Malagiella ambalavo, Ubick & Griswold, 2011

Ubick, Darrell & Griswold, Charles E., 2011, The Malagasy Goblin Spiders Of The New Genus Malagiella (Araneae, Oonopidae), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2011 (356), pp. 1-86 : 82

Malagiella ambalavo , new species Figures 379–392 , 487 ; maps 1, 2, 4; table 1

TYPE: Female holotype from sifted litter in rainforest, at 40 km S Ambalavo, 22 ° 139S, 46 ° 589E, 1275 m, Res. Andringitra, Fianarantsoa Province, Madagascar (15 Oct 1993, B. Fisher), deposited in CAS (CASENT 9029657, PBI _OON 03223).

ETYMOLOGY: The species is named after the type locality.

DIAGNOSIS: This species is most similar to M. vohiparara , but differs in being slightly smaller, having reduced eyes (fig. 384) and a less sinuous receptaculum, W/L 5 0.9 (figs. 389–392).

MALE: Unknown.

FEMALE (PBI_OON 03223): Total length 1.41, carapace length 0.68, width 0.54. CEPH- ALOTHORAX: Carapace anteriorly narrowed to about 0.47 times its maximum width (fig. 380), surface of elevated portion of pars cephalica smooth, sides smooth (fig. 381). Clypeus sloping forward in lateral view, subequal to eye area length (fig. 382). Eyes small, PME reduced and irregular, difficult to see; eye row width 0.43 carapace width; length 0.93 clypeus length (figs. 380, 384). ABDO- MEN: Book lung covers ovoid (fig. 386). Pedicel tube short (fig. 387), scutum dorsal extension about 0.2 pedicel diameters (fig. 404). Dorsal scutum covering about 0.75 abdomen length, about 0.5 abdomen width (fig. 380). Dense patch of setae anterior to spinnerets present, but weak (fig. 382). LEGS: Pale orange; patella plus tibia I nearly as long as carapace (fig. 381). Leg spination: femur I p0-1-0; tibiae: I v4-4-0, II v4-2-0, IV v0-0-2 (weak). GENITALIA: Receptaculum strongly sinuous, W/L 5 0.9 (figs. 389–392).

OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED: None.

DISTRIBUTION: Known only from the type locality, Res. Andringitra, Madagascar.

Figures

Figs. 379–388. Malagiella ambalavo, new species, female (PBI_OON 03223). 379. Habitus, ventral view. 380. Same, dorsal view. 381. Same, lateral view. Scale bar 5 1 mm. 382. Abdomen, ventral view. 383. Cephalothorax, ventral view. 384. Same, anterior view. 385. Same, posterior view. 386. Abdomen, anterior view. 387. Same, lateral view. 388. Same, posterior view.

Figs. 389–392. Malagiella ambalavo, new species, female (PBI_OON 03223). 389. Epigynal region, ventral view. 390. Same, sublateral view. 391. Ventral view, cleared. 392. Lateral view, cleared showing copulatory opening (arrow) and apodeme (dash).

Fig. 487. Size variation in Malagiella measured as a function of carapace length to carapace width. Plot is based on measurements of 26 male specimens (‘‘x’’) and 30 female specimens (‘‘o’’). Blue lines enclose male values for a given species and red lines female values; disjunct conspecific readings are connected by straight lines. Green dotted lines enclose the three species groups. Brown dashed lines refer to the size of female DS, with the large dashes (upper right) enclosing species with the largest scutes and small dashes (lower left) those with the smallest. Abbreviations for species names: amba 5 M.ambalavo, andr 5 M. andringitra, fish 5 M. fisheri, good 5 M. goodmani, niki 5 M. nikina, rana 5 M. ranavalona, rano 5 M. ranomafana, toli 5 M. toliara, valt 5 M. valterova, vohi 5 M. vohiparara.