Tayshaneta emeraldae, Ledford, Joel, Paquin, Pierre, Cokendolpher, James, Campbell, Josh & Griswold, Charles, 2012

Ledford, Joel, Paquin, Pierre, Cokendolpher, James, Campbell, Josh & Griswold, Charles, 2012, Systematics, conservation and morphology of the spider genus Tayshaneta (Araneae, Leptonetidae) in Central Texas Caves, ZooKeys 167, pp. 1-102 : 25-26

Tayshaneta emeraldae sp. n. Figs 18 A–F39A–F 53B60

Type data.

Male holotype and female from Emerald Sink, Val Verde County, Texas, 3-November-1984, J. Reddell, M. Reyes, 29.84N, 101.55W, (AMNH).

Etymology.

The species name is taken in apposition to the type locality.

Diagnosis.

Tayshaneta emeraldae sp. n. can be separated from all Tayshaneta species, except Tayshaneta fawcetti , Tayshaneta grubbsi , Tayshaneta valverdae and Tayshaneta vidrio , by having the following combination of characters: male palpal tarsus divided apically; ventral sclerite short, mesoapically positioned (VS, Fig. 39E); retrolateral sclerite present, pocket-like (RS, Fig. 39D). Separated from Tayshaneta fawcetti , Tayshaneta grubbsi , Tayshaneta valverdae and Tayshaneta vidrio by having a distally tapering subquadrate embolus (E, Fig. 39D).

Description.

Male (holotype). Body length 1.45, carapace 0.63 long, 0.52 wide, length 1.20 × width. Carapace orange-brown, sparsely setose; eyes large, ocular area enclosed in a dark pattern (Figs 18 A–C). Legs elongate and thin, femur I 1.63 × carapace length, covered in fine setae and with few scattered spines.Palpal tarsus divided apically; retrolateral tibial spine smooth at its base, length 0.51 × tarsus width. Bulb suboval, length 1.66 × width; embolus subquadrate, with weak basal swelling (E, Fig. 39D), length 2.0 × width. Ventral sclerite stout, situated mesoapically (VS, Fig. 39E); retrolateral sclerite pocket-like, weakly invaginated (RS, Fig. 39D). Abdomen pale yellow, without pattern, 0.81 long, 0.61 wide, covered in fine setae.

Female (Emerald Sink).Body length 1.60, carapace 0.63 long, 0.50 wide, length 1.25 × width. Pigmentation and setation same as for male (Figs 18 D–F). Legs elongate and thin, femur I 1.4 × carapace length, covered in fine setae and with few scattered spines.Atrium trapezoidal, length 0.5 × width, spermathecae with twisted stalks and large, circular heads (Fig. 53B). Abdomen pale yellow, without pattern, 0.96 long, 0.65 wide, covered in fine setae.

Distribution.

Known only from Emerald Sink, Val Verde County, Texas (Fig. 60).