Orthobula spiniformis, Tso, I-Min, Zhu, Ming-Sheng, Zhang, Jun-Xia & Zhang, Feng, 2005

Tso, I-Min, Zhu, Ming-Sheng, Zhang, Jun-Xia & Zhang, Feng, 2005, Two new and one newly recorded species of Corinnidae and Liocranidae from Taiwan (Arachnida: Araneae), Acta Arachnologica 54 (1), pp. 45-49 : 47-48

Orthobula spiniformis new species

( Figs. 4-8 )

Types. Male holotype from Keng-Ting National Park, Pingtung County (22°36' N, 120°30' E), Taiwan, January 2001, collected by Y. L. Hsieh ( NMNS - THU -Ar -01-0191) ; 5 male and 1 female paratypes from Keng-Ting National Park, Pingtung County, Taiwan, April 2000, collected by Y. L. Hsieh ( NMNS - THU -Ar -01-0187 ) .

Etymology’. The specific name is from the Latin spiniformis , and refers to the embolus of male palp spinous in ventral view.

Diagnosis. The new species resembles Orthobula yaginumai Platnick 1977 ( Platnick 1977, p. 46, figs. 5-6) in the shape of bulb of male palp, but differs from the latter in distal apophysis of palpal femur small; embolus long, unbent and spine like in ventral view ( Figs. 5-6 ). This species is also similar to Orthobula crucifera Bosenberg & Strand 1906 ( Platnick 1977, p. 45, figs. 1-4), but can be distinguished from the latter by bulb of male palp longer, embolus longer and not twisted in lateral view ( Figs. 5-6 ); ducts of the epigynum connecting the openings with the bases of membranous sacs oval ( Figs. 7-8 ).

Male: Total length 1.80-1.94. Holotype total length 1.90: cephalothorax 0.95 long, 0.73 wide; abdomen 0.83 long, 0.70 wide. Carapace reddish brown, with lateral blackish brown stripes. Chelicerae yellowish brown, with 3 teeth on promargin and none on retromargin. Labium, endites and sternum reddish brown. Sternum with many punctuations. Legs yellowish brown. Tibiae I and II with 5 pairs of ventral spines, metatarsi I and II with 4 pairs of ventral spines. Abdomen covered with a scutum over the full length dor ­ sally, and ventrally with an epigastric scutum and a partial postgenital scutum; dorsum blackish brown, with a few reddish brown patches, venter grayish brown. Anterior eye row recurved, and posterior eye row almost straight. AME-AME 0.03, AME-ALE 0.01, PME-PME 0.05, PME-PLE 0.04; AME 0.05, ALE 0.07, PME 0.08, PLE 0.08. MOA 0.17 long, front width 0.13, back width 0.17. Labium wider than long (0.18: 0.13). Sternum longer than wide (0.56: 0.47). Measurements of palp and legs: palp 0.90 (0.26, 0.10, 0.10, 0.44); leg I 2.12 (0.65, 0.78, 0.47, 0.22), II 1.91 (0.55, 0.72, 0.42, 0.22), III 1.64 (0.49, 0.59, 0.31, 0.25), IV 2.24 (0.60, 0.77, 0.57, 0.30). Leg formula: 4 12 3. Palpal femur with a small ventral apophysis distally, patella and tibia short; tibia with a small triangular retrolateral apophysis; bulb globose and triangular, with long and unbent embolus ( Figs. 5-6 ).

Female. Total length 2.45: cephalothorax 1.09 long, 0.82 wide; abdomen 1.46 long, 1.04 wide. Dorsum of abdomen grayish brown, lacking dorsal scutum, with 2 pairs of yellowish brown sigilla. Other characters as in male holotype. Measurements of legs: I 2.50 (0.68, 0.95, 0.57, 0.30), II 2.26 (0.68, 0.83, 0.48, 0.27), III 2.00 (0.59, 0.70, 0.44, 0.27), IV 2.70 (0.77, 0.91, 0.69, 0.33). Leg formula: 4, 1, 2, 3. Epigynum almost quadrate; vulva with a pair of oval spermathecae posteriorly and a pair of large membranous sacs attached in the middle with its base large, round and sclerotized ( Figs. 7-8 ).

Distribution. Taiwan ( Pingtung County).

Figures

Figs. 4 - 8. Orthobula spiniformis new species. — 4. Male, dorsal view; 5. left male palp, ventral view; 6. same, retrolateral view; 7. epigynum, ventral view; 8. vulva, dorsal view. (4 - 6: holotype male, 7 - 8: a female paratype from Keng-Ting National Park, Taiwan. Scales for Fig. 4, 0.5 mm; for Figs. 5 - 8. 3, 0.1 mm)