Acanthinozodium ansieae, Jocqué & Harten, 2015

Jocqué, Rudy & Harten, Antonius van, 2015, Three new species of Zodariidae (Araneae) from mainland Yemen and the Island Socotra, African Invertebrates 56 (2), pp. 393-393 : 395-402

Acanthinozodium ansieae sp. n.

Figs 1–17

Etymology: The species is named in honour of Ansie Dippenaar, in esteem for her work on African spiders.

Diagnosis: The male of this species is recognised by the shape of the RTA — broad, with triangular, sharp superior part and short blunt inferior part; embolus central; MA with long truncated posterior appendage. The female is recognised by the epigyne with wide rounded scape and small separated atria.

Description:

Male (holotype).

Total length 2.84. Carapace ( Figs 1–4 ): 1.92 long, 1.35 wide. Colour ( Fig. 1 ): Carapace and chelicerae yellowish orange; sternum pale yellow, mouthparts orange; legs uniform yellow. Abdomen: dorsum pale sepia, sides and venter pale cream, spinnerets white.

Clypeus 0.21 high. Eyes: AME large, round; anterior eye row straight, posterior row procurved; PME oval; AME: 0.15; ALE: 0.08; PME: 0.08; PLE: 0.08; AME–AME: 0.07; AME–ALE: 0.03; PME–PME: 0.23; PME–PLE: 0.07. MOQ: width 0.34 in front, 0.34 at the back, 0.30 long. Sternum: 0.92 long, 0.79 wide. Legs: spination: all F with one dorsal spine and two rows of long ventral setae; all T with two ventral spines on distal margin; Mt and t with numerous short ventral spines. Abdomen with row of thin modified setae in front of spinnerets.

Leg measurements:

F P T Mt t tot

I 1.95 0.63 1.86 2.31 1.17 7.92 II 1.89 0.57 1.53 2.19 1.05 7.23 III 1.77 0.54 1.41 2.25 0.90 6.87

IV 2.31 0.57 2.07 2.85 1.08 8.88

Palp ( Figs 7, 8 , 11–15 ): Tibia: RTA broad with triangular dorsal part, tapered blunt tip, inferior part short, with rounded tip; cymbium with dorsal plug-pit near base; embolus originating in centre of bulbus strongly curved outward in distal part, thin, parallel-sided; MA with long, truncated posterior extension, strongly curved in distal part; conductor membranous; tegulum with one tooth near base of embolus and with subdistal and distal tapered extensions.

Female (paratype).

Total length 4.97. Carapace ( Fig. 5 ): 2.49 long, 1.78 wide, 0.99 high. Colour ( Figs 5, 6 ): Prosoma entirely uniform brownish yellow; abdomen uniform grey, spinnerets yellowish. Clypeus 0.39 high. Eyes: AME: 0.16; ALE: 0.10; PME: 0.08; PLE: 0.10; AME–AME: 0.07; AME–ALE: 0.05; PME–PME: 0.31; PME–PLE: 0.10. MOQ: width 0.38 in front, 0.44 at the back, 0.41 long. Sternum: 1.23 long, 1.08 wide. Legs: spination: all F with one dorsal spine and two rows of long ventral setae; all T with two ventral spines on distal margin; T, Mt and t with numerous short ventral spines. Abdomen with row of thin modified setae in front of spinnerets.

Leg measurements:

F P T Mt t tot

I 2.45 0.84 2.10 2.87 1.33

II 2.45 0.77 1.96 2.17 1.12

III 2.24 0.77 1.54 2.94 1.05

IV 3.15 0.77 2.80 3.71 1.19 11.62

Epigyne ( Figs 9, 10 , 16 ):Wider than long, posterior margin concave; with broad rounded scape separating ill-defined atria covered by lateral flap on either side of scape.

Holotype ♂: YEMEN: Socotra , Mogasu, 12°36'N 54°02'E, leg. A.R. Shamsam & A. Sallam, 3.iii.1999 ( MRAC 243307 ).

Paratypes: YEMEN: 4♂ Socotra, Wadi Daneghan, 12°37'N 54°04'E, leg. A. van Harten , 28–30.x.2000 (pitfall trap) (MRAC 243308); 1♀ Socotra, Wadi Daneghan, leg. A. van Harten , 21.x.2000 (MRAC 243309). Remark: A. ansieae sp. n. is a typical representative of the genus, as defined by Jocqué & Henrard (2015): it has the characteristic carapace shape, the rows of long ventral setae on the femora, the epigyne with large atria, and most importantly, the plug-pit on the cymbium ( Figs 12, 13 ). The SEM shows (arrow) the smear of amorphous matter that is present in the pit.

Distribution: Known only from two localities on Socotra ( Fig. 17 ).

Zodarion yemenensis sp. n.

Figs 18–29

Etymology: The species is named after the country Yemen, from which it was collected.

Diagnosis: The male of this species is recognised by the shape of the palpal tibia, with a prolateral tooth, ventrolateral swelling and long straight blunt RTA. The female is characterised by the simple epigyne with inverted vase-shaped pattern. Description:

Male (holotype).

Total length 2.27. Carapace ( Fig. 18 ): 1.28 long, 0.92 wide. Colour ( Figs 18, 19 ): Carapace: cephalic area brownish yellow suffused with black; thoracic area pale yellow; chelicerae brownish yellow; legs yellow; sternum pale yellow; abdomen: dorsum dark sepia mottled with white, large white spot in front of spinnerets; sides, venter and spinnerets pale. Clypeus 0.16 high. Eyes: AME large, round; anterior eye row straight, posterior row procurved; PME oval; AME: 0.12; ALE: 0.10; PME: 0.08; PLE: 0.08; AME–AME: 0.08; AME–ALE: 0.02; PME–PME: 0.18; PME–PLE: 0.03. MOQ: width 0.31 in front, 0.30 at the back, 0.26 long. Sternum: 0.64 long, 0.58 wide. Legs: without spines; all F with dense cover of flattened incised hairs.Abdomen with row of very thin modified setae in front of spinnerets.

Leg measurements:

F P T Mt t tot

I 1.44 0.39 1.20 1.26 0.78 5.07

II 1.29 0.36 0.99 1.20 0.75 4.59

III 1.29 0.36 0.96 1.35 0.63 4.59

IV 1.80 0.42 1.56 1.86 0.69 6.33

Palp ( Figs 22, 23 , 26, 27 ): Tibia with prolateral tooth-like apophysis, ventrolateral swelling and long, straight blunt RTA, tip with shallow ventral incision; tegulum with large rounded, posterior extension, embolus base on its prolateral side; embolus broad, strongly curved, tip strongly tapered, lying dorsally of MA tip; MA large, rounded, with prolateral excavation, median triangular tip pointing outward, distal tip thin, supporting membranous conductor.

Female ( paratype, MRAC 243303 ) .

Total length 4.26, Carapace ( Fig. 20 ): 1.70 long, 1.49 wide, 0.85 high; with slight dip between eyes and fovea, with four setae along middle line. Colour ( Figs 20, 21 ) as in males. Clypeus 0.28 high, with a few setae. Eyes: AME: 0.14; ALE: 0.10; PME: 0.07; PLE: 0.10; AME–AME: 0.07; AME–ALE: 0.02; PME–PME: 0.25; PME–PLE: 0.07. MOQ: width 0.34 in front, 0.36 at the back, 0.33 long. Sternum: 0.80 long, 1.02 wide. Chelicerae with numerous thick setae on paturon.

Legs and abdomen as in male.

Leg measurements:

F P T Mt t tot

I 1.32 0.42 1.11 1.35 0.87 5.07

II 1.29 0.42 0.96 1.35 0.75 4.77

III 1.32 0.45 0.96 1.38 0.69 4.80

IV 1.74 0.51 1.50 1.83 0.78 6.36

Epigyne ( Figs 24, 25 , 28 ): Poorly sclerotised area with spermathecae far apart, visible as dark areas; copulatory ducts form inverted vase-shaped pattern.

Holotype ♂: YEMEN: Sana’a, 15°22'N 44°11'E, leg. A. van Harten , 1.xii.1998 ( MRAC 243304 ).

Paratypes: YEMEN: 1♂ Sana’a, 15°22'N 44°11'E, leg. A. van Harten , 29.i.1998 ( MRAC 243298 ) ; 1♀ Sana’a, leg. A. van Harten , 15.vii.1998 ( MRAC 243303 ) ; 1♀ Suq Bani Mansour , 15°06'N 48°50'E, leg. A. van Harten , 3.vii.2001 ( MRAC 243889 ) .

Remark: The attribution of this species to the genus Zodarion is tentative. The conformation of the palp is unusual, with the broad embolus and the massive MA, and we could not find any species with similar genitalia in Zodarion or in any other zodariid genus. A revision of the genus and its closest relative is needed to place the species correctly.

Distribution: Known from two Yemeni localities about 40 km apart ( Fig. 29 ).

Figures

Figs 1– 4. Acanthinozodium ansieae sp. n. male holotype, Yemen: (1) habitus, dorsal view; (2) prosoma, frontal view; (3) habitus, lateral view; (4) habitus, ventral view. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figs 5, 6. Acanthinozodium ansieae sp. n. female paratype, Yemen (MRAC 243309): (5) cephalothorax, dorsal view; (6) abdomen, ventral view. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figs 7–10. Acanthinozodium ansieae sp. n. male holotype, female paratype (MRAC 243309), Yemen: (7) male palp, retrolateral view; (8) idem, ventral view; (9) epigyne, ventral view; (10) epigyne, cleared in methyl salicylate, dorsal view. Scale bars = 200 μm.

Figs 11–13.Acanthinozodium ansieae sp.n.male paratype (MRAC 243308),Yemen, SEMviews:(11) male palp, ventral view; (12) idem, tibia and base of cymbium, dorsal view; arrow indicates plug-pit; (13) detail of previous, remark thread of sticky matter (arrow).

Figs 14–16. Acanthinozodium ansieae sp. n. male holotype, Yemen: (14) male palp, ventral view; (15) idem, retrolateral view; female paratype, Yemen: (16) epigyne, ventral view. Scale bars = 0.2 mm.

Fig. 17. Distribution map of Acanthinozodium ansieae sp. n.

Figs 18–21. Zodarion yemenensis sp. n. male holotype, Yemen: (18) habitus, dorsal view; (19) habitus, ventral view; female paratype, Yemen (MRAC 243303): (20) habitus, dorsal view; (21) habitus, ventral view. Scale bars = 0.5mm (18, 19); 1 mm (20, 21).

Figs 22–25.Zodarion yemenensis sp.n.male holotype,Yemen:(22)male palp, retrolateral view; (23) idem, ventral; female paratype,Yemen (MRAC 243303):(24) epigyne, cleared in methyl salicylate, dorsal view; (25) idem, ventral view. Scale bars = 0.2 mm (22, 23); 0.1 mm (24, 25).

Figs 26–28.Zodarion yemenensis sp.n.male holotype,Yemen:(26) male palp,retrolateral view;(27) idem, ventral view; female paratype, Yemen (MRAC 243303): (28) epigyne, ventral view. Scale bars = 0.2 mm (26, 27); 0.1 mm (28).

Fig. 29. Distribution map of Zodarion yemenensis sp. n. Arrow indicates Socotra.