Cheiracanthium escaladae Barrion

Alberto T. Barrion, Aimee Lynn A. Barrion-Dupo, Josie Lynn A. Catindig, Sylvia C. Villareal, Ducheng Cai, Qianhua Yuan & Kong Luen Heong, 2016, NEW SPECIES OF SPIDERS (ARANEAE) FROM HAINAN ISLAND, CHINA, UPLB Museum Publications in Natural History 3, pp. 1-103 : 6

Cheiracanthium escaladae Barrion , Barrion- Dupo & Heong, new species [ Figure 4 A-H]

FEMALE. Total length 5.80mm. Cephalothorax length 2.10mm, width 1.50mm. Abdomen length 2.90mm, width 1.60mm.

Carapace. Yellow except dark brown eye margins, 1.4x longer than wide. Cephalic area narrower than thoracic area. Fovea shallow. Chelicerae yellow with brownish tinge; promargin bear 3 teeth with the middle tooth largest and retromargin reduced to 3 small peg teeth. Pedipalps yellow except tibia and tarsus clothed with light gray hairs. Maxillae yellow with diverging apices and blackish brown serrulae. Labium yellow with light gray hairs on the narrow apical margin. Sternum 1.43x longer than wide, light yellow concolorous with the coxae but margins slightly darker and with a pair of oblong whitish yellow spots along the broadest area.

Eyes. Recurved AER shorter than straight PER. Eye diameter (mm): ALE=PLE (0.14)> AME=PME (0.10), anterior eye equidistantly separated, PME much closer to PLE than to each other. Clypeus height very narrow, barely one-third AME diameter.

Legs. Yellow except brown spines, a longitudinal band on dorsum of femora I,II, III and IV, two longitudinal bands each on venter of tibiae I-IV and metatarsi I-IV, ventrolaterals of metatarsi I-IV and tarsi I-IV lined with thick hairs, tarsi III and IV constricted and lined with black hairs subapically. Femur I shorter than femur II.Spination on femora I and II each with 3-0-0-2, femur III and IV with 3-0-2-2; tibia I and II 0-4-0-0, III with 0-4-2-2, IV with 0-3-2-1; metatarsi I and II with 0-2-0-0, III with 3-0-3-2, and IV with 3-5-3-3. Leg formula 4213.

Abdomen. Pale brownish yellow clothed with dark brown to gray hairs dorsally, relatively thicker anteriorly and sparse posteriorly. Anal tubercle distinctly pointed apically. Spinnerets yellow brown except whitish basal segment of posterior pair.

Epigynum with a pair of concave plates connected to each other along the posterior epigynal margin, copulatory opening oblongate and obliquely converging, copulatory tube V-shaped and spermathecae slender and elongate.

MALE. Unknown.

Material Examined. Holotype female (coll. no. S053), CHINA, Hainan Island, Panja Town, Songtao Reservoir area, 0 3 April 2011, ATBarrion, JLACatindig, SCVillareal.

Diagnostic Features. This unique new species resembles C. denieli Tikader, 1975 but separated from the latter by a number of features, namely, (1) the structure of the epigynum, (2) shape of the spermathecae and maxillae, and (3) the presence of two ovoid spots on the basolateral margins of the labium.

Etymology. Patronym, in honor of Dr. Monina Escalada for her contributions in social science and communications.

Figures

Figure 4 A-H. Cheiracanthium escaladae Barrion, Barrion-Dupo & Heong, new species, holotype female (A), chelicerae (B), femur IV (C), tarsus IV (D), close-up of tarsus tip (E), labium (F), uncleared (G) and cleared (H) epigynum.