Nesticella sulawesi, Lin, Yucheng, Ballarin, Francesco & Li, Shuqiang, 2016

Lin, Yucheng, Ballarin, Francesco & Li, Shuqiang, 2016, A survey of the spider family Nesticidae (Arachnida, Araneae) in Asia and Madagascar, with the description of forty-three new species, ZooKeys 627, pp. 1-168 : 48

Taxon classification Animalia Araneae Nesticidae

Nesticella sulawesi sp. n. Figs 58, 83

Type material.

Holotype ♀ and paratypes 2♀ (IZCAS), INDONESIA: South Sulawesi, Cenrana Village, 0-4 km east to Maros Water Park (05.05429°S, 119.73958°E, 229 m), 24.VIII.2014, H. Zhao & Z. Yao leg.

Etymology.

The specific name is derived from the Island of Sulawesi were this species was collected; noun in apposition.

Diagnosis.

This new species can be distinguished from all the others of the nepalensis -group with the exception of Nesticella yui by the small spermathecae (S) and the twisted copulatory ducts (Cd) firstly bent inward and then outward before reaching the spermathecae (Fig. 58 E–F). It differs from Nesticella yui (see Fig. 62 A–F; Wunderlich and Song 1995: 347, fig. 19) by the presence of a clear, short and narrow scape (Sp), almost absent in the other species, by the shorter fertilization ducts (Fd) with fewer coils, and the distally wider copulatory ducts (Cd) (Fig. 58F vs. Fig. 62F). A further diagnostic character is the uniformly dark color of the opisthosoma lacking any pattern (Fig. 58 A–C vs. Fig. 62 A–C).

Description.

Habitus as in Fig. 58 A–C. Carapace pale yellow, with dense, dark marks. Cervical groove, fovea and radial furrows distinct. Thoracic area dark at its margins. Mouthparts pale yellow, faintly pigmented. Sternum with a very sharp posterior corner, with a reticulated and finely pigmented surface. Legs and female palps pale, lacking spines. Opisthosoma black, densely covered with setae.

Epigyne (Fig. 58 D–F): light-colored (Fig. 58D). Scape short and narrow, rectangular and slightly protruding beyond the epigynal posterior margin (Fig. 58 D–E). Spermathecae weakly sclerotized, ovoid, separated by about two diameters (Fig. 58E). Fertilization ducts thin and long, forming a small and a large loop before reaching the spermathecae (Fig. 58F). Copulatory ducts thick and dark, firstly bent inward and then outward, mesially swollen and distally narrower (Fig. 58 E–F).

Female (holotype). Total length 2.33. Carapace 1.18 long, 1.05 wide. Opisthosoma 1.15 long, 1.00 wide. Clypeus height 0.19. Sternum 0.71 long, 0.68 wide. Leg measurements: see Appendix A.

Male. Unknown.

Habitat.

Rain forest leaf litter.

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality (Fig. 83).