Badumna tangae, Zhu & Zhang & Yang, 2006

Zhu, Ming-Sheng, Zhang, Zhi-Sheng & Yang, Zi-Zhong, 2006, Discovery of the spider family Desidae (Araneae) in South China, with description of a new species of the genus Badumna Thorell, 1890, Zootaxa 1172, pp. 43-48 : 45-48

Badumna tangae sp. nov.

( Figs 1–6 )

Type material

Holotype female, Gongshan County (N 27°43’, E 98°39’), Yunnan Province, 2 May 2004, Zhi­Sheng Zhang and Zi­Zhong Yang leg., ( MHBU) ; paratypes: 2 males, 3 females, same data as holotype, ( MHBU: one male and three females) and ( DLC: one male) ; 2 females, Pianma (N 26°01’, E 98°37’), Lushui County , Yunnan Province, 9 May 2004, Zhi­Sheng Zhang and Zi­Zhong Yang leg., ( DLC).

Etymology

The specific name is a patronym in honor of Prof. Ying­Qiu Tang (College of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University), for her help during our study on Chinese spider fauna, name in genitive case.

Diagnosis

This new species resembles Badumna hirsuta Thorell, 1890 Thorell 1890: 323 ; Kulczynski 1908; Lehtinen 1967: 218, fig. 99) and B. insignis (L. Koch, 1872) ( Forster 1970: 66, figs 144–147; Yaginuma 1967: 170, figs E–F, sub Ixeuticus robustus ) in the general structure of the epigyne and palpal organ. However, the latter differs from described Badumna species in having the typical keel­like retrolateral ventral tibial apophysis replaced by a small, more medially placed blunt apophysis ( Figs 4–6 ). B. tangae is also characterised by ALE largest, rather than AME, which are smallest or subequal to PME ( Fig. 1 ); epigynal transverse ridge deeply triangular and copulatory ducts coiled into three rings ( Figs 2–3 ); male palpal tibia with a small apico­medially placed retrolateral ventral apophysis.

Description Female (holotype): Body length 6.03: prosoma 2.70 long, 2.02 wide; opisthosoma 3.51 long, 2.16 wide. Carapace silvery yellow brown, head pale orange with longer brown hairs, thoracic area with radiating dark stripes laterally and shorter brown hairs. Fovea a longitudinal narrow slit. From above, anterior eye row slightly recurved, posterior eye row procurved. All eyes with black rings. Eye diameters: AME 0.11, ALE 0.17, PME 0.13, PLE 0.15. Distances between eyes: AME–AME 0.11, AME–ALE 0.11, PME–PME 0.23, PME–PLE 0.23. MOA 0.40 long, front width 0.33, back width 0.46. Clypeus height 0.11. Chelicerae yellow brown, with three promarginal and two retromarginal teeth, condyle distinct and pale yellow. Labium yellow brown, wider than long (0.55:0.44), and shallowly notched apically and basolaterally. Maxillae yellow brown, 0.82 long, 0.48 wide. Sternum cordate, 1.43 long, 1.16 wide, dark yellow brown, with dark brown long setae only. Legs pale orange, with indistinct black bands, sparse brown hairs and weak spines. Tibiae I with 010/020 ventral spines. Metatarsus I with 4 dorsal trichobothria. Calamistrum occupying about 3/5 length of metatarsus IV. Superior claws of tarsi with 6 teeth, inferior claws without teeth. Leg formula: 1423.

Leg measurements:

Opisthosoma yellowish green with dark dorsal patterning. Dorsum clothed with long dark setae and fine white hairs, anteriorly with black patches, posteriorly with three black chevron marks, followed by three transverse black stripes on end of opisthosoma; diagonal black stripes on lateroventral opisthosoma. Venter with three longitudinal light brown midventral stripes. Cribellum divided. Epigynal transverse ridge wide and triangular, copulatory ducts long, with three coils.

Male (paratype): Body length 5.49: prosoma 3.42, long, 2.16 wide; opisthosoma 3.15 long, 1.62 wide. Carapace pale orange, head orange. Chelicerae, labium and maxillae dark brown. Eye diameters: AME 0.10, ALE 0.18, PME 0.11, PLE 0.15. Distances between eyes: AME–AME 0.10, AME–ALE 0.08, PME–PME 0.18, PME–PLE 0.15. MOA 0.40 long, front width 0.30, back width 0.40. Clypeus height 0.10. Tibiae I with 010/010 ventral spines. Metatarsus I with 4 dorsal trichobothria. Calamistrum a row of long and weak hairs at metatarsus IV. Leg formula: 1423.

Palp and leg measurements:

Palpal tibia with 3 apophyses: a small apico­medially placed retrolateral ventral apophysis, a triangular retrolateral apophysis and a retrodorsal apophysis distally. Median apophysis membranous and spoon­shaped, directed distad in ventral view. Distal conductor and embolus weakly curved. Sperm ducts distinct. Base of tegulum with conspicuous frontal extension. Colouration and general aspects like that of the female holotype.

Variations Body length ranges, females 4.95–6.30, males 4.05–5.49.

Distribution Known only from the area of Mt. Gaoligong.

Biology Webs were found under the barks of pines. Webs were small, irregular, sparse and nearly funnel­shaped.

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr X. P. Wang for providing some of the references and two anonymous referees for their helpful comments. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30170118, 30499341) to M. S. Zhu.

References

Brignoli, P.M. (1983) A catalogue of the Araneae described between 1940 and 1981. Manchester University Press, 755 pp.

Dalmas, R.de. (1917) Araignées de Nouvelle Zélande. Annales de la société entomologique de France, 86, 317–430.

Forster, R.R. (1970) The spiders of New Zealand. Part III. Otago Museum Bulletin, 3, 1–184.

Gray, M.R. (1983) The taxonomy of the semi­communal spiders commonly referred to the species Ixeuticus candidus (L. Koch) with notes on the genera Phryganoporus, Ixeuticus and Badumna (Araneae, Amaurobioidea). Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 106, 247–261.

Leech, R.E. (1972) A revision of the Nearctic Amaurobiidae (Arachnida: Araneida). Memoirs of the entomological Society Canada, 84, 1–182.

Lehtinen, P.T. (1967) Classification of the cribellate spiders and some allied families, with notes on the evolution of the suborder Araneomorpha. Annales Zoologici Fennici, 4, 199–468.

Murphy, F. & Murphy, J. (2000) An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia, Malayan Nature Society, Malaysia, 625 pp.

Platnick, N.I. (2005) The world spider catalog, version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, online at http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/index.html (Accessed 10 Nov 2005)

Pocock, R.I. (1895) Description of two new spiders obtained by Messrs J. J. Quelch and F. MacConnel on the summit of Mount Roraima, in Demerara; with a note upon the systematic position of the genus Desis. Annual Magazine of Natural History, 16 (6), 139–143.

Roth, V.D. (1967) Descriptions of the spider families Desidae and Argyronetidae. American Museum Novitates, 2292, 1–9.

Thorell, T. (1890) Studi sui ragni Malesi e Papuani. IV, 1. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, 28, 1–419.

Yaginuma, T. (1967) Revision and new addition to fauna of Japanese spiders, with descriptions of seven new species. Literary Department Review, Otemon Gakuin University, Osaka, 1, 87–107.

Yaginuma, T. (1976) Occurrence of an Australian spider Ixeuticus robustus (L. Koch) in Japan. The Otemon Bulletin for the Australian Studies, 2, 170–175.

Yin, C.M., Griswold, C.E. & Yan, H.M. (2002) A new ogre­faced spider (Deinopis) from the Gaoligong Mountains, Yunnan, China (Araneae, Deinopidae). Journal of Arachnology, 30, 610–612.

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Badumna tangae sp. nov. 1. Female body, dorsal view. 2–3. Epigyne. 2, ventral view; 3, internal duct system; 4–5. Male left palp. 4, ventral view; 5, retrolateral view; 6, Tibia, showing tibial apophyses, dorso­retrolateral view. Scale bars: 1, 1 mm; 2–6, 0.1 mm.