Aptostichus sabinae, Valdez-Mondragon, Alejandro & Cortez-Roldan, Mayra R., 2016

Valdez-Mondragon, Alejandro & Cortez-Roldan, Mayra R., 2016, On the trapdoor spiders of Mexico: description of the first new species of the spider genus Aptostichus from Mexico and the description of the female of Euctenizazapatista (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Euctenizidae), ZooKeys 641, pp. 81-102 : 83-87

Aptostichus sabinae sp. n. Figs 1-4, 5-7, 8-12, 13-20

Type material.

MEXICO: Oaxaca: 1♂ holotype (CNAN-T1121) from Cueva Li Nita (lat 18.14767°, lon -96.79844°, 1919 m), Municipio Huautla de Jiménez, 12-April-2014, J. Mendoza, J. Cruz, S. Davlantes, M. Minkton Cols.

Etymology.

This species is dedicated to the María Sabina Magdalena García " María Sabina", a famous Mazatec shaman due to her traditional knowledge of healing and ceremonial use of hallucinogenic mushrooms who was born in 1894 in Huautla de Jiménez (municipality of the type locality), Oaxaca, Mexico.

Diagnosis.

Males are easily distinguished from the other known species of Aptostichus by the combination of the following characters: 1) a very long, slender and sigmoidal unique embolus (Figs 8, 9, 10, 12); 2) massive ventral and prolateral spines on the palpal tibiae (Figs 8, 11); 3) retrolateral-ventral small finger-shaped projection on metatarsus I (Fig. 19, arrows Figs 17, 18); 4) by having many spines on tibiae and metatarsi III and IV (Fig. 20); and 5) a unique dorsal opisthosomal pattern (Fig. 1).

Description.

Male (holotype): Specimen collected manually, preserved and observed in 80% ethanol. Measurements: Total length (prosoma + opisthosoma) 8.30. Carapace 3.84 long, 3.12 wide. Clypeus length 0.18. Diameter of AME 0.13, ALE 0.25, PME 0.18, PLE 0.23. Labium: LBl 0.23, LBw 0.53. Sternum: STRl 1.85, STRw 1.65. Leg lengths: I femur 2.75/ patella 1.80/ tibia 2.2/ metatarsus 1.88/ tarsus 1.36/ total 9.99; II- 2.50/ 1.64/ 1.88/ 1.68/ 1.24/ 8.94; III- 2.25/ 1.32/ 1.76/ 2.40/ 1.28/ 9.01; IV- 3.00/ 1.60/ 2.48/ 3.50/ 1.52/ 12.10. Leg formula: 4-1-3-2. Prosoma: Carapace longer than wide, with surface smooth, setose, pyriform shaped, light brown coloration (Figs 1, 3). Ocular region slightly elevated (Figs 3, 5, 6). Foveal groove slightly deep (Fig. 3). AER slightly procurved, PER slightly recurved (Figs 3, 6). Largest ALE, smallest AME (Fig. 6). Sternum longer than wide, nonagonal shaped, orange, more setose towards posterior margin, without sigilla (Fig. 4). Labium wider than long, orange, with long setae anteriorly, without cuspules (Fig. 7). Endites long and setose, with an apical-prolateral conspicuous conical apophysis, with a patch of 11-13 small cuspules on proximal inner part on each endite (Fig. 7). Chelicerae: Promargin furrow with 6 teeth, retromargin furrow with single row of very long setae. Rastellum consists of numerous long setae, but without stout spines. Opisthosoma: Longer than wide, setose, beige, with irregular brown pattern dorsally; ventrally with brown undefined lines, close to spinnerets (Figs 1, 2). Spinnerets beige. PMS small and rounded apically, single segment, with spigots. PLS long and conical apically, all 3 segments with spigots: basal segment length> median segment> distal segment. Legs: Light tarsal scopulae on all legs (Fig. 16). Tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi with trichobothria: Tibiae I-IV: two prolateral-dorsal rows with 9 trichobothria each, distal ones becoming larger; metatarsi I and II: one dorsal row with 12; metatarsi III: one dorsal row with 15; metatarsi IV: one dorsal row with 19; tarsi I: slightly staggered dorsal row with 10; tarsi II: slightly staggered dorsal row with 12; tarsi III: slightly staggered dorsal row with 10; tarsi IV: slightly staggered dorsal row with 11. Legs spination pattern: Tibiae I: v(2+2+2) (one of the last spines -retrolateral- is massive) (Figs 14, 15), p(1) (Fig. 13); tibiae II: v(2+2+2), p(1+1); metatarsi I: v(2+1); metatarsi II: v(1+2+2), p(1). Leg III and IV spination pattern is illustrated in Figure 20. Pedipalps: Articles pale orange, slender, femora and tibiae with long setae ventrally (Figs 8, 9). Patellae with distal dorsal-prolateralspine. Tibiae with massive ventral and prolateral spines (Figs 8, 10- 12). Cymbium with seven dorsoapical spines (arrow, Fig. 11). Bulb pyriform, turned ventrally toward a concavity on ventral part of tibiae (Figs 8, 9, 10, 12). Embolus long, slender and sigmoidal, almost with the same length as tibiae (Figs 8, 9, 10, 12).

Female. Unknown.

Remarks.

Aptostichus sabinae sp. n. resembles Aptostichus asmodaeus ( Bond 2012: figs 127-132), from Contra Costa County, Mount Diablo State Park, California mainly in the shape of the retrolateral-ventral small finger-shaped projection on metatarsi I (arrows Figs 17, 18; Bond 2012: fig. 128). However, the spination pattern in leg I, the embolus and bulb shape (Figs 10, 12), the spination pattern on the ventral and prolateral part of palps tibiae (Fig. 11) (absent in Aptostichus asmodaeus ; Bond 2012: figs 131, 132), and the opisthosoma dorsal pattern differ in both species ( Bond 2012: figs 127-132). Following Bond (2012) and the synapomorphies that support each species groups, Aptostichus sabinae sp. n. does not fit into any of the groups. The sierra species group composed by four species is supported by two synapomorphies: long sternum and a long male metatarsus I ( Bond 2012: figs 337, 338, 340), in Aptostichus sabinae the sternum is nonagonal shaped (Fig. 4) and the male metatarsus I is shorter (Figs 13, 14). The simus species group composed by eight species and supported by six synapomorphies: 1) absence of cuspules on male endites, present in Aptostichus sabinae (Fig. 7); 2) male palpal tibia stout ( Bond 2012: figs 278, 287), in Aptostichus sabinae the palpal tibia is thinner (Figs 8, 9); 3) male palpal tibia spines short and positioned retrolaterally ( Bond 2012: figs 278, 287), in Aptostichus sabinae the palpal tibia spines are long, scattered and positioned prolaterally (Figs 8, 9); 4) stout embolus ( Bond 2012: figs 277, 306), Aptostichus sabinae has a long and thin embolus (Figs 10, 12); 5) embolus is dorsal - ventrally compressed ( Bond 2012: figs 277), in Aptostichus sabinae is not (Figs 8, 9, 10, 12); and 6) retrolateral, distal most aspect of the cymbium formed as a distinct process ( Bond 2012: fig. 277), absent in Aptostichus sabinae (Fig. 10). The hesperus species group, composed by thirteen species, is supported mainly by an offset retrolaretal rastellar spine ( Bond 2012: fig. 189), which is absent in Aptostichus sabinae (Fig. 5). Also, four characters support the monophyly of this species group: 1) lighter carapace and 2) abdominal coloration, whereas in Aptostichus sabinae both colorations are darker than the other species of the group (Figs 1, 3); and 4) long and 5) sinuous spermathecal stalk, is unknown in Aptostichus sabinae . Finally, the atomarius species group, the most diverse and composed by fifteen species, is supported by three weak synapomorphies: 1) heavy carapace pubescence ( Bond 2012: figs 101, 113), 2) dense female tarsal scopulae (38) and a distinct secondary spermathecal bulb. However, the carapace of Aptostichus sabinae has a slight carapace pubescence (Fig. 3), and the spermathecal bulb is unknown so far. Because to the synapomorphies explained above and mostly of them absent in Aptostichus sabinae , its placement within any of the species group proposed by Bond (2012) is uncertain. For that reason, we consider this new species as inserta sedis until the female of the species and more data and mainly new species from Mexico can be collected.

Natural history.

The holotype specimen was hand collected inside a cave, in a temperate forest at 1919 m of elevation. Although the specimen was collected in a cave, it does not present any troglomorphism or adaptation to cave life, and so might be considered a trogloxene.

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality (Fig. 53).