Paratus ledong Li & Yao, 2023

Chu, Chang, Lu, Ying, Li, Shuqiang & Yao, Zhiyuan, 2023, Three new species of liocranid spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from China and Nepal, Zootaxa 5285 (1), pp. 176-186 : 182-185

Paratus ledong Li & Yao sp. nov.

Figs. 6–8

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5629FF03-FDA4-4AC4-A188-EBB5A810EED8

Type material. Holotype: ♁ (IZCAS-Ar44322), Jianfengling National Nature Reserve (18°44.272′N, 108°52.015′E, 864 m a.s.l.), Ledong County, Hainan, China, 13 August 2010, leg. G. Zheng.

Paratypes: 1♁ (IZCAS-Ar44323) and 1♀ (IZCAS-Ar44324), same data as holotype, but 18°44.051′N, 108°52.317′E, 975 m a.s.l., 14August 2010 ; 1♀ (IZCAS-Ar44325), Diaoluoshan National Forest Park (18°43.387′N, 109°51.273′E, 935 m a.s.l.), Lingshui County, Hainan, China, 10 August 2010 , collector same as holotype.

Etymology. The specific name refers to the type locality and is a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis. The males are similar to P. halabala Zapata & Ramírez, 2010 in having an L-shaped embolus, but can be distinguished by the bulb with arc-shaped tegular outgrowth (absent in P. halabala ), embolus with membranous sclerite subdistally (absent in P. halabala ), palp without conductor (present in P. halabala ), larger twist of the thin part of the sperm duct U-shaped ventrally (vs. inverted C-shaped in P. halabala ), and the long retrolateral tibial apophysis (vs. short in P. halabala ) (cf. Figs 6A–C , 7A–B with Zapata & Ramírez 2010: figs 6–13). The females are similar to P. perus Sankaran, Malamel, Joseph & Sebastian, 2017 in having a W-shaped posterior margin and long fertilization ducts, but can be distinguished by the nearly rectangular copulatory openings (vs. circular in P. perus ), posterior part of the vulva medially with a translucent, rectangular sclerite (absent in P. perus ), median diverticulum without an inverted triangular plate (present in P. perus ), copulatory ducts without a sharp median twist (present in P. perus ), and spermathecae separated by about 1.5 times their diameter (vs. 0.2 times in P. perus ) (cf. Fig. 8A–B with Sankaran et al. 2017: fig. 2E–F).

Description. Male (holotype, IZCAS-Ar44322; Fig. 8C–D ): total body length 2.53, carapace 1.20 long, 1.18 wide, opisthosoma 1.33 long, 1.00 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.10, ALE 0.08, PME 0.09, PLE 0.09; AME–AME 0.03, AME–ALE 0.03, PME–PME 0.06, PME–PLE 0.09, ALE–PLE 0.04; MOA 0.28 long, anterior width 0.25, posterior width 0.28. Carapace bright yellow, with two pairs of indistinct brown bands laterally. Highest point of carapace at fovea. Fovea brown, long and straight. Cervical groove indistinct, radial groove distinct. Chelicerae darker than carapace, with three pro- and two retromarginal teeth. Endites yellow without patterns, longer than wide, narrower at middle. Labium yellow without patterns. Sternum yellowish, without patterns. Legs colored as carapace, all femora with two distinct black annuli that divide femora into three almost equal parts. Leg spination: tibiae I–II plv 7 rlv 7, metatarsi I–II plv 3 rlv 3. Palp and leg measurements: palp 1.53 (0.49, 0.23, 0.22, -, 0.59), I 3.50 (1.01, 0.37, 1.04, 0.73, 0.35), II 3.37 (0.95, 0.38, 0.98, 0.69, 0.37), III 3.68 (1.02, 0.39, 0.96, 0.86, 0.45), IV 3.72 (1.08, 0.36, 0.80, 0.98, 0.50). Leg formula: 4312. Dorsal and lateral opisthosoma grey, with brown patches. Ventral opisthosoma grey, with brown patches posteriorly. Spinnerets yellowish.

Palp ( Figs 6A–C , 7A–B ). Retrolateral tibial apophysis thin, with slight prolateral curvature distally, with blunt tip ( Fig. 6A–C ). Bulb globular, with arc-shaped tegular outgrowth ( Figs 6A–C , 7A–B ). Embolus L-shaped, weakly sclerotized along margin, originating subdistally to bulb; membranous sclerite originating subdistally to embolus, its tip extending above embolus ( Figs 6A–C , 7A–B ). Sperm duct long, basal thick part forming loop, distal thin part with two twists near base of embolus, smaller one circular and larger one U-shaped in ventral view ( Fig. 7A–B ).

Female (paratype, IZCAS-Ar44324; Fig. 8E–F ): total body length 2.86, carapace 1.36 long, 1.33 wide, opisthosoma 1.50 long, 1.02 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.11, ALE 0.09, PME 0.09, PLE 0.10; AME– AME 0.08, AME–ALE 0.05, PME–PME 0.10, PME–PLE 0.12, ALE–PLE 0.04; MOA 0.25 long, anterior width 0.27, posterior width 0.29. Fovea reddish-brown. Leg spination: tibiae I–II plv 7 rlv 6, metatarsi I–II plv 3 rlv 3. Palp and leg measurements: palp 1.41 (0.47, 0.23, 0.24, -, 0.47), I 3.31 (0.94, 0.40, 1.04, 0.63, 0.30), II 3.52 (1.06, 0.40, 0.98, 0.68, 0.40), III 3.91 (1.16, 0.40, 1.01, 0.87, 0.47), IV 4.14 (1.17, 0.40, 1.02, 1.01, 0.54). Leg formula: 4321. Ventral opisthosoma grey, without patches. Other characters same as holotype.

Epigyne ( Fig. 8A–B ). Epigynal plate weakly sclerotized. Copulatory openings hidden under epigynal plate ( Fig. 8A ). Posterior part of vulva medially with translucent, rectangular sclerite (arrow in Fig. 8B ). Copulatory ducts long, curved ( Fig. 8B ). Spermathecae small and nearly oval, separated by about 1.5 times their diameter ( Fig. 8B ). Fertilization ducts curved distally, longer than diameter of spermathecae ( Fig. 8B ).

Variation. Paratype male (IZCAS-Ar44323): total body length 2.72. Leg spination: tibiae I–II plv 7 rlv 6, metatarsi I–II plv 3 rlv 3. Second paratype female (IZCAS-Ar44325): total body length 3.14. Leg spination: tibiae I–II plv 6 rlv 6, metatarsi I–II plv 3 rlv 3.

Natural history. This species was found in leaf litter.

Distribution. China (Hainan, type locality; Fig. 1 ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution records of new liocranid spiders from China and Nepal. 1 Oedignatha shaanxi sp. nov., 2 Paratus bagmati sp. nov., 3 P. ledong sp. nov.

FIGURE 6. Paratus ledong sp. nov., holotype male. A–C. Palp (A. Prolateral view; B. Ventral view; C. Retrolateral view). B = bulb, E = embolus, SD = sperm duct, RTA = retrolateral tibial apophysis, TO = tegular outgrowth. Scale bar: 0.20 mm (A–C).

FIGURE 7. Paratus ledong sp. nov., paratype male. A–B. Bulb (A. Prolateral view; B. Ventral view). B = bulb, E = embolus, SD = sperm duct, TO = tegular outgrowth. Scale bar: 0.10 mm (A–B).

FIGURE 8. Paratus ledong sp. nov., holotype male (C–D) and paratype female (A–B, E–F). A. Epigyne, ventral view; B. Vulva, dorsal view, arrow points at translucent, rectangular sclerite; C–F. Habitus (C, E. Dorsal view; D, F. Ventral view). CD = copulatory duct, CO = copulatory opening, FD = fertilization duct, SP = spermathecae. Scale bars: 0.20 mm (A–B), 1.00 mm (C–F).