Mysmenopsis corazon, Dupérré & Tapia, 2020

Dupérré, Nadine & Tapia, Elicio, 2020, Megadiverse Ecuador: a review of Mysmenopsis (Araneae, Mysmenidae) of Ecuador, with the description of twenty-one new kleptoparasitic spider species, Zootaxa 4761 (1), pp. 1-81 : 39-41

Mysmenopsis corazon new species

Figs 107–112 , map 1 (white circle).

Material examined. Male holotype from Ecuador, Cotopaxi, Via Moraspungo -El Corazon km 9 (-01.14891 - 79.15154) 836m, 6 Mar. 2019, ex: Linothele sp. web, E. Tapia ( QCAZ).

Additional material examined. Ecuador, Cotopaxi Province, San Ramon (-01.14891 -79.12135) 1052m, 6 Mar. 2019, 1♂, ex: Linothele sp. E. Tapia ( DTC) .

Etymology. The specific name is a noun in apposition taken from the type locality, El Corazón.

Diagnosis. Males most resemble M. alvaroi n. sp. and M. cienaga but are distinguished by the large rectangular paracymbium, deeply excavated prolatero-dorsally ( Fig. 111 , arrow points to deep excavation) and five cusps on the retrolateral edge of the tibia ( Fig. 110 ) whereas M. alvaroi n. sp. has a triangular paracymbium not deeply excavated prolatero-dorsally ( Fig. 103 ) and M. cienaga has three cusps on the ventral ledge of the palpal tibia ( Müller 1987, fig. 35).

Description. Male (holotype): Total length: 2.01; carapace length: 0.87; carapace width: 0.82; abdomen length: 1.14. Carapace dark orange-brown, pear-shaped; suffused black along pars cephalica and radiating lines ( Fig. 107 ). Sternum brown suffused with black; covered with long setae. Clypeus dark brown; high (4x AME). Chelicerae brown suffused with black; promargin with three teeth; retromargin not observed. Eyes: eight, rounded, all approximately equal size; ocular region on protuberance; AME separated by their radius, AME-LE touching; ALE- PLE contiguous, LE-PME separated by their diameter; PME separated by their radius. Abdomen: oval, light grey anteriorly with five white spots, dorsally with a line of four white spots followed by two and one medially (last one not seen on photo) ( Figs 107, 108 ). Legs: femur I dark orange-brown; femora II-IV orange-brown with dark patches basally, medially and apico-ventrally; tibiae I-IV orange-brown with dark brown patches medio and apico-ventrally; metatarsi I-IV orange-brown with dark band apically, tarsi light orange; femur and tibia I enlarged, metatarsus I slightly curved. Legs spination: patellae I-IV with one macroseta; tibia I with two prolateral clasping spurs and one macroseta; metatarsus I row of six macrosetae prolatero-ventrally and two clasping spurs apically ( Fig. 109 ); tibiae I-IV with one macroseta dorso-proximally; tibia II with three macrosetae ventrally. Total length leg I: 3.5 (1.1/0.38 /0.94/0.54/0.54). Genitalia: palpal tibia globular; retrolateral ledge bearing five cusps and ventral ledge bearing one cusp; two retrolateral trichobothria ( Fig. 110 ). Cymbium apically pointed, excavated; paracymbium large and rect- angular deeply excavated prolatero-dorsally ( Fig. 111 , arrow points to deep excavation). Tegulum oval ( Fig. 110 ). Embolus spine-like, with wide triangular base, without apophysis ( Figs 110, 112 ).

Female: unknown

Distribution. Only known from the type locality in Cotopaxi Province.

Natural history. The male holotype was collected in a Linothele sp. web between 836–1052m, in the Andean ecoregion in an evergreen seasonal foothill forest of the western Andes (BePn01) (Morales, 2013). At San Ramon the species is found in sympatry with M. alvaroi n. sp., a male and female Faiditus atopus ( Chamberlin & Ivie, 1936) were also collected in the same Linothele sp. web.

Figures

FIGURES 107–109. Mysmenopsis corazon n. sp., 107, Male habitus, dorsal view. 108, Male abdomen, dorsal view. 109, Male leg I, prolatero-dorsal view. Scale bar: 107, 108: 0.5mm; 109: 0.1mm.

FIGURES 110–112. Mysmenopsis corazon n. sp., 110, Male palp, retrolateral view. 111, Male palp, prolateral view (arrow points to deep excavation at the base of paracymbium). 112, Embolus and apophysis retrolateral view.

FIGURES 102–106. Mysmenopsis alvaroi n. sp., 102, Male palp, retrolateral view. 103, Male palp, prolateral view. 104, Embolus and apophysis retrolateral view. 105, Epigynum, ventral view. 106, Internal genitalia, dorsal view.