Malayathele, Schwendinger & Lehmann-Graber & Hongpadharakiree & Syuhadah, 2020

Schwendinger, Peter J., Lehmann-Graber, Christina, Hongpadharakiree, Komson & Syuhadah, Nurul, 2020, New euagrid spider species from Thailand and Malaysia, and new localities of Leptothele bencha (Arachnida: Araneae), Revue suisse de Zoologie 127 (2), pp. 423-453 : 451

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.35929/RSZ.0031
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7004852
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/6D7987B4-C634-FF89-1466-FD2C575FFD9C
treatment provided by	Carolina
scientific name	Malayathele
status	gen. nov.

Treatment

Malayathele View in CoL sp.

Material: MHNG; 2 juveniles; MALAYSIA, Perak, NE of Chenderiang , 300 m, rain forest; 22.-31.I.1994; leg. P.J. Schwendinger.

Remark: The locality ( Fig. 2 View Fig , locality 13) lies about 20 km south of Ulu Groh, the type locality of M. ulu sp. nov., and these specimens are presumably conspecific.

Malayathele sp.

Material: MHNG; 1 female; MALAYSIA, Kelantan, Jeram Pasu Waterfall , 100 m, rain forest; 10./ 11.I.1999; leg. P.J. Schwendinger.

Remarks: The locality ( Fig. 2 View Fig , locality 19) of this specimen is quite distant from the localities of the species described above. The spider is a fully adult female which possesses metatarsal preening combs and a relatively thin hair cover on the carapace, and therefore most likely belongs to the genus Malayathele gen. nov. Its vulva (not illustrated) resembles that of the M. cameronensis sp. nov. female in having reduced lateral receptacles; it is distinguished by narrow spermathecal trunks and by the lateral receptacles essentially lost.

? Malayathele sp.

Material: MHNG; 1 female (sample Sum-06/31); INDONESIA, North Sumatra Province, Lumban Rang National Park , near road from Prapat to Porsea , 2°36’14”N, 99°02’42”E, 1350 m, rain forest; 1.VII.2006; leg. P.J. Schwendinger. GoogleMaps

Remarks: This specimen resembles Malayathele specimens from Peninsular Malaysia in having metatarsal preening combs and a quite thin hair cover on the carapace. Due to the lack of cuspules and to the shape of the palpal coxae (with bulging ventral surface, pale and glabrous prolateral zone and without retrolateral-proximal heel) and of the labium (with pale and glabrous anterior zone) it clearly is not an early instar of a Macrothele (Macrothelidae) , a spider genus that also occurs on Sumatra and has a similar habitus. The specimen appears to be a female, but its genital region was not dissected. The locality (not given in Fig. 2 View Fig ) is far away from the localities of the species treated above, separated by the Straits of Malacca, and therefore it is possible that this specimen belongs to an undescribed genus. The MHNG houses extensive spider material collected by extraction of forest litter on Sumatra, but this is the only euagrid/diplurid specimen among them.