Asceua longji Barrion-Dupo, Barrion & Heong

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 : 44-45

51. Asceua longji Barrion-Dupo, Barrion & Heong , new species [ Figure 51 A-E]

FEMALE. Holotype female, total length 2.11 mm. Cephalothorax length 0.97 mm. width 0.77 mm. Abdomen length 1.16 mm, width 0.76 mm.

Carapace. Reddish brown with black eye margins and a brown cross band in the foveal area, 1.23x longer than wide. Cephalic elevated and higher than thoracic area. Chelicerae reddish brown, vertical and with a small fang. Promargin bears a small tooth and none in the retromargin. Pedipals yellowish brown except femur with gray tinge. Maxillae yellowish gray, longer than wide, slantly triangular with narrow apex converging, and broad basally. Sternum broadly heart-shaped, yellow except brownish rebordered margins. Anterior margins of sternum widely truncated and posterior tip narrowly blunt to truncate.

Eyes. In two procurved rows of four each. AER slightly shorter than PER. Eye diameter (mm): AME (0.08)> PLE (0.07)> PME (0.06)> ALE (0.04). Eye separation (mm): PME-PME=PME-PLE (0.06)> AME-AME=AME-ALE (0.03). Clypeus height wide, 2.63x AME diameter.

Legs. Yellow brown with apical and basal black annulations in femora, tibiae and tips of metatarsi II and III.Metatarsi I-IV each with a long trichobothrium on apical one-fifth. Femora I-IV each with a subbasodorsal spine. Tibiae II and III equally long. Metatarsus I as long as III. Leg formula 4132.

Abdomen. Black with an anterior pair of white longitudinal band (=dorsum sepia), white band present midlaterally extended to subposterior lateral end of abdomen, a pair of circular dots submedially and a triangular yellowish white band on posterior tip. Anal tubercle and spinnerets yellow. Venter yellow except black lateral margins of spinnerets.

Epigynum forms a simple plate with a lip-like band in the center in uncleared state. Cleared epigynum has a U-shaped indention towards posterior epigynal margin, copulatory tube coiled posteriorly, and anteriorly forming copulatory openings on the anterolateral side.

MALE. Unknown.

Material Examined. Holotype female (coll. no. La1), CHINA, Hainan Island, Chengmai, Laocheng, Longji hills, 24 April 2012, ATBarrion, JLACatindig and SCVillareal; paratype one female (coll. no. So 99), Panja town, Shuiku vill., Songtao Reservoir, 2 April 2011, ATBarrion, JLACatindig and SCVillareal.

Diagnostic Features. Closely resembles in general morphology, Asceua elegans Thorell, 1887 but differs from the latter in the following (1) smaller body size, (2) abdominal markings where dorsum sepia has two parallel longitudinal bands, (3) epigynal structures, and (4) leg measurements.

Etymology. Named after the type locality.

Figures

Figure 51 A-E. Asceua longji Barrion-Dupo, Barrion & Heong, new species, abdominal dorsum (A), bands and trichobothria in tibia I (B) and tibia II (C), and ventral (D) and dorsal (E) views of epigynum.