Rhyphelia otti, Nobre & Ruiz, 2024

Nobre, Welington B. & Ruiz, Gustavo R. S., 2024, On the boundary of the jumping spider genus Rhyphelia Simon, 1902 (Araneae: Salticidae: Euophryini), with description of ten new species, Zootaxa 5418 (5), pp. 471-500 : 479-482

Rhyphelia otti sp. nov.

Figs 5E–5F, 6A–6D, 7C–7G

Type material. Holotype: ♂ from Centro de Pesquisas e Conservação da Natureza Pró-Mata, São Francisco de Paula, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 02.I.2001, R. Ott leg. (MCN/FZBRS-39661) . Paratype: 1♀, same data as holotype (MCN/FZBRS-39661) .

Etymology. Epithet is in honour of the Brazilian arachnologist Ricardo Ott, who collected the type specimens.

Diagnosis. Among the species of the genus, the male of R. otti sp. nov. is most similar to that of R. barbado sp. nov., as it has an elongated and flattened embolus, almost parallel to the longitudinal axis, with a fold at the most apical region (compare Figs 7A, 7C). The male of R. otti sp. nov. can be distinguished by the smooth embolus axis ( Fig. 7C; embolus bearing a membranous lamella on the prolateral side in S. barbado sp. nov., Fig. 7A). Among the species with known females, R. otti sp. nov. is most similar to R. ruizi ( Zhang & Maddison, 2015) comb. nov., given their narrow, inverted V-shaped coupling pocket, but it can be distinguished by the longer loop in the middle portion of the copulatory duct ( Fig. 7F; smaller loop in R. ruizi , see Zhang & Maddison 2015: figs 279–280).

Description. Male holotype. Total length: 3.18. Carapace brown, 1.68 long, 1.2 wide, 0.86 high. Cephalic region dark brown ( Fig. 6A). Ocular quadrangle 0.77 long; anterior eye row 1.17 wide, posterior 1.03 wide. Chelicera, labium, sternum and palp light brown ( Fig. 6B). Palpal tibia short with acute RTA pointing the center of tegulum ( Fig. 6D); ovoid tegulum with large paraembolic distal haematodocha ( Fig. 6C). Leg formula: 1342; length of legs: I 3.21 (1.08 + 0.5 + 0.77 + 0.53 + 0.33); II 2.41 (0.82 + 0.36 + 0.46 + 0.46 + 0.31); III 3.12 (1.08 + 0.48 + 0.65 + 0.58 + 0.33); IV 2.95 (0.94 + 0.36 + 0.60 + 0.72 + 0.33). Legs I: femur, patella and tibia brown; metatarsus and tarsus brown and yellow; II–IV: femora and patellae brown; tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi brown and yellow. Tibia I macrosetae well developed, with tips of a more proximal pair surpassing insertions of the spines of a more distal pair. Abdomen dorsally light brown, with a pair of circular yellowish spots anteriorly, and a yellow crescent-shaped spot posteriorly ( Fig. 6A); ventrally light brown with a dark brown band that extends longitudinally ( Fig. 6B). Spinnerets yellow.

Female paratype. Total length: 3.48. Carapace as in male ( Fig. 6C), 1.56 long, 1.15 wide, 0.79 high. Ocular quadrangle 0.77; anterior eye row 1.10 wide, posterior 1.03 wide. Chelicera, labium and sternum light brown ( Fig. 6D). Palp whitish. Leg formula: 1432; length of legs: I 2.87 (0.96 + 0.36 + 0.74 + 0.48 + 0.33); II 2.37 (0.77 + 0.36 + 0.48 + 0.43 + 0.33); III 2.58 (0.86 + 0.36 + 0.48 + 0.55 + 0.33) IV 2.85 (0.84 + 0.36 + 0.60 + 0.72 + 0.33). Legs I–II whitish ( Figs 6C–6D), with a small brown spot on the anterior region of the tibia; III–IV: femora and patellae brown; tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi brown and yellow. Macrosetae as in male. Abdomen dorsally light brown, with two pairs of rounded light-colored spots, in addition to a series of clear chevrons ( Fig. 6C); ventrally brown ( Fig. 6D). Epigyne with large copulatory openings, long S-shaped ducts before connecting to the elongate spermathecae ( Figs 7E–7G).

Distribution. Known only from the type locality (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) ( Fig. 23).