Merizocera peraderiya Li, 2020

Chang, Wan-Jin, Yao, Zhiyuan & Li, Shuqiang, 2020, Twenty-eight new species of the spider genus Merizocera Fage, 1912 (Araneae, Psilodercidae) from South and Southeast Asia, ZooKeys 961, pp. 41-118 : 41

Merizocera peraderiya Li sp. nov. Figures 25 , 26 , 52

Type material.

Holotype: male (IZCAS), Royal Botanic Gardens (7°16.52'N, 80°35.71'E, elevation 484 m), Peraderiya Town, Kandy District, Central Province, Sri Lanka, 7 October 2014, S. Kosala leg. Paratype: 1 female (IZCAS), same data as holotype.

Etymology.

The specific name refers to the type locality; noun in apposition.

Diagnosis.

Diagnosis features of males and females are discussed in M. kurunegala sp. nov. Males with angularly bent embolus and furcate conductor (Fig. 25B ). Females with a pair of twisted spermathecae (Fig. 26A ).

Description.

Male (holotype). Total length 1.33; carapace 0.66 long, 0.59 wide; abdomen 0.67 long, 0.46 wide. Carapace circular, brownish, with dark brown marks laterally and dark brown median stripe on anterior half (Fig. 26C ). Fovea shallow. Thoracic region distinctly elevated medially. Clypeus brownish, with dark brown marks medially. Labium dark brown. Sternum dark brown but lighter medially. Abdomen slightly elongated, dark grey, with dark brown marks dorsally and ventrally. Legs light brown; measurements: I 7.81 (2.05, 0.22, 2.38, 2.20, 0.96), II 5.35 (1.41, 0.22, 1.60, 1.41, 0.71), III 4.11 (1.13, 0.19, 1.19, 1.06, 0.54), IV 6.49 (1.66, 0.21, 2.00, 1.78, 0.84). Palp (Fig. 25A-D ): femur slender, 2.5 times longer than patella; patella not swollen; tibia slightly swollen, half as long as femur; cymbium with distal protrusion, length ratio of dorsal elongation and cymbium 0.72; bulb pale yellow, pyriform with embolus and conductor arising distally; embolus thin and dark with pointed tip, emerging laterally, bent at right-angle; conductor basally attached with embolus, bifurcate, one slender and slightly bent, the other hooked and twice as wide, conductor stem half as long as the width of bulb.

Female (paratype). General features and colouration similar to those of male (Fig. 26D, E ). Measurements: total length 1.28; carapace 0.61 long, 0.51 wide; abdomen 0.69 long, 0.52 wide. Leg measurements: I 4.25 (1.06, 0.20, 1.28, 1.05, 0.66), II 3.25 (0.83, 0.19, 0.92, 0.80, 0.51), III 2.66 (0.67, 0.17, 0.71, 0.68, 0.43), IV missing. Epigastric area (Fig. 26B ): dark brown, patch nearly elliptical. Endogyne (Fig. 26A ) with a pair of twisted S-shaped spermathecae, ratio of the width of spermatheca to the interdistance of spermathecae 1:4.

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality (Sri Lanka; Fig. 52 ).

Figures

Figure 25. Merizocera peraderiya sp. nov., holotype male. A Bulb, dorsal view B bulb, dorsal view, embolus and conductor distorted C palp, prolateral view D palp, retrolateral view. Abbreviations: CO = conductor, CP = cymbial protrusion, EM = embolus.

Figure 26. Merizocera peraderiya sp. nov., holotype male and paratype female. A Endogyne, dorsal view B female epigastric area, ventral view C male habitus, dorsal view D female habitus, dorsal view E female habitus, ventral view. Abbreviation: SP = spermatheca.

Figure 52. Distribution records of the new species of Merizocera from Sri Lanka. 1 M. colombo sp. nov. 2 M. galle sp. nov. 3 M. kandy sp. nov. 4 M. kurunegala sp. nov. 5 M. peraderiya sp. nov. 6 M. ratnapura sp. nov. 7 M. salawa sp. nov. 8 M. thenna sp. nov. 9 M. uva sp. nov.