Sinanapis thaleri, Ono, H., 2009

Ono, H., 2009, A new species of the genus Sinanapis (Araneae: Anapidae) from Lam Dong province, southern Vietnam., Contrib. nat. Hist. 12, pp. 1201-1208 : 1022-1027

Sinanapis thaleri sp. nov. (Figs. 1 - 14)

Diagnosis: This new species is first assumed as a member of the genus Textricella Hickman, 1945 , mainly by the presence of a modified patella of the male palp, and resembles T. parva Hickman, 1945 from Tasmania and T. complexa Forster, 1959 from Australia. These species have a complicated structure of the male palpal patella with a grater-like apophysis with many minute teeth. However, this new species can be easily distinguished from these by the simple and filiform embolus (Figs. 10 - 11), the eye-arrangement (Fig. 1) and the shape of the chelicera (Figs. 3 - 5). The new species is more closely related to Sinanapis crassitarsus recently described by Wunderlich & Song (1995) from Southwest China, but differs from the latter in the details. Other than genital features, the new spider resembles the Chinese species by the arrangement of the eyes in three groups, the condition of the chelicera with large teeth and the presence of a distinct posterior plate of the opisthosoma.

Type specimen: Holotype: male, from Mt. Lang Biang , 1900 m alt. near peak, Da Lat, Lam Dong Province , Vietnam, 2 - VI- 2002, S. Nomura leg. ( NSMT-Ar 5960 ) .

Measurement: Body length 1.69 mm; prosoma length 0.79 mm, width 0.62 mm, height 0.71 mm; opisthosoma length 0.85 mm, width 0. 85 mm, height 0.96 mm; lengths of legs [total length (femur + patella + tibia + metatarsus + tarsus)]: I 2.71 mm (0.86 + 0.31 + 0.72 + 0. 28 + 0.54), II 2.13 mm (0.67 + 0.26 + 0.50 + 0. 25 + 0.45), III 1.50 mm (0.44 + 0.18 + 0.31 + 0.20 + 0.37), IV 1.86 mm (0.59 + 0.20 + 0.43 + 0.24 + 0.40).

Prosoma (Figs. 1 - 6): Carapace longer than wide (length / width 1.27), very high (height / width 1.15), highest at the ocular area, without setae. Median furrow absent, surface of carapace strongly sclerotized with reticulation forming radial lines, six teeth, 1-1-2- 2 in order, present in the cephalic part behind the eyes, base of pedicel forming a collar. Eyes set in three groups (Fig. 1), six in number, AME lacking, the posterior eye-row re-curved in dorsal view. Both lateral eyes close to each other, all eyes similar in size, but ALE seems to be slightly larger than the others, ALE-ALE sub-equal to their diameter, longer than PME-PLE, clypeus wide (Figs. 2 - 3), much longer than ALE-ALE (15: 4). Chelicerae with three large teeth on the retro-margin of the fang furrow, the distal two teeth on a common protuberance (Figs. 4 - 5), labium fused with anterior margin of sternum, wider than long, maxillae distally wide and obtuse, sternum strongly sclerotized and grained, longer than wide (8: 6) (Fig. 6).

Legs: patellae of legs III–IV with a long, apico-dorsal spine, respectively; tibiae III–IV dorsally with a long spine; metatarsus shorter than patella in legs I–II; metatarsus and tarsus of leg I with several ventral, conical spines (Fig. 7); tarsal claws of the legs without distinct teeth. Leg formula: I-II-IV-III.

Male palp (Figs. 10 - 14): Femur simple with a few long hairs, without any apophysis, distal margin slightly sclerotized; patella extremely modified, with a large, dorsal apophysis and a complicated process (Fig. 13) and a grater-like apophysis with many teeth on dorsal surface (Fig. 14); tibia not clearly recognizable. Cymbium short and simple, palpal organ fitted in the cymbium, conductor absent, embolus distally filiform (Figs. 10 - 11).

Opisthosoma (Figs. 1 - 2, 8 - 9): as long as wide, very high, with a firm collar, the posterior part covered by a large plate rounded and sclerotized (Fig. 8), the surface of the plate relatively smooth and transparent. Anterior spinnerets and posterior lateral spinnerets thick and conical, posterior median spinnerets small but visible, colulus present but indistinct (Fig. 9). Venter of opisthosoma very narrow, cover of booklung distinct, but booklung replaced by trachea and without lung slit, posterior trachea seems to be lacking.

Coloration and markings (Figs. 1 - 2, 8): Carapace and chelicerae dark reddish brown, shiny, maxillae and labium reddish brown, sternum reddish brown with black reticulum, femur of palp yellow, palpal organ reddish brown, femora I and II reddish brown, other segments of legs yellowish brown. Opisthosoma dorsally reddish brown, its posterior plate amber with black marking (Fig. 8).

Distribution: Vietnam (at present known only from the type locality).

Etymology: The specific name is dedicated to the late Dr. Konrad Thaler in memory of his contribution to the study of various spiders mainly from the European Alps.

Remarks: The position of the genus Textricella in the phylogeny of Araneoidea is not clear. Although Forster & Platnick (1981) at first used Textricellidae established by Hickman (1945) with Textricella as the type genus, they regarded the small family as a junior synonym of Micropholcommatidae Hickman, 1943 , after a few years ( Platnick & Forster 1986). The family Micropholcommatidae is characterized by the presence of a cheliceral gland mound and the condition of booklungs and tracheae, and the modified shape of the male palpal patellae. That included several genera known only from the Australian Region and South America, but spiders of the group should occur also in Asia as evidenced by the species of Sinanapis and Enielkenie acaroides Ono, 2006 , recently recorded from Taiwan (Ono, Chang & Tso 2006). The present author, however, treats the family Anapidae Simon, 1895 , in a broadest sense including micropholcommatids, following Schütt (2003) and Wunderlich (2004), until more information about these spiders, especially those from Asia, will emerge.