Nesticus dimensis, Lopez-Pancorbo, Alberto, Kunt, Kadir Boğaç, Blagoev, Gergin, Deltshev, Christo & Ribera, Carles, 2013

Lopez-Pancorbo, Alberto, Kunt, Kadir Boğaç, Blagoev, Gergin, Deltshev, Christo & Ribera, Carles, 2013, Nesticus dimensis new species, a new troglobitic spider from Turkey (Araneae, Nesticidae), with comments on its phylogenetic relationships, Zootaxa 3721 (2), pp. 183-192 : 185-189

Nesticus dimensis new species López-Pancorbo, Kunt and Ribera

Figs. 2–12

Material examined. Holotype: 1 ♂ (AUZM/HN2-013) TURKEY, Antalya Province, Alanya District, Kestel Town, Dim Valley, Dim Cave (36°32'24.30"N; 32°6'36.20"E), 189 m asl., 0 3 December 2011, Kadir Boğaç Kunt leg. Paratypes: 2 ♀ (AUZM/PN2-013), 0 1 November 2003, same locality and collector as holotype; 2 ♀ (AUZM), 3 ♀ (CRBA), same locality and data as holotype. 1 ♂ (BIOUG00529-C05, GenBank accession JN 310190 ) and 1 ♀(BIOUG00529-C06, GenBank accession KC788643 ) 12 January 2010, same locality and collector as holotype (IBER).

Other material examined: N. henderickxi Bosselaers, 1998 from Kournas Cv., Kournas, Crete, Greece. N. eremita from Markova Spilja Cv., Hvar, Croatia. N. speluncarum Pavesi, 1873 from Shpella and Dragoit, Gjirokastra, Albania. N. arenstorffi Kulczyński, 1914 from Pokljuka Gornja Cv., Knezlac, Risan Distr. Montenegro.

Etymology. The species epithet is a noun in apposition taken from the type locality, Dim Cave, located at Dim Valley in Alanya District ( Turkey).

Diagnosis. Males differ from N. henderickxi , the most similar species, by the length of median apophysis, which clearly reaches the apical part of the cymbium, and by the shape and arrangement of Theridioid Tegular Apophysis and their processes ( Figs. 3–5 , 9–12 ). Females of this new species show characteristic kidney-shaped spermathecae. The size and location of vulval pocket lateral and medial are also diagnostic ( Figs. 7–8 ).

This new species cannot be assigned to Carpathonesticus , Typhlonesticus or Canarionesticus , and differs from their representatives in shape, ramification and modification associated with the paracymbium. The general structure and arrangement of the embolus and the median apophysis, in addition to the p1 and p2 TTA processes, clearly differ from those of the above-mentioned genera. The shape and position of the spermathecae and vulval pockets also show conspicuous differences.

On the basis of morphology, N. dimensis n. sp. lies within the eastern Mediterranean group of Nesticus species comprising N. arenstorffi , N. eremita , N. speluncarum and N. henderickxi . The shape and arrangement of the median apophysis, the embolus and the paracymbial processes of the male palp ( Figs. 3–5 ), and the location and structure of the spermathecae and vulval glands of the female ( Fig. 7–8 ) show a similar morphology in this group of species, suggesting a close evolutionary relationship.

Description. Male. Coloration: carapace uniform whitish-yellow. Abdomen brownish gray, without marked darker patches. Appendages and sternum of the same color as the carapace. Prosoma: approximately circular in dorsal view. Cephalic region not differentiated from the rest of the prosoma. Fovea and thoracic grooves not clearly visible. Eyes almost totally absent, with only the highly reduced lens corresponding to lateral eyes remaining visible. Abdomen: sub-elliptical in dorsal view. Appendages: prolateral margin of the chelicerae with three teeth, the two distal teeth larger. Male palp ( Figs. 3–5 , 9–12 ). Paracymbium large with a well-developed dorsal process and a poorly differentiated ventral process. Distal and paradistal apophyses absent. Dorsomedian apophysis short and pointed. MA extraordinarily well developed, ranging from the middle part of the tegulum almost to the apical part. Conductor absent. TTA with two processes: TTA p1 and TTA p2 (homologous to p1-p6 processes of the conductor complex in Huber 1993). TTA p1 is saddle-shaped, longer than wide, slightly curved in the central area. TTA p2 is located in an apical position and serves as a conductor of embolus. Embolus filamentous, with a semicircular course toward the apex and partially bordering the tegulum.

Measurements: PL, 1.1; PW, 1.0; OL, 1.35; OW, 0.85; total body length (excluding the pedicel) = 2.45. Legs I>leg II>leg IV>leg III.

Female. All characters as in male. Epigynum wide and convex ( Figs. 6–7 ). Median septum wide and prominent, reaching the epigastric fold. Vulva ( Fig. 8 ) with well-developed vulval pockets divided by a ventral fold into lateral and medial parts. Kidney-shaped spermathecae, easily visible at the upper part of the pockets.

Measurements: PL, 1.00; PW, 0.95; OL, 1.60; OW, 1.30; total length = 2.60. Leg I>leg II>leg IV>leg III.

Distribution and Natural History data. Nesticus dimensis n. sp. has only been recorded from Dim Cave in the Taurus Mountains, Alanya District, Turkey. Dim Cave is located on the slope of Cebelireis Mountain, whose main mass comprises stiff and thick layered Permian limestone and dolomites. Among two paths of the cave, the horizontal one is 360 m long with scenery of some geological formations, such as stalagmites and stalactites. Walls and ceiling of the cave are generally slippery especially during rainy months, and a small lake also exists at the end of the horizontal path. In a preliminary study carried out by Kunt et al. (2008), a total of 25 invertebrate species were identified from Dim Cave, 15 of which are spiders. Few studies have been conducted after Kunt et al.’s, including the collection of the paratype of Protoiurus kadleci ( Scorpiones , Iuridae ), and the description of Troglophilus alanyaensis ( Orthoptera , Rhaphidophoridae ) (Kovařík et al., 2010; Taylan et al., 2012).

Females of Nesticus dimensis n. sp. can be observed building webs at crevices of the cave walls throughout the year, sometimes forming dense populations. Females with cocoons were observed during December, while mature males were active in November-January.

Phylogenetic analysis. The final dataset used for the phylogenetic analyses includes 10 terminals and 1872 characters (cox1=1083, rrnL = 451 and H3 = 338; see Table 1a for dataset information). The optimal tree obtained in the ML analysis is shown in Fig. 1 (lnL -6414.151071). Nesticus dimensis n. sp. clusters together with the representatives of the “ eremita group”, With a high support value (98%). Typhlonesticus absoloni (Kratochvíl, 1933) and Carpathonesticus species constitute different evolutionary lines, also with a high support value (100%). Within the eremita clade, N. henderickxi , N. arenstorffi , and N. dimensis form essentially a basal trichotomy, if one collapses poorly supported (bp <70) nodes. The two species of wide geographic range, N. eremita and N. speluncarum , are sister species with 100% bootstrap support and relatively low genetic divergence (p-distance of 1.9%).

The uncorrected genetic distances of the cox 1 gene between the terminal taxa is shown in Appendix 3.

Figures

FIGURES 2 – 5. N. dimensis n. sp. male. 2: habitus; 3 - 5 male palp (type). 3: ventral view, 4: prolateral view, 5: dorsal view. Abbreviations: E: = embolus, MA = median apophysis, P = paracymbium, ST: = subtegulum, T: tegulum, TTA: = theridioid tegular apophysis, TTA p 1 = process 1 of TTA, TTA p 2 = process 2 of TTA, do = dorsal process of paracymbium, dm = dorsomedian process of paracymbium, v = ventral process of paracymbium. Scale bar in Μm.

FIGURES 6 – 8. N. dimensis n. sp. female. 6 - 7: epigynum ventral view, 8: vulva dorsal view, Abbreviations: CO = copulatory orifice, ID = insemination duct, MS = median septum, S = spermathecae, VPL = vulval pocket lateral, VPM = vulval pocket medial. Scale bar in Μm.

FIGURES 9 – 12. N. dimensis n. sp. male palp. 9: dorsal view, 10: prolateral view, 11: ventral view, 12: retrolateral view. Abbreviations: E: = embolus, MA = median apophysis, P = paracymbium, ST: = subtegulum, T: tegulum, TTA: = theridioid tegular apophysis, TTA p 1 = process 1 of TTA, TTA p 2 = process 2 of TTA, do = dorsal process of paracymbium, dm = dorsomedian process of paracymbium, v = ventral process of paracymbium. Scale bar in Μm.