Troglohyphantes megagynus Zamani & Marusik, 2023

Zamani, Alireza, Darvishnia, Hamid & Marusik, Yuri M., 2023, New data on cave spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of Iran, with new species and records, Zootaxa 5361 (3), pp. 345-366 : 355-357

Troglohyphantes megagynus Zamani & Marusik , sp. n.

Figs 9A–C, 10A–E

Type material. Holotype ♀ ( ZMUT), IRAN: Ilam Province: Zarrin Abad, Kabootarlan Cave , 33°12'39.60''N 47°03'03.30''E, 17.IX.2014 (H. Darvishnia).

Etymology. The specific epithet is a combination of the Greek words ‘mega’ (large) and ‘gunḗ’ (female), referring to the unusually large epigyne of the new species.

Diagnosis. The new species differs from all of the congeners by the wide epigyne (i.e., 0.68 of the abdomen’s width) and very thin scape (thinner than lateral sides, vs. wider).

Description. Female. Habitus as in Fig. 10A–D. Total length 1.85. Carapace 0.95 long, 0.75 wide. Eye sizes: ALE 0.03, PME 0.03, PLE 0.02; AME strongly reduced, all eyes vestigial. Carapace, sternum, labium, maxillae and legs light yellowish brown, chelicerae slightly darker. Chelicerae with 4–5 large pro- and 5 small retromarginal teeth. Legs slightly lighter than carapace. Abdomen beige, without any pattern. Spinnerets uniformly light beige. Measurements of legs: I: 6.36 (1.75, 0.26, 1.75, 1.68, 0.92), II: 5.89 (1.63, 0.30, 1.60, 1.53, 0.83), III: 4.59 (1.34, 0.26, 1.16, 1.20, 0.63), IV: 5.74 (1.67, 0.28, 1.49, 1.57, 0.73). Numbers of dorsal spines on tibiae: 2222. Position of trichobothrium on Mt I: 0.27. Trichobothrium on Mt IV absent.

Epigyne as in Figs 10A–D; very broad, ca. 0.68 of abdomen’s width and very long (including base, Be): ca. 0.58; base of epigyne subtrapezoidal, with distinct inclining grooves (Eg), narrowing posteriorly; epigynal plate sub-hexagonal, anteriorly as wide as 0.5 as maximal width; scape short and thin, ca. 0.28 of epigynal plate’s width, thinner than lateral side of epigynal plate, with lateral lobes (Ll); proximal part of scape (PPS) wider than distal part (DPS); epigynal grooves (Eg) diverging in anterior part, then converging, and subparallel in posterior part ( Fig. 11A); posterior median plate (PMP) 2.5 times longer than wide; stretcher (Sr) long, ca. 4 times longer than wide in lateral view ( Fig. 10D).

Male. Unknown.

Comment. The new species is placed in Troglohyphantes Joseph, 1882 tentatively, as many members of this genus are known to inhabit caves, with some possessing vestigial or absent eyes. Additionally, all cave-dwelling Troglohyphantes species exhibit long legs. However, it is highly probable that this species belongs to an undescribed genus. Due to the absence of male specimens, we are currently unable to determine its exact generic placement.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality in Kabootarlan Cave ( Fig. 15D), Ilam Province, western Iran ( Fig. 17).