Frontipodopsis cf. reticulatifrons Szalay, 1945

Pešić, Vladimir, Smit, Harry & Saboori, Alireza, 2012, 3330, Zootaxa 3330, pp. 1-67 : 59

Frontipodopsis cf. reticulatifrons Szalay, 1945

( Figs. 46A – E)

Material examined. Iran, Hormozgan Province, IR22-2011, Rudan city N of Bandar Abbass, 5 km N of Rudan, Rudan stream, interstitial dig, 27º 28.748 N, 57º 15.648 E, 210 m asl, 21.vii.2011 1/0/0 (mounted); same data as holotype, surface water, 0/0/1 (mounted) .

Morphology. Male — Idiosoma ( Fig. 46A) L/H 491/256 (ratio 1.92). Genital field fused with the secondary sclerotization at posterior ventral shield margin. Three pairs of Ac, distance between outer margins of Ac-1 and Ac- 3, 63. Ejaculatory complex ( Fig. 46C) L 86. Palp ( Fig. 46B): total L 178, dL: P-1, 20; P-2, 51; P-3, 29; P-4, 52; P- 5, 26; L P-2/P-4 ratio 0.98; palp morphology as illustrated in Fig. 46B. Legs: dL of I-L-4-6 ( Fig. 43D): 43, 59, 75; segments of IV-L expanded and flattened ( Fig. 46E); dL of IV-L: 109, 38, 84, 88, 95, 75.

Remarks. In having the idiosoma proportionally longer and lower (L/H ratio> 1.5), and the proportionally shorter segments of the fourth leg, especially IV-L-5 and -6 (proportionally longer in Indian subspecies F. reticulatifrons indicus , see Cook 1967), the specimen reported here is most similar to the European subspecies F. reticulatifrons reticulatifrons , but differs from typical specimens in the IV-L segments being more expanded and flattened.

A further subspecies, F. reticulatifrons persicus Schwoerbel & Serpasgozarian, 1980 , decribed from a single female from northern Iran (Mazandaran Province), is similar in having more expanded segments of the fourth leg (especially IV-L-4-6), but differs in having the idiosoma proportionally much higher (idiosoma L/H ratio 1.4, data taken from Schwoerbel & Sepasgosarian 1980).

Information about the variability of diagnostic characters of these subspecies is lacking. For this reason, we are convinced that it is best to postpone a decision on the taxonomic state of this specimen, probably a representative of an undescribed (sub) species, until the variability in additional specimens is known.

Habitat. Interstitial waters associated with sand and gravel deposits of stream.