Gongylidiellum nepalense Wunderlich, 1983

Tanasevitch, Andrei V., 2011, Linyphiid spiders (Araneae, Linyphiidae) from Pakistan and India, Revue suisse de Zoologie 118 (3), pp. 561-598 : 570-572

Gongylidiellum nepalense Wunderlich, 1983

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED: Gongylidiellum nepalense, SMF 31701, 1 Ƌ, 2 ♀ paratypes, NEPAL, Thaksang above Tukche, coniferous forest, 3150-3400 m a.s.l.; 5.-10.VII.1970; leg. J. Martens.

OTHER MATERIAL: 8 ♀, INDIA, West Bengal, Darjeeling District, Tonglu , 3100 m a.s.l., near top, sifting in dwarf forest under brushes on pasture; 16.X.1978; leg. C. Besuchet & I. Löbl [16b]. – 1 Ƌ, 6 ♀, Tonglu , 3100 m a.s.l., near top, under stones; 16.X.1978; leg. C. Besuchet & I. Löbl [16a]. – 1 Ƌ, 2 ♀ ( ZMMU), same, 3100 m a.s.l., near top, sifting in dwarf forest under brushes on pasture; 16.X.1978; leg. C. Besuchet & I. Löbl [16b]. – 1 Ƌ, 2 ♀ ( ZMMU), same, 2700 m a.s.l., forest, sifting near litter; 16.X.1978; leg. C. Besuchet & I. Löbl [17].

REMARKS: The species was originally described from Nepal ( Wunderlich,

1983) and is here recorded from India for the first time.

RANGE: Himalayan.

Gongylidioides keralaensis sp. n. Figs 32-38, 114 HOLOTYPE: Ƌ, INDIA, Kerala, Cardamom Hills, near Munnar, Muttapatti , 1700 m a.s.l, forest, sifting litter under tree ferns; 24.XI.1972; leg. C. Besuchet & I. Löbl [48]. PARATYPES: 2 ♀ , from same locality, collected together with the holotype .

ETYMOLOGY: The species name, an adjective, refers to the Indian State where the new species was found.

FIGS 32-37

Gongylidioides keralaensis sp. n., Ƌ holotype. (32-33) Right palp, retrolateral and prolateral views, respectively. (34) Palpal tibia, dorsal view. (35) Distal suprategular apophysis. (36-37) Embolic division, different aspects.

DIAGNOSIS: The new species is characterized by the peculiar shape of the male palpal tibia, as well as by the shape of the ventral epigynal plate.

DESCRIPTION: Male. Total length 2.35. Carapace 1.13 long, 0.85 wide, pale brown, unmodified, with blurred grey median stripe and dark margin. Chelicerae 0.50 long, unmodified, stridulatory area distinct. Legs pale brown. Leg I 4.18 long (1.13+0.30+1.10+1.00+0.65), IV 4.71 long (1.00+1.28+0.93+0.95+0.55). Chaetotaxy 2.2.1.1, spines long and stout. TmI 0.74. All metatarsi with a trichobothrium. Palp (Figs 32-37): Tibia with a large prolateral process basally bent at a right angle. Cymbium without posterodorsal outgrowth. Tegulum small, ending with rounded protegulum. Distal suprategular apophysis long and wide well protruding forward, membranous FIGS 38-41

Gongylidioides keralaensis sp. n., ♀ paratype (38) and G. pectinatus sp. n., Ƌ holotype (39-41). (38) Epigyne, ventral view. (39-41) Carapace, lateral, frontal and dorsal views, respectively. Not to scale.

distally. Radix very small, surrounded by membranous tissue. Embolus long, curved gradually. Convector (after Tanasevitch, 1998: 423) complicated in shape, it longest lobe long, narrow and accompanying the embolus for its protection. Abdomen 1.30 long, 0.88 wide, laterally pale, dorsally grey, with a pale median stripe and several transversal bands.

Female. Total length 2.65. Carapace 1.00 long, 0.80 wide, unmodified. Chelicerae 0.50 long, unmodified. Leg I 3.90 long (1.05+0.30+1.00+0.95+0.60), IV 4.01 long (1.13+0.30+1.00+1.03+0.55). TmI 0.80. Abdomen 1.68 long, 1.13 wide. Epigyne and vulva as shown in Figs 38, 114. Body and leg coloration, as well as chaetotaxy, as in male.

TAXONOMIC REMARKS: The new species seems to be most similar to G. diellipticus Song & Li, 2008 known from a female from Taiwan ( Song & Li, 2008), but differs clearly by the shape of the ventral epigynal plate.

DISTRIBUTION: Known from the type locality only.