Hoplopholcus konya, Huber, 2020

Huber, Bernhard A., 2020, Revision of the spider genus Hoplopholcus Kulczyński (Araneae, Pholcidae), Zootaxa 4726 (1), pp. 1-94 : 54-56

Hoplopholcus konya sp. n.

Figs 198 , 246–261

Hoplopholcus Tur 7— Eberle et al. 2018 (molecular data). Huber et al. 2018: Fig. 6 .

Diagnosis. Easily distinguished from known congeners by shape of ventral bulbal sclerite (especially in lateral views, Figs 257, 259 ); also by combination of: procursus with distinct ventral ‘knee’, ventral spine of procursus curved (S-shaped), tip of procursus with pointed prolateral process, and genital bulb with indistinct dorsal membranous process. Females are difficult to distinguish externally from congeners; internal ventral arc connected to distinctively curved lateral sclerites (arrow in Fig. 260 ; visible in uncleared specimens), uterus externus with large median pouch (anterior border visible in uncleared specimens) and pair of lateral pouches (lateral borders visible in uncleared specimens) ( Fig. 260 ).

Type material. TURKEY, Konya: ♂ holotype, ZFMK (Ar 20943), Derebucak District, Körükini Mağarası (37.348°N, 31.628°E, 1370 m a.s.l.), among rocks near cave, 22.vii.2016 (H. Öztürk) .

Other material examined. TURKEY, Konya: 3♀ together with holotype, and 2♀ in pure ethanol, ZFMK ( Tur 42), same data as holotype . 1♂, ZFMK (Ar 20944), Derebucak District, Dede Tarlasi Mağarası (37.341°N, 31.617°E, 1400 m a.s.l.), among rocks near cave, 22.vii.2016 (H. Öztürk) . 1♂, ZFMK (Ar 20945), Derebucak Dis- trict, unnamed small cave near road (37.343°N, 31.622°E, 1395 m a.s.l.), under rock at cave entrance, 22.vii.2016 (H. Öztürk) .

Etymology. The species name is derived from the type locality; noun in apposition.

Description. Male (holotype). MEASUREMENTS. Total length 4.9, carapace width 1.7. Distance PME-PME 130 µm; diameter PME 130 µm; distance PME-ALE 40 µm; diameter AME 70 µm; distance AME-AME 25 µm. Leg 1: 49.2 (13.1 + 0.8 + 13.1 + 19.5 + 2.7), tibia 2: 9.7, tibia 3: 6.9, tibia 4: 8.0; tibia 1 L/d: 69.

COLOR (in ethanol). Carapace mostly whitish, only medially with dark mark, ocular area and clypeus barely darker; sternum ochre with brown pattern; legs pale, with indistinct darker rings subdistally on femora and tibiae; abdomen pale gray, with dark mark dorsally above spinnerets; ventrally with large light brown mark anteriorly, small black mark at spinnerets and smaller diffuse brown mark in-between.

BODY. Habitus as in female (cf. Fig. 198 ). Ocular area slightly elevated. Deep thoracic pit and pair of furrows diverging from pit toward posterior margin. Clypeus unmodified. Sternum wider than long (1.25/0.95), unmodified. Abdomen oval, dorso-posteriorly rounded.

CHELICERAE. As in Figs 254–255 , with pair of latero-distal apophyses provided with two modified coneshaped hairs each; stridulatory ridges fine, barely visible in dissecting microscope.

PALPS. As in Figs 246–248 ; coxa with low retrolateral bulge, trochanter barely protruding ventrally, femur with distinct dark line retrolaterally and prolateral stridulatory pick; procursus ( Figs 252–253 ) with distinct ventral ‘knee’, curved ventral spine, tip of procursus with pointed prolateral process; genital bulb ( Figs 256–259 ) with uniquely shaped ventral bulbal sclerite (especially in lateral views), embolar sclerite with small cone-shaped processes (arrow in Fig. 259 ), dorsal membranous process indistinct.

LEGS. Femur 1 with single row of ~35 ventral spines, femur 2 with ~20 spines; without curved hairs; few vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at 4%; prolateral trichobothrium present on all leg tibiae; tarsi without distinct pseudosegments but with many small platelets.

Male (variation). Tibia 1 in two other males: 10.9, 11.3. Modified hairs on cheliceral apophyses in all examined males symmetric (2+2). Number of spines on femora slightly variable.

Female. In general similar to male but without spines on legs; females also without curved hairs. Tibia 1 in four females: 8.8, 9.5, 10.3, 10.4.

FEMALE GENITALIA. Epigynum as in Fig. 249 , internal structures partly visible in uncleared specimens: anterior sclerotized arcs, lateral ridges, median pouch of uterus externus, and pair of lateral pouches of uterus externus ( Fig. 260 ); with pair of light brown weakly bulging areas in front of epigynum; posterior plate simple, short but wide. Internal genitalia with large pore plates narrowing medially ( Fig. 261 ), with distinctively curved lateral sclerites connected to ventral arc, uterus externus with large median pouch and pair of smaller lateral pouches.

Distribution. Known from three neighboring localities in Derebucak District, Konya Province, Turkey ( Fig. 444 ).

Natural history. Judging from the many webs partly visible under large unmovable rocks outside of Körükini Cave, the spiders seemed to be abundant. However, they were extremely difficult to catch. At the slightest movement of the web they dashed toward the back and disappeared among and under the large rocks. At one locality (“unnamed small cave near road”) the single specimen was found outside the cave under a rock, while the interior of the cave was occupied by Hoplopholcus dim . Other caves in the area are likely to contain this species but were not accessed (e.g., Körükini Mağarası, Dede Tarlasi Mağarası).

Figures

FIGURE 444. Known distributions of Hoplopholcus patrizii and H. konya. TL = type locality.

FIGURES 194–199. Hoplopholcus spp., live specimens. 194–197. H. forskali (Thorell, 1871), males from Taşkent, females from Zindan Mağarası (before and after egg-laying). 198. H. konya sp. n., female from Körükini Mağarası. 199. H. longipes (Spassky, 1934), male from Kintrishi Protected Area.

FIGURES 246–251. Hoplopholcus konya sp. n. from Körükini Mağarası (ZFMK Ar 20943). 246–248. Left male palp in prola- teral, dorsal, and retrolateral views. 249–251. Epigynum, ventral view, and cleared female genitalia, ventral and dorsal views.

FIGURES 252–261. Hoplopholcus konya sp. n. from Körükini Mağarası (ZFMK Ar 20943). 252–253. Left procursus, prola- teral and retrolateral views. 254–255. Male chelicerae, frontal and lateral views. 256–259. Left genital bulb, dorsal, prolateral, ventral, and retrolateral views (arrow points at conical processes on embolar sclerite). 260–261. Cleared female genitalia, ventral and dorsal views; arrow points at distinctively curved lateral sclerites. mp, median pouch of uterus externus; lp, lateral pouch of uterus externus; vs, ventral sclerite. Scale lines: 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 6–11. Hoplopholcus spp., live specimens. 6–7. H. labyrinthi (Kulczyński, 1903), male and female from Spilaio Melidoniou. 8–9. H. suluin sp. n., male and female from Sulu İn Mağarası. 10–11. H. minous Senglet, 1971, male from Orino Gorge and female with egg-sac from Exo Mouliana.