Sestakovaia hyrcania, Zamani & Marusik, 2021

Zamani, Alireza & Marusik, Yuri M., 2021, A new genus and ten new species of spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) from Iran, ZooKeys 1054, pp. 95-126 : 95

Sestakovaia hyrcania sp. nov.

Figures 4D , 9A-C , 10A-D

Type material.

Holotype ♂ (NHMW), Iran: Golestan Province: 10 km SW of Shahpasand, 26.4.1972 (G. Pretzmann).

Etymology.

The species name (a noun in apposition) refers to the historical region in south-east of the Caspian Sea in modern-day Iran and Turkmenistan which lies between the coastal line to the north-west, the Alborz Mountains to the south, and the Kopet Dag Mountains to the east, in which the type locality of the new species is situated.

Diagnosis.

The new species differs from S. annulipes comb. nov. by having the RTA bent almost at a right angle and with a pointed tip (vs RTA bent at a lesser angle and its tip rounded), a wider embolus (Em) and process of the embolus (Pe), and the embolus located prolaterally in relation to the process (vs embolus mesal and process prolateral).

Description.

Male. Habitus as in Figure 4D . Total length 4.37. Carapace 2.06 long, 1.58 wide. Eye sizes: AME: 0.13, ALE: 0.11, PME: 0.09, PLE: 0.12. Carapace, labium, chelicera, maxilla and sternum light brown. Carapace with darker submarginal longitudinal bands. Legs yellowish-brown, with numerous darker patches. Abdomen dorsally greyish with lighter chevron markings, ventrally lighter without any markings. Spinnerets light grey, unicolourous. Measurements of legs: I: 6.54 (1.72, 0.85, 1.69, 1.32, 0.96), II: 5.73 (1.31, 0.66, 1.66, 1.30, 0.80), III: 5.82 (1.46, 0.71, 1.38, 1.63, 0.64), IV: 8.25 (2.10, 0.88, 1.96, 2.25, 1.06).

Palp as in Figures 9A-C , 10A-D ; RTA about 2 times shorter than tibia, bent almost at a right angle, tip pointed; cymbium 1.6 times longer than wide; bulb ca 1.3 times longer than wide; tegulum with 2 apophyses: long tegular apophysis (Ta) with hooked tip, and broad anterior apophysis (Aa); conductor (Co) lamellar/membranous, large, almost as wide as radix; embolus complex: with broad radical part (Ra), broad embolus proper (Em) and mesal embolic process (Pe).

Female. Unknown.

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality in Golestan Province, northern Iran.

Figures

Figure 4. Males of Zagrotes borna sp. nov. (A), Z. parla sp. nov. (B), Micaria atropatene sp. nov. (C), Sestakovaia hyrcania sp. nov. (D) and Mesiotelus patricki sp. nov. (E, F) A-D, F habitus, dorsal E chelicerae, ventral. Scale bars: 0.2 mm, unless stated otherwise.

Figure 9. Male palps of Sestakovaia hyrcania sp. nov. (A-C) and Sestakovaia annulipes comb. nov. (D) A, D ventral B retrolateral C dorsal D after Dimitrov and Naumova (2021). Abbreviations: Aa - anterior apophysis, Co - conductor, Em - embolus, Pe - embolic process, Ra - radix, Ta - tegular apophysis. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

Figure 10. SEM images of the male palps of Sestakovaia hyrcania sp. nov. A, D ventral B retroventral C apical. Abbreviations: Aa - anterior apophysis, Co - conductor, Em - embolus, Pe - embolic process, Ra - radix, Ta - tegular apophysis. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.