Selenops denia, Crews, Sarah C., 2011

Crews, Sarah C., 2011, A revision of the spider genus Selenops Latreille, 1819 (Arachnida, Araneae, Selenopidae) in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, ZooKeys 105, pp. 1-182 : 97-99

Selenops denia sp. n. Figs 135-136Map 13

Type material.

Holotype male: Mata Grande, Santiago, Dominican Republic, 19°11'43.0"N, 70°59'42.0"W, 14-15.X.2006, 1009 m, S. Crews, on buildings, trees, fence posts at night, SCC06_075 (EME sel_641).

Other material examined.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Santiago: same data as holotype, 1♂, 1p♂, 4 imm. (MNHNSD sel_640, 642-646); Parque Nacional Armando Bermudéz, trailhead to Loma del Oro, 19°12'05.2"N, 71°00'04.8"W, 13.X.2006, 1035 m, S. Crews, on ranger station at night, SCC06_074, 1 imm. (EME sel_639); Barahona: Polo Coffee Plantation, 18°06.275'N, 71°15.487'W, 17.VI.2006, 970 m, L. Mahler, on banana tree under a dead frond on trunk, 1♂ (CAS sel_568). La Vega: 10 km NE Jarabacoa, Hotel Montana, 18.VII-4.VIII.1995, 550 m, S., J. Peck, forest, (AMNH). Pedernales: road to Aguacate from Río Mulito, 18°13.895'N, 71°45.190'W, 25.XI.2004, S. Crews, under bark of dead tree stump, dry forest, though most of the trees recently chopped down, lots of egg sacs, SCC04_082, 1 imm. (EME sel_156).

Etymology.

This species is named in honor of Denia Veloz for all of her work on arthropod biodiversity in the Dominican Republic. It is to be treated as a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis.

Males can be separated from all other species by the conductor which arises anteromedially on a short stalk with a rounded projection. The conductor is directed opposite the RTA and is hammer shaped (Figs 135-136). Females unknown.

Description.

Holotype male: Color: carapace brownish-orange; sternum, brownish-yellow, darker around border; chelicerae dark red-brown; maxillae light orange-brown, lightening distally; labium orange-brown, lightening toward distally edge; abdomen dorsally brownish-orange, dark at anterior margin, lanceolate stripe extending nearly 3/4th the length of abdomen, line extending across entire abdomen below stripe, laterocaudal festoon present; ventrally yellow-grey, darker laterally; legs yellowish-brown to orange-brown, darkening slightly distally, annulations conspicuous on femora, patellae and tibiae. Carapace: as long as broad; fovea, longitudinal, narrow, shallow. Eye: AER nearly straight; PER slightly recurved; PME the same size as AME, PLE largest, ALE smallest; eye diameters, AME 0.40, ALE 0.23, PME 0.40, PLE 0.55; interdistances AME-PME 0.10, PME-ALE 0.20, ALE-PLE0.40, PME-PME 1.15, ALE-ALE 2.30; ocular quadrangle AME-AME 0.20, PLE-PLE 2.35; clypeus 0.10 high; chillum absent. Mouthparts: chelicerae with stout setae medially and anteriorly; maxillae longer than broad with tuft of conspicuous setae distally; labium distally rounded. Sternum: as long as broad, posteriorly indented. Legs: leg I much shorter than leg II and slightly shorter than leg III; leg formula 2314; scopulae present on all 4 tarsi; tarsi I-IV with strong claw tufts; pr claw per foot slightly toothed; spination: leg I, Fm pr 1-1-0, d 1-1-1, rl 1-1-1; Ti d 0, v 2-2-2; Mt v 2-2; leg II, Fm pr 1-1-1, d 1-1-1, rl 1-1-1; Ti v 2-2-2; Mt v 2-2; leg III, Fm pr 1-1-0, d 1-1-1, rl 0-1-1; Ti v 2-2; Mt v 2-2; leg IV, Fm pr 1-1-0, d 1-1-1, rl 0-0-1; Ti v 1-1; Mt v 2-1. Abdomen: without terminal setal tufts. Pedipalp: Fm spination 0-1-3; cymbium oval in ventral view, slightly angled posterolaterally; basal cymbial process absent, scopulae scattered, denser distall; conductor arising anterolaterally on short stalk with rounded lateral projection, hammer shaped, directed opposite RTA, forming circular space between hammer shape and stalk, embolus shorter, slender, directed anteriorly, straight, arising at 6 o'clock, terminating at 11 o'clock; MA wider at base, narrowing, curving into small hook, originating at 4 o'clock, directed anterolaterally; RTA barely reaching cymbium in ventral view; posterior branch directed anteriorly, quadrangular, truncate terminally; ventral branch quadrangular in ventral view, flattened in lateral view; RTA looks u-shaped in lateral view (Figs 135-136). Dimensions: Total length 9.50. Carapace length 5.00, width 5.00. Sternum length 2.00, width 2.00. Abdomen length 4.50, width 4.00. Pedipalp: Fm 1.75, Pt 1.00, Ti 1.00, Ta 1.30, total 5.05. Leg I: Fm 7.00, Pt 2.00, Ti 6.00, Mt 5.00, Ta 2.50, total 22.50. Leg II: Fm 7.00, Pt 2.50, Ti 6.75, Mt 6.00, Ta 2.75, total 25.00. Leg III: Fm 7.00, Pt 2.00, Ti 6.00, Mt 5.50, Ta 2.50, total 23.00. Leg IV: Fm 6.00, Pt 2.00, Ti 5.00, Mt 5.00, Ta 2.00, total 20.00.

Natural history.

This species has been collected under bark and on buildings and fence posts at night, primarily at higher elevations (> 550 m).

Distribution.

Endemic to the Dominican Republic, though seems to be widespread across the country (Map 13).