Missulena pinguipes, Miglio, Laura Tavares, Harms, Danilo, Framenau, Volker Wilhelm & Harvey, Mark Stephen, 2014

Miglio, Laura Tavares, Harms, Danilo, Framenau, Volker Wilhelm & Harvey, Mark Stephen, 2014, Four new Mouse Spider species (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Actinopodidae, Missulena) from Western Australia, ZooKeys 410, pp. 121-148 : 128-130

Missulena pinguipes sp. n. Figs 1B, 5 A–J, 6 A–K

Type material.

AUSTRALIA:Western Australia: holotype male, Digger Rocks, 89.1 km SE. of Hyden (site DR10), 32°43'58"S, 119°44'03"E, 30 November 2006, dry pitfall trap, D. Kamien (WAM T92331). Paratypes: 4 males, same data as holotype (WAM T92332, T92333, T92334, T92336); 1 male, Exclamation Lake (site SG09B), 32°42'26"S, 121°29'31"E, 23−29 April 2002, dry pitfall trap, R. Teale, G. Harold, A. Sanders and P. Higgs (WAM T45910).

Etymology.

The specific epithet is a Latin adjective referring to the swollen metatarsi IV of males (pinguis, fat; pes, foot).

Diagnosis.

Males of Missulena pinguipes sp. n. differ from all other named species of the genus, except Missulena mainae sp. n. by the swollen metatarsus IV (Fig. 6K). They differ from Missulena mainae sp. n. by the brown carapace and chelicerae, which are red in the latter. Females of Missulena pinguipes sp. n. are unknown.

Description.

Adult male, based on holotype (WAM T92331). Medium-sized mygalomorph spider (total length 5.00).

Colour: carapace (Fig. 5A, C) dark reddish-brown, margins dark brown; eye region (Fig. 5B) dark brown, anterior median eyes on black tubercle; chelicerae (Fig. 6I) dark reddish-brown, fangs reddish-brown; abdomen (Fig. 1B, 6F) iridescent blue with light blue longitudinal streaks; sternum (Fig. 6H) yellowish-brown, margins contoured dark yellowish-brown, sigillae yellowish-brown; labium and maxillae dark yellowish-brown (Fig. 6C, G); legs (Fig. 1B) yellowish-brown, tarsi and metatarsi ventrally yellow; spinnerets (Fig. 6J) pale gray, spigots white.

Carapace: 2.25 long, 2.37 wide; clypeus 0.17; fovea 0.71; caput and eye region (Fig. 5A) laterally elevated, strongly arched; fovea (Fig. 5C) very deep and strongly procurved, medially extending as triangular depression (Fig. 5C), pars cephalica with few granulations around the eyes and between the eyes and fovea, pars thoracica rugose with bands of fine, random fissures centered around fovea (Fig. 5C).

Eyes: OQ 3.5 times wider than long, occupying 0.83 of cephalic width; OAW 1.97; OAL 1.42; IPF 0.74; width of anterior eye group 1.35, with of posterior group 1.17, OQ length 0.38; PME 0.1; PLE 0.1; ALE 0.08; AME 0.1, AME on tubercle, 0.31 long, 0.41 wide; AME inter-distance 0.1; AME to ALE 0.47; AME to PME 0.11; PLE to ALE 0.22; PLE to PME 0.2; PME inter-distance 0.65; PME to ALE 0.27; eye region (Fig. 5B) with reduced setation although some setae present anterior to AME, between lateral eyes and between posterior eyes and fovea.

Chelicerae: 1.57 long, 0.82 wide; distally broad, diagonal, slightly conical; edges smoothly rounded; with weak transverse ridges which distally extend over entire length (Fig. 6I), without setae in area of transverse ridges but with ca. 30 setae along inner margin of chelicera; rastellum developed, pronounced, consisting of a sclerotised process with 9 strong conical spines and 18−22 disordered setae (Fig. 5D), 9 long setae extend forward from anterior margin of each chelicera and cover base of fang, setae largest on latero-ventral side; inner margin of cheliceral furrow with 3 rows of teeth (Fig. 6E); prolateral (inner) row with ca. 6 teeth, all teeth spaced; intermediate row with 3 proximal, spaced teeth; retrolateral (outer) row with 3 proximal, spaced teeth; with 1 distal tooth.

Maxillae: 0.91 long; 0.71 wide, almost square (Fig. 6C, D), ca. 64 pointed cuspules along entire anterior margin, distally pointed and extended into a prominent heel.

Labium: 0.51 long, 0.45 wide; conical, ca. 17 pointed cuspules anteriorly (Fig. 6G); labiosternal suture developed as a shallow groove; a pair of sigilla near labiosternal suture (Fig. 6H), developed as irregular, poorly-defined patches.

Sternum: 1.37 long, 1.48 wide; oval and rebordered (Fig. 6H), with prominent setae, arranged irregularly but denser lateral to labium; 4 pairs of sigillae, anterior and second pair (anterior-posterior) smallest but well defined, third pair bigger than 2 anterior pairs and well defined, and posterior pair bigger than all others, roughly oval but not well defined, all sigillae slightly depressed.

Abdomen: 2.28 long, 2.00 wide; roughly oval (Fig. 6F); 4 spinnerets (Fig. 6J), PLS 0.85 long, 0.37 wide, apical segment domed; PMS 0.31 long, 0.14 wide.

Pedipalp: length of trochanter 0.74, femur 1.62, patella 0.92, tibia 1.51, tarsus 0.55; entire palp is aspinose, femur longer than tibia, tarsus terminally blunt (Fig. 5F); bulb pyriform and rather stout than globular (Fig. 5G−J), 2 strongly sclerotised sections connected by a velar median structure ( “haematodocha”); bulb strongly twisted proventrally (Fig. 5G, I); embolus short, tapering and slightly twisted medially (Fig. 5H, J); embolus tip triangular, with a lamella well-developed (EL) and a very small tooth (DET) in ventral view (Fig. 5H, J).

Legs: with few brown setae, ventral setae of tibiae and metatarsi generally much longer and thicker than dorsal setae and bent towards the exterior; dorsal, lateral and ventral setae of tibiae and metatarsi longer than the diameter of respective segment; preening comb distal in tarsi, very small and plain; metatarsi I, II and III ascopulate; metatarsus IV swollen with dense scopula ventrally across entire length (Fig. 6K); tarsi I, II, III and IV ascopulate but with ca. 33, 24, 21, 17 fine ventral setae distally, respectively. Leg measurements: Leg I: femur 2.11, patella 1.03, tibia 1.51, metatarsus 1.44, tarsus 0.85, total 6.96. Leg II: 1.81, 0.96, 1.07, 1.33, 0.85, 6.03. Leg III: 1.74, 0.92, 1.14, 1.22, 0.77, 5.81. Leg IV: 1.85, 1.00, 1.25, 1.29, 0.74, 6.14. Formula 4123.

Trichobothria: arranged in discontinuous rows; tibiae I–II with 1 row of 3 in retrolateral and dorsal position, respectively; tibiae III-IV with 2 rows of 4−5 in dorsal position, first row situated prodorsally and second row situated retrodorsally; metatarsi with 2 in medio-dorsal position, tarsi I+II with 2, III+IV with 3, all trichobothria in medio-dorsal position.

Leg spination: pedipalp aspinose; leg I: tibia rv0−0−0, v3−3−7, pv0−0−0, d0−0−0; metatarsus rv2−1−1, v2−3−5, pv0−0−0, d0−0−0; tarsus rv1−1−1, v1−3−2, pv0−0−0, d0−0−0; leg II: tibia rv0−0−0, v3−3−4, pv0−0−0, d0−0−0; metatarsus rv0−1−0, v3−2−3, pv0−1−0, d0−0−0; tarsus rv0−2−0, v0−3−0, pv0−2−0, d0−0−0; leg III: tibia rv1−1−1, v2−2−5, pv0−0−1, d0−0−4; metatarsus rv0−2−0, v2−5−4, pv0−1−0, d0−0−3; tarsus rv0−2−1, v1−3−3, pv0−0−1, d0−0−2; leg IV: tibia rv0−0−0, v3−5−4, pv0, d1−0−2; metatarsus rv2−3−1, v0−0−0, pv3−4−3, d0−1−2; tarsus rv1−2−1, v1−5−3, pv0, d0−0−2; patellae I, II without rasps and spines (Fig. 6A), patella III with ca. 26 rasps in 8 oblique rows dorsally, median rows shorter than lateral rows and with less spines, distal spines forming a interrupted crown of spines in the border of the article (Fig. 6B); patella IV with 6 rasps retrolaterally and 12 thick and short spines dorsally.

Tarsal claws: leg I: 3−2/2; leg II: 3−4/2; leg III: 4−3/2; leg IV: 1−2/ 0−1; claws slightly shorter than spines of tarsi.

Variation in paratypes (N=5): total length 4.00−5.00; carapace 1.77−2.37 long, 2.37−2.6 wide; number of labial cuspules 15−30, maxillary cuspules 40−66; rastellum with 6-11 thick and conical spines.

Distribution.

This species is known only from the Mallee biogeographic region of southern Western Australia (Fig. 4).

Phenology and habitat preferences.

The specimens were collected in pitfall traps in woodland habitats in either April or November.