Anapistula choojaiae, Rivera-Quiroz & Petcharad & Miller, 2021

Rivera-Quiroz, Francisco Andres, Petcharad, Booppa & Miller, Jeremy A., 2021, First records and three new species of the family Symphytognathidae (Arachnida, Araneae) from Thailand, and the circumscription of the genus Crassignatha Wunderlich, 1995, ZooKeys 1012, pp. 21-53 : 21

Anapistula choojaiae sp. nov. Figures 7 , 8 , 9

Material examined.

Holotype: Thailand • ♂; Chiang Mai, Pha Daeng National Park. Riparian tropical forest; 19°37.768'N, 98°57.257'E. 560 m; July 16-19, 2018; Booppa Petcharad, Jeremy Miller, F. Andres Rivera-Quiroz leg.; Winkler extractor; RMNH.ARA.18442. Paratypes: Thailand • ♀ allotype; same data as holotype • 1♂ 1♀; same data as holotype; RMNH.5106639 • 2♀; Pha Daeng National Park. Bamboo forest; 19°37.668'N, 98°57.131'E. 573 m, same dates and collectors as holotype; RMNH.ARA.18443.

Etymology.

The species epithet is a Latinized matronym of the second authors’ daughter.

Diagnosis.

Female genitalia in Anapistula show little morphological variation between congeneric species making it generally difficult to tell species apart. However, A. choojaiae sp. nov. can be distinguished from most Anapistula species by the presence of an epigynal atrium; A. aquytabuera Rheims & Brescovit, 2003, A. pocaruguara and A. ybyquyra Rheims & Brescovit, 2003 from Brazil, A. panensis Lin, Tao, and Li 2013 and A. zhengi Lin, Tao, and Li 2013 from China, and A. seychellensis Saaristo, 1996 from the Seychelles also share this character. A. choojaiae differs from all of these by the relative size and shape of the atrium, the width of the EMD and the bifurcation of the Lb (compare Figs 8d and 9c to Rheims and Brescovit 2003: figs 16, 18, 21; Lin et al. 2013: figs 3, 4, 8, 9; and Saaristo 1996: fig. 3).

Male pedipalp of A. choojaiae similar to A. panensis in the overall shape of the palp and in having C1 and C2 roughly the same length, but differs on the width of C1 in respect to C2 and the length of the E in relation to C1 (compare Figs 7c , 9a to Lin et al. 2013: figs 1, 2).

Description.

Carapace ovoid, yellowish-white with smooth texture (Figs 7a, b , 8a, b ). AME absent (Fig. 7d ). Male LE without pigmentation (Figs 7b , 8b ). Chelicerae with two promarginal teeth (Fig. 7d ). Legs same color as carapace with slightly darker color on distal segments. Abdomen sub-spherical with small sparse sclerotized patches, some bearing long setae (Figs 7b , 8b ). Scuta absent in both sexes.

Male palp: Weakly sclerotized (Fig. 7c ). Semicircular from ventral view (Figs 7c , 9a ). With one wide sheet shaped conductor that presents two projections, here called C1 and C2 (Fig. 9a, b ). Embolus short and transparent located posteriorly to C; very difficult to see (Figs 7c , 9a ).

Vulva: Epigynal plate flat, without scape. Atrium semi-circular as wide as inner distance between S (Fig. 8c ). Spermathecae spherical, heavily sclerotized in relation to the rest of the body (Fig. 8d ). Cd easy to distinguish inside the EMD. LB diverging from the EMD forming a “Y” (Figs 8d , 9c ). Fertilization ducts very short and difficult to see, they appear as small bumps on the distal portion of Lb (Fig. 9c ).

Male: Total length 0.4; carapace 0.2 long, 0.21 wide; clypeus 0.03; Chelicera 0.1 long, 0.06 wide; Leg I: femur 0.26, patella 0.1, tibia 0.17, metatarsus 0.09 tarsus 0.17; leg formula IV-I-II-III; abdomen 0.21 long, 0.21 wide.

Female: Total length 0.43, carapace 0.2 long, 0.21 wide; clypeus 0.3; Chelicera 0.1 long, 0.05 wide; Leg I: femur 0.20, patella 0.09, tibia 0.14, metatarsus 0.16, tarsus 0.1; leg formula IV-I-II-III; abdomen 0.24 long, 0.23 wide.

Figures

Figure 7. Anapistula choojaiae sp. nov. male: Habitus: a ventral view b dorsal view. Palp: c ventral view. Female: Prosoma: d anterior view. Scale bars: 0.2 mm (a, b); 0.07 mm (c); 0.06 mm (d). Arrow pointing to the cheliceral teeth.

Figure 8. Anapistula choojaiae sp. nov. female: Habitus: a ventral view b dorsal view. Epigynum: c ventral view d dorsal view, cleared. Scale bars: 0.2 mm (a, b); 0.06 mm (c); 0.03 mm (d).

Figure 9. Anapistula choojaiae sp. nov., genitalia. Palp: a ventral view b dorsal view. Epigynum, cleared: c dorsal view. Scale bars: 0.07 mm (a, b); 0.06 mm (c).