Mallinella pluma, Jin, Chi & Zhang, Feng, 2013

Jin, Chi & Zhang, Feng, 2013, Two new Mallinella species from southern China (Araneae, Zodariidae), ZooKeys 296, pp. 79-88 : 83-84

Mallinella pluma sp. n. Figs 16-24

Type material.

Holotype♂,CHINA, Guangxi, Zhuang Autonomous Region: Daming Mountain (23°31'N, 108°21'E; 398m), Wuming County, Nanning City, 20 May 2011, Y. N. Wang leg.

Diagnosis.

Male can be easily distinguished from other Mallinella males by the extremely narrow and long median apophysis (almost 2/3 cymbium length in ventral view), by the ventral row of plumose hairs near the tip of the cymbium (Figs 20, 22, 24), and also by the dense dorsal hair cover of the opisthosoma (Fig. 16).

Etymology.

The specific name is a Latin noun and refers to the plumose hairs near the tip of cymbium.

Description.

Male (holotype). Total length 5.30; prosoma 2.86 long, 2.04 wide; opisthosoma 2.24 long, 1.84 wide. Diameters of eyes: AME 0.18, ALE 0.15, PME 0.13, PLE 0.15. Distances between eyes: AME–AME 0.08, AME–ALE 0.10, ALE–ALE 0.50, PME–PME 0.13, PME–PLE 0.23, PLE–PLE 0.73, ALE–PLE 0.05. MOA 0.40 long, front width 0.40, back width 0.38. Clypeal height 0.80. Labium 0.53 long, 0.48 wide. Sternum 1.28 long, 1.22 wide. Measurements of legs: leg I 9.51 (2.30, 0.77, 2.24, 2.35, 1.85), II 8.83 (2.19, 0.82, 1.89, 2.35, 1.58), III 8.57 (2.09, 0.77, 1.73, 2.55, 1.43), IV 11.22 (2.65, 0.82, 2.55, 3.62, 1.58). Leg formula: 4123.

Carapace (Fig. 16) dark brown; median furrow black. Both eye rows (Fig. 17) procurved in dorsal view. Clypeus brown. Chelicerae brown, distally yellowish-brown. Endites yellowish. Labium triangular and brown, distally white. Sternum yellowish-brown and furnished with sparse black setae, lateral margin with small and pointed extensions fitting in coxal concavities of legs. Legs light yellowish-brown except femora that are light brown; metatarsi II–IV distally with ventral hair tufts. Opisthosoma (Fig. 16) oval, longer than wide, dorsally black, with dense hairs and three pairs of white lateral patches (the third slight connected), followed by one transverse white median patch; dorsal scutum indistinct; venter grey-black, covered with three irregular longitudinal white stripes; posterior ventral spines thin (Fig. 18), arranged in a single row. Spinnerets pale yellow.

Palpal organ (Figs 19-24). RTA digitiform, slightly wider at base, gradually tapering towards its blunt apex. Cymbium ventrally with a row of plumose hairs near its tip; cymbial fold broad, more than half as long as cymbium. Apex of median apophysis rostrated and pointing to the prolateral side; the median part of median apophysis with a small digitiform branch; baso-retrolateral fold narrow and long, spatulate, apex blunt. Conductor complex, with a triangular apophysis retrolaterally. Embolus bifurcated at the median part, lateral ramus shorter than mesal ramus, only lateral ramus with subterminal fold.

Female unknown.

Remarks.

According to Dankittipakul et al. 2012, this species also should belong to sub-group 3 of the fronto species-group, but the plumose hairs on the cymbium ventrally makes that species unique; it is likely that Mallinella pluma belongs to an unknown sub-group of the fronto species-group.

Distribution.

China (Guangxi).