Eustala cuia, Poeta, Maria Rita Muniz, 2014

Poeta, Maria Rita Muniz, 2014, The orb-weaving spider genus Eustala Simon, 1895 (Araneae, Araneidae): eight new species, redescriptions, and new records, Zootaxa 3872 (5), pp. 440-466 : 450

Eustala cuia new species

Figs 47–55 , 86

Type material. Holotype: ♂, Lagoa do Capivari , Capivari do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 30°08’S, 50°30’W, 20.V.2004, Equipe Probio ( MCN 37373 ). Paratypes: ♂, Raiz da Serra , Cubatão, São Paulo, Brazil, 23°53’S, 46°25’W, Biugo ( MZSP 8054 ); ♂, ♀, Hortobotânico Irmão Teodoro Luis , Capão do Leão, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 31°45’S, 52°25’W, 25.V.2001, E.N.L. Rodrigues ( MCN 49062 ); ♂, Reserva Biológica do Lami , Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 30°01’S, 51°13’W, 19.X.2001, E.L.C. Silva & C.E. Ferro ( MCN 37721 ) .

Additional material examined. BRAZIL, Rio Grande do Sul: Porto Alegre ( Reserva Biológica do Lami ), 30°01’S, 51°13’W, ♂, 10, 11.XII.2001, E.L.C. Silva & C.E. Ferro ( MCN 37722 ); Santa Vitória do Palmar ( Estação Ecológica do Taim ), 33°31’S, 53°21’W, ♂, 27.XI.1985, M. Rosenau ( MCN 14011 ).

Etymology. The specific name is a noun in apposition referring to the conductor shape (ventral view, Fig. 48 ) resembling a “cuia”, which is an utensil made of dried gourd used to drink “chimarrão” or “mate”, a typical hot drink from Rio Grande do Sul.

Note. The only epigynum examined is very dry and dark making it impossible to clear in clove oil. The apex of the scape was accidentally broken.

Diagnosis. Eustala cuia n. sp. palp ( Figs 47, 48 ) differs of other species of the genus by the conductor with a deep apical depression, in mesal view ( Fig. 47 ). The female of E. cuia n. sp. ( Figs 51–53 ) is similar to the other species by the epigynum with a long annulated scape, as E. venusta Chickering, 1955 (see Chickering 1955: 514, figures 139, 140), but differs by the ringed median plate (ventral view, Fig. 51 ), and by the two rounded depressions on the median plate, in posterior view ( Figs 52 ).

Description. Male (holotype, MCN 37373 ) : Carapace pale yellow with light brown bands and many white setae, longer ones around the lateral eyes. Posterior median eyes and lateral eyes with black borders. Sternum pale yellow with gray border and white pigment. Abdomen subtriangular, with two terminal humps ( Figs 49, 50 ). Dorsum white with gray pigment and greenish-gray folium ( Fig. 50 ). Venter dark brown, without central median white patch. Legs yellow with dark brown bands. Total length 5.2. Carapace length 2.4, width 2.0. Leg formula 1243. Length leg I: femur 3.1; patella+tibia 3.8; metatarsus 2.7; tarsus 1.0; total 10.6. Patella+tibia II 2.8; III 1.4; IV 2.9.

Female (paratype, MCN 49602 ): Carapace orange with light brown bands, many white setae sparsely distributed, and longer ones around the lateral eyes, as in male. Clypeus with white setae. Posterior median eyes and lateral eyes with dark borders. Sternum orange with gray border and almost totally covered with white pigment. Abdomen as in male, with conspicuous humps anteriorly and posteriorly ( Figs 54, 55 ). Venter white with a gray band from the epigastric furrow to the spinnerets and a large central median white patch. Legs orange with dark brown bands. Total length 11.0. Carapace length 3.5, width 3.9. Leg formula 1243. Length leg I: femur 5.4; patella+tibia 6.7; metatarsus 4.5; tarsus 1.5; total 18.1. Patella+tibia II 6.0; III 3.2; IV 5.3.

Variation. Male (n=7): total 3.8–7.5; carapace length 1.9–3.8, width 1.4–3.0. Carapace and legs orange. Inconspicuous abdominal humps. Central white patch on the venter of the abdomen absent.

Distribution. Brazil: São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul ( Fig. 86 ).

Figures

FIGURES 47 – 55. Eustala cuia n. sp. 47, 48, Palp (47, mesal; 48, ventral). 49, Male habitus, dorsal. 50, Male abdomen, lateral. 51 – 53, Epigynum (51, ventral; 52, posterior; 53, lateral). 54, Female habitus, dorsal. 55, Female abdomen, lateral. Abbreviations: Cd, conductor depression; MP, median plate; MPd, median plate depression. Scale bars, 49, 50, 51 – 53, 0.25 mm; 49, 50, 54, 55, 1 mm.

FIGURE 85 – 87. Records of the Eustala species. 85, Eustala guarani n. sp., E. catarina n. sp., E. ericae n. sp., and E. cidae n. sp. 86, Eustala lisei n. sp., E. cuia n. sp., E. farroupilha n. sp., and E. eldorado n. sp. 87, Eustala ulecebrosa (Keyserling, 1892), E. itapocuensis Strand, 1916, E. photographica Mello-Leitão, 1944, and E. mourei Mello-Leitão, 1947. Scale bars, 500 km.