Kut troglophilus (Brignoli, 1978) Brignoli, 1978

Kunt, Kadir Bogac, Elverici, Mert, Yagmur, Ersen Aydin & Oezkuetuek, Recep Sulhi, 2019, Kut gen. nov., a new troglomorphic spider genus from Turkey (Araneae, Dysderidae), Subterranean Biology 32, pp. 95-109 : 95

Kut troglophilus (Brignoli, 1978) comb. nov. Figure 1

Harpactocrates troglophilus ; Brignoli, 1978: 38, f. 4-5 (D♂).

H. troglophilus ; Deeleman-Reinhold & Deeleman, 1988: 250, f. 18 (♂, probably misplaced).

H. troglophilus ; Le Peru, 2011: 286, f. 473 (♂).

Material examined.

11 ♂♂, 9 ♀♀ ( ETZM and AZMM), Turkey: Konya Province, Beyşehir District, Kurucaova Town (37°40.483'N, 31°22.700'E), pitfall trap, August–October 2012, leg. E.A. Yağmur & O. Tutar; 1 ♂, Konya Province ( ETZM), Beyşehir District, Kurucaova Town (37°40.450'N, 31°22.633'E), MSS trap, 08 August– 10 October 2018, leg. E.A. Yağmur .

Diagnosis.

The simple structure of male palp in Kut troglophilus (Brignoli, 1978) is similar to that in some species of Harpactocrates , Harpactea , Parachtes , and Stalagtia . In K. troglophilus palp, the bulb gradually gets thinner and eventually gives rise to embolus, with a transition between tegulum and embolus rather indistinct, unlike in the other genera. Another unique feature of this genus is that the tip of the embolus is continuously bent posteriorly. In females, K. troglophilus vulva resembles that of the Caucasian genus Cryptoparachtes ; however, in all three species of the latter ( C. adzharicus , C. charitonowi and C. fedotovi ), spermathecae are club-shaped. Paraspermatheca is distally spherical in all species of Cryptoparachtes , whereas in K. troglophilus paraspermathecae club shaped and more or less of equal length like the midspermatheca, unlike in three Cryptoparachtes species mentioned.

Measurements

(♂/♀). AL 3.75 –4.70/5.00– 5.50; CL 3.50 –4.48/3.50– 4.00; CW 2.70 –3.44/2.70– 3.15; AMEd 0.14 –0.18/0.12– 0.16; PLEd 0.08 –0.12/0.07– 0.09; PMEd 0.08 –0.11/0.07– 0.12; ChF 0.95 –1.25/0.96– 1.05; ChG 0.55 –0.80/0.60– 0.70; ChL 1.60 –2.10/1.60– 1.75.

Description.

Carapace hexagonal, reddish brown, with a smooth surface. Cephalic region darker than the thoracic region ( Fig. 1A ). Eyes reduced. Posterior eyes approximately of the same diameter and aligned. Posterior median eyes adjacent, as distant as their diameter to posterior lateral eyes. Chelicera robust, dark brown ( Fig. 1B, C ). Cheliceral groove with four teeth, two on pro– and two on retromargin. Among retromarginal teeth, proximal one smaller, distant one larger. Promarginal teeth approximately of the same size, proximal one in alignment with the proximal one of the retromargin.

Labium and gnathocoxae brown. Anterior sides of gnathocoxae chitinized at borders and dark brown. Labium anteriorly with a V-shaped incision. Sternum yellowish brown. Anterior side of sternum (touching labium) slightly convex ( Fig. 1C ).

Legs yellowish, light brown. Leg coxa, trochanter, and femora darker in colour at joints. Femora and tibiae I and II prolaterally with spines; number of spines variable among individual spiders. Tibiae I and II with ventral spines. See Tables 1 , 2 for details on leg measurements and spination. Abdomen long and slender, greyish cream in colour.

Palp ( Fig. 1 D–F ). Palpal tarsus shorter than tibia, conical. Tarsus and tibia lighter in colour compared to other palp segments. Tegulum cylindrical; embolus originates from the anterior dorsal side of tegulum and is bent posteriorly as an arc. Tegulum and embolus distinctly different in colour.

Vulva ( Fig. 1G, H ). Midspermatheca club-shaped. Paraspermathecae pin-shaped and similar in size to midspermatheca. Spermathecae surrounded by a dome-shaped chitinized structure. Spermathecae posteriorly with two horizontally aligned bars of equal sizes; of these, one closer to spermathecae is less chitinized than the other.

Note.

Brignoli (1978) described Harpactocrates troglophilus based on two adult males collected from the Zindan Cave (Isparta Province, Turkey). He also recorded (marked as “cf.”) additional juvenile specimens from three other localities (all from caves), at the close vicinity of the type locality. Our specimens of Kut troglophilus (Brignoli, 1978) comb. nov. were collected from one of these localities, Kurucaova Village (Konya Province), close to the İnönü Cave, by both pitfall and MSS traps. Sampling inside the cave yielded no Dysderidae except subadult Dysderocrates .

Figures

Figure 1. Kut troglophilus (Brignoli, 1978) comb. nov. A carapace B chelicerae C prosoma D male palp, retrolateral view E ditto, prolateral view F ditto, nearly retrolateral view G vulva, dorsal view H ditto, ventral view. Scale bars: 0.5 (D), 0.125 (G).