Meotipa pseudopicturata, Deng & Agnarsson & Chen & Liu, 2022

Deng, Zhongwei, Agnarsson, Ingi, Chen, Zhanqi & Liu, Jie, 2022, Meotipa species (Araneae, Theridiidae) from China, ZooKeys 1082, pp. 153-178 : 153

Meotipa pseudopicturata sp. nov.

Figures 7A-H , 10

Type material.

Holotype female (CBEE). Yunnan Province: Mengla County, Menlun Town, Xishuangbanna Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences (21.93°N, 101.25°E, 570 m), 22 March 2018, F.X. Liu & Z.C. Li leg. Paratypes. Yunnan Province: 7♀, same data as holotype.

Etymology.

The species epithet refers to its similarity to Meotipa picturata Simon, 1895.

Diagnosis.

Meotipa pseudopicturata sp. nov. is similar to M. picturata (see Murthappa et al. 2017: figs 1A-J, 2A-F, 4A-D) and M. sahyadri (see Kulkarni et al. 2017: figs 1-38) in having a deep round atrium, and having the copulatory ducts openings in the atrium (Fig. 7E ). It can be distinguished from the latter two by the following combination of characters: (1) The tip of rod-shaped projection is narrower than its basal part in this new species, but wide in M. picturata (see Murthappa et al. 2017: fig. 4C) and M. sahyadri (see Kulkarni et al. 2017: fig. 21); (2) the ends of the copulatory ducts are curved and enter the spermathecae ventrally in M. pseudopicturata sp. nov. (Fig. 7F ), and laterally in M. picturata (see Murthappa et al. 2017: figs 1J, 4D) and M. sahyadri (see Kulkarni et al. 2017: fig. 18); (3) fertilization ducts relatively short, proximal part confronting without curve in M. pseudopicturata sp. nov. (Fig. 7H ), but relatively long, proximal part confronting with an apical curve in M. picturata (see Murthappa et al. 2017: fig. 4D) and M. sahyadri (see Kulkarni et al. 2017: fig. 18). In addition, M. pseudopicturata sp. nov. can be distinguished from other Meotipa species by the long and triangular opisthosoma which extends beyond spinnerets ~ 3/4 of total abdomen length, with blunt end curved ventrally.

Description.

Female (holotype). Total length 3.31; Prosoma length 1.08, width (at middle) 1.11, height (at middle) 0.69; Opisthosoma length 2.26, width (at middle) 0.91, height (at middle) 1.83; Eye diameters: ALE 0.07, AME 0.08, PLE 0.08, PME 0.07; Eye interdistances: AME-AME 0.05, ALE-ALE 0.10, PLE-ALE contiguous, PLE-PLE 0.26, PME-PME 0.10, PME-PLE 0.08, AME-ALE 0.03; Clypeus height (at middle) 0.43, width (at middle) 0.15; Measurements of legs: Leg I (right) 12.44 [4.23, 0.54, 2.58, 4.20, 0,89], II (right) 8.11 [2.73, 0.44, 1.65, 2.55, 0.74], III (right) 4.7 [1.68, 0.31, 0.99, 1.28, 0.44], IV (right) 10.91 [4.06, 0.38, 2.42, 3.44, 0.61]. Prosoma anteriorly and posteriorly truncated, medially flat, glabrous; cephalic area elevated. Carapace with black stripes, medially radiating streaks; fovea broad, smooth with distinct depression and irregular ridges (Fig. 7A ). All eyes nearly uniform in size. Sternum black, heart shaped (Fig. 7C ). Labium contiguous with the sternum, short with small hairs. Chelicerae vertical, black with red fangs (Fig. 7A-C ). Femur, patella, and tibia with lanceolate spines distally; tibia with reddish black spot distally; leg segments except tibia with short, fine, dense hairs; femur IV with a row of lanceolate spines distoventrally; metatarsus I blackish distally. Leg formula 1423. Pedipalp short relative to its body size; tibia dorsally with lanceolate spines, long proximally, distally small with swelling. Opisthosoma triangular, very broad in lateral view, its dorsum provided with long alternate red and black stripes and white spots, caudal region knobbed extending downwardly towards spinnerets, provided with lanceolate spines. Venter transparent, some small black and white patches posteriorly (Fig. 7C ). Atrium broad, with a rod-shaped projection apically (Fig. 7D ); copulatory openings depressed, contiguous, located on the end of rod-shaped projection (Fig. 7E ); copulatory ducts moderately long, tube curved extremely entering into ventral view of spermatheca (Fig. 7F ); spermathecae oval-shaped, separated; fertilization duct thick, originating from basal spermathecae (Fig. 7H ).

Male. Unknown.

Distribution.

China (Yunnan) (Fig. 10 ).

Figures

Figure 7. Meotipa pseudopicturata sp. nov. A-C female habitus (flattened black spines on the abdomen and legs were broken off during taking photographs) (A dorsal B prolateral C ventral). D-H epigynum (D ventral, on the body E, F in the alcohol E ventral F dorsal G, H in gum arabic G ventral H dorsal). Scale bars: 1 mm (A-C); 0.1 mm (D-H). Abbreviations: CO = copulatory opening, CD = copulatory duct, FD = fertilization duct, S = spermathecae.

Figure 10. Map with sampling localities for Meotipa species from China: 1 M. argyrodiformis 2 M. pulcherrima 3 M. picturata 4 M. spiniventris 5 M. vesiculosa 6 M. pseudopicturata sp. nov. 7 M. striata sp. nov ..