eusparassus species (largest female: body length 30 mm, leg span 14 cm), with diagnostic vase-like black marking on venter of opisthosoma in both sexes ( Figure 23B ), which is absent in most Eurasian species (except E. dufouri and E. levantinus which is V-shaped). Palp similar to that of E. fuscimanus but differ in relative cymbium / tibia length: cymbium more than twice length of tibia in E. fuscimanus , compared with E. xerxes , where it is less than twice. ET more extended distally in E. fuscimanus than E. xerxes ( Figure 19A–C ).

Redescription

Male (n = 4). Total length: 21.3–24.8, prosoma length 10.8–12.3, prosoma width 9.5–10.0, anterior width of prosoma 5.4–5.8, opisthosoma length 10.5–12.5, opisthosoma width 7.0–7.7. Eye diameters: AME 0.61, ALE 0.60, PME 0.57, PLE 0.60; eye interdistances: AME–AME 0.32, AME–ALE 0.15, PME–PME 0.61, PME–PLE 0.57, AME–PME 0.64, ALE–PLE 0.40, clypeus height at AME 0.41, clypeus height at ALE 0.51.

Chelicerae with two anterior and three or four posterior teeth. Cheliceral furrow without denticles. Four thick inclined bristles at distal end of basal segment ( Figure 19E ). Leg formula: 2 4 1 3. Measurements of palp and legs: Palp 15.2 [5.3, 2.2, 2.6, 5.1], I 56.7 [16.2, 5.3, 15.7, 15.8, 3.7], II 63.1 [17.5, 6.0, 17.3, 18.5, 3.8], III 53.5 [15.7, 5.5, 14.5, 14.4, 3.3], IV 60.3 [17.0, 5.3, 16.3, 18.0, 3.7].

Spination. Palp 131, 000 / 001, 1111; Legs: Femur I–III 323, IV 322; Patella I–IV 000 / 101; Tibia I–IV 2024 / 23(2)24; Metatarsus I–III 2024, IV 3034 / 3036.

Palp. As in diagnosis with dRTA strongly bent and vRTA is not well developed, palp generally elongated, cymbium longer than tibia ( Figure 19A,B ); ET pointing proximo-ventrad ( Figure 19C,F ).

Female (n = 6). Total length: 21.5–29.8, prosoma length 10.5–13.0, prosoma width 8.4–10.7, anterior width of prosoma 6.0–7.3, opisthosoma length 11.0–16.8, opisthosoma width 8.2–10.5. Eye diameters: AME 0.63, ALE 0.62, PME 0.60, PLE 0.64; eye interdistances: AME–AME 0.43, AME–ALE 0.17, PME–PME 0.70, PME–PLE 0.78, AME–PME 0.70, ALE–PLE 0.50, clypeus height at AME 0.55, clypeus height at ALE 0.60.

Chelicerae with two anterior and three or four posterior teeth. Cheliceral furrow without denticles. Leg formula: 2 4 1 3. Measurements of palp and legs: Palp 15.5 [4.8, 2.3, 3.2, 5.2], I 51.9 [14.7, 6.1, 13.3, 14.5, 3.3], II 55.3 [16.1, 6.2, 15.0, 14.7, 3.3], III 47.1 [14.5, 5.5, 12.5, 11.8, 2.8], IV 52.4 [15.7, 5.5, 13.7, 14.3, 3.2].

Spination. Palp 131, 001, 1111, 1013; legs: Femur I–III 323, IV 322; Patella I–IV 000 (001); Tibia I–IV 2024 –21(2)24; Metatarsus I–III 2024, IV 3034 (3036).

Epigyne / vulva. EF longer than wide, AMLL well developed but not fused together, EFB present but not combined to AMLL; EF longer than wide ( Figure 20A,C ); vulva generally short and compact, glandular pores situated on a widened semicircular process ( Figures 20B,D ).

Colouration [in ethanol]. Prosoma and legs reddish brown with creamy opisthosoma, ventral opisthosoma as diagnosis.

Remarks

Gravely (1931), using an unreliable character at generic level (number of distal bristles at basal segment of chelicerae), transferred E. xerxes comb. nov. (sub Sparassus and along with unjustified former junior synonyms: E. pearsoni comb. nov. and E. maynardi comb. nov.) to Olios . Eusparassus pearsoni comb. nov. and E. xerxes comb. nov. have three and four bristles, respectively, whereas one bristle appears in most Eusparassus spp. This is the largest Eusparassus species in Eurasia (leg span 14 cm). After its original description from Makran coast in Iran and Pakistan ( Pocock 1901), we describe conspecifics from Central Pakistan in Kashmir. The species exhibit dorsal tibial spines normally absent in other Eusparassus species. Ventral marking of opisthosoma resembles some Eusparassus species in African Sahara and Arabia.

Known geographical distribution

From southern Iran (Bushehr port in the Persian Gulf) to Makran Coast and Central Pakistan (Baluchistan and Azad Kashmir provinces).

Figures

Figure 19. Eusparassus xerxes (Pocock, 1901) comb. nov., (A–C) syntype male from Ormara, Makran coast, Pakistan: (A) left palp, ventral; (B) left palp, retrolateral; (C) tip of embolus and conductor, ventral; (D–F) syntype male from Bushehr, Persian Gulf coast, Iran: (D) eye arrangement; (E) left chelicera, ventral; (F) tip of embolus and conductor from left palp, ventral. Scale bars: (A, B, D, E) 1 mm, (C, F) 0.5 mm.

Figure 20. Eusparassus xerxes (Pocock, 1901) comb. nov., (A, B) syntype female from Bushehr, Persian Gulf coast, Iran: (A) epigyne, ventral; (B) left vulva, anterio-dorso-lateral; (C, D) female from Kedsh, Azad Keshmir, Pakistan: (C) epigyne, ventral; (D) left vulva, anterio-dorso-lateral. Scale bars: (A, C) 1 mm, (B, D) 0.5 mm.

Figure 23. Ventral opisthosoma colouration, (A) Eusparassus walckenaeri; (B) Eusparassus xerxes comb. nov., (C) Eusparassus dufouri, (D) Eusparassus levantinus.