Microdipoena elsae Saaristo, 1978

Zhang, Qiuqiu & Lin, Yucheng, 2023, Phylogenetic placement of eight poorly known spiders of Microdipoena (Araneae, Mysmenidae), with descriptions of five new species, ZooKeys 1175, pp. 333-373 : 333

Microdipoena elsae Saaristo, 1978

Figs 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7

Microdipoena elsae Saaristo, 1978: 124, figs 255-265 (♂♀); Saaristo 2010: 92, fig. 17.1-17.8 (♂♀); Lopardo et al. 2011: 287, fig. 9a (♂); Lopardo and Hormiga 2015: 783, figs 17A-D, 129D, 132A, 141M, N (♂♀).

Mysmena elsae : Roberts 1978: 932, figs 65-73 (♂♀); Logunov 2022: 89, fig. 18 (♂).

Type material.

Holotype ♀ (ZMUTU), allotype 1♀ 4♂ (ZMUTU), and paratypes 8♀ (ZMUTU) Seychelles: Mahé near La Misére, sieving leaf litter, 600 m elev., 30.V.1975, M. Saaristo leg. Not examined.

Other material examined.

2♂ 3♀ 3 juvs (NHMSU-SEY02), Seychelles: Mane , at half of Morne Blanc, a pile of chopped wood (4°39.553'S, 55°26.199'E; 461 m elev.), 30.VI.2013, H. Zhao leg. ; 2♀ 1 juv (NHMSU-SEY01), La Digue , Belle-Vue Mountain (4°21.611'S, 55°50.470'E; 213 m elev.), 5.VII.2013, H. Zhao leg.

Diagnosis.

Male of Microdipoena elsae differs from other congeners except for M. comorensis (Baert, 1986), M. guttata Banks, 1895, M. nyungwe Baert, 1989, M. vanstallei Baert, 1985 by the filiform embolus without a distal twisted complex structure. Its male seems to be most similar to M. nyungwe , but can be distinguished by the embolus having a small membranous hook at the intermediate constriction and the absence of cymbial groove (cf. Figs 5D , 6C and Lopardo and Hormiga 2015: 554, fig. 22C, F, G). Its female is similar to M. nyungwe and M. guttata but distinguished by the ovate spermathecae (round in M. nyungwe and M. guttata ), the fertilization duct is slightly sclerotized and longer (cf. Fig. 7B, C vs Lopardo and Hormiga 2015: 554, 672, figs 18G, 22B, 129A, B).

Description.

Male: Total length 1.04. Carapace 0.44 long, 0.42 wide, 0.44 high. Clypeus 0.10 high. Sternum 0.33 long, 0.30 wide. Abdomen 0.60 long, 0.63 wide, 0.88 high. Length of legs: I 1.17 (0.44, 0.14, 0.25, 0.16, 0.18); II 1.06 (0.42, 0.14, 0.22, 0.12, 0.16); III 0.78 (0.22, 0.12, 0.14, 0.14, 0.16); IV 1.08 (0.25, 0.12, 0.27, 0.20, 0.24).

Somatic characters

(Fig. 3A-C ). Coloration: carapace dark brown centrally, yellow brown marginally. Ocular base black. Chelicera, endites, and labium yellow. Sternum yellow with two brown stripes. Legs yellow and black. Abdomen dark brown with white spots dorsally, yellow with brown spots ventrally. Prosoma: carapace nearly pear-shaped in dorsal view and peak-shaped in lateral view. Cephalic area upheaved. Sternum triangular, slightly plump, covered with sparse, short setae. Legs: covered with setae. Mating clasper on metatarsus I, two macrosetae on tibia I, femur I with femoral spot. Abdomen: nearly ovoid.

Palp (Figs 4 - 6 ): large, ca as big as ½ size of the carapace. Cymbium translucent, distal end specialized as a broad, collared cymbial conductor, and a small cymbial process, modified by weakly sclerotized folds and a row of stiff short setae (Figs 4D , 5C , 6F-H ). Paracymbium smooth, with long setae at the edge. Conductor wide, sclerotized, with two upper and a lower processes (Fig. 6A, B ). Tegulum sclerotized, with two upper (a wide, a narrow) and one lower (a narrow) processes (Fig. 6D, E ). Embolus filiform, with a membranous hook at the constriction near the middle (Figs 5D , 6C ), its distal part coiled into 2.5 loops around cymbial conductor (Figs 4 , 5C ). Spermatic ducts faintly visible through the surface of palpal bulb and cymbium.

Female. Total length 0.92. Carapace 0.40 long, 0.46 wide, 0.58 high. Clypeus 0.08 high. Sternum 0.28 long, 0.30 wide. Abdomen 0.52 long, 0.46 wide, 0.62 high. Length of legs: I 1.77 (0.52, 0.16, 0.40, 0.34, 0.35); II 1.38 (0.46, 0.14, 0.34, 0.20, 0.24); III 0.98 (0.30, 0.12, 0.20, 0.16, 0.20); IV 1.08 (0.30, 0.10, 0.24, 0.20, 0.24).

Somatic characters

(Fig. 3D-F ). Coloration: carapace dark brown centrally, yellow-brown marginally. Ocular base black. Chelicera, endites, and labium yellow. Sternum yellow with two brown stripes. Legs yellow and black. Abdomen dark brown with white spots dorsally, yellow with brown spots ventrally. Prosoma: carapace nearly pear-shaped in dorsal view. Cephalic part slightly elevated. Sternum triangular, covered with sparse short setae. Legs: covered with setae and bristles. Femurs I and II with femoral spot. Abdomen: nearly globose.

Epigyne (Fig. 7A-C ): spermathecae heavily sclerotized, nearly vertically ovoid, spaced by ca 3 × their width. Copulatory duct almost all membranous cystic structure with irregular folds, surround the entirely spermathecae, which enters the spermathecae from posteromedially after gradually harden at the posterior area of spermathecae. Weakly sclerotized fertilization duct starts at the posterolateral side of spermatheca, and then folds back toward the center of vulva (Fig. 7C ).

Distribution.

Seychelles, Congo, and Comoros.

Figures

Figure 3. Microdipoena elsae Saaristo, 1978, male (A-C) and female (D-F) from Seychelles A habitus, dorsal B habitus, ventral C habitus, lateral D habitus, lateral E habitus, dorsal F habitus, ventral. Abbrrviations: FS = femoral spot, MC = Metatarsal clasping spine, TS = tibial spine on male leg I. Scale bars: 0.50 mm.

Figure 4. Microdipoena elsae Saaristo, 1978, from Seychelles A male palp, apical B male palp, dorsal C male palp, prolateral D male palp, retrolateral. Abbreviations: Cy = cymbium, CyC = cymbial conductor, CyFs = setae on cymbial fold, E = embolus, Pa = patella, PC = paracymbium, SD = spermatic duct, T = tegulum, Ti = tibia. Scale bars: 0.10 mm.

Figure 5. Microdipoena elsae Saaristo, 1978, from Seychelles A conductor, from behind B tegulum, from behind C male palp, ventral D bulbus with conductor and tegulum removed, dextrolateral. Abbreviations: E = embolus, T = tegulum. Scale bars: 0.10 mm.

Figure 6. Microdipoena elsae Saaristo, 1978, from Seychelles A conductor, dorsal B conductor, ventral C embolic distal end, dextrolateral D tegulum, dorsal E tegulum, ventral F cymbium, dorsal G cymbium, apical-lateral H cymbium, prolateral. Abbreviations: Cy = cymbium, CyC = cymbial conductor, CyF = cymbial fold, CyFs = setae on cymbial fold, CyP = cymbial process, PC = paracymbium. Scale bars: 0.10 mm.

Figure 7. Microdipoena elsae Saaristo, 1978, from Seychelles A epigyne, ventral B vulva, ventral C vulva, dorsal. Abbreviations: CD = copulatory duct, FD = fertilization duct, S = spermathecal, Sp = scape. Scale bars: 0.10 mm.