Dysdera jaegeri Bellvert & Dimitrov, 2024

Bellvert, Adrià, Dimitrov, Dragomir, Zamani, Alireza & Arnedo, Miquel A., 2024, Integrating museum collections and molecules reveals genus-level synonymy and new species in red devil spiders (Araneae, Dysderidae) from the Middle East and Central Asia, European Journal of Taxonomy 921 (210), pp. 210-235 : 218-220

Dysdera jaegeri Bellvert & Dimitrov sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:579D5ABE-98BC-4B60-96DC-721AA2C027FE

Figs 6–8

Diagnosis

Male resembles that of Dysdera sultani Deeleman-Reinhold & Deeleman, 1988 by having the external and internal sclerites fused in a single anterior sclerite, surrounding the lateral sheet ( Fig. 7 ), and the bent embolic division ( Figs 7–8 ). The two species can be distinguished by (1) the short and stout lateral sheet with transparent lamellar extension in D. jaegeri sp. nov. ( Fig. 8 ), vs thin and long single processus in D. sultani ( Deeleman-Reinhold & Deeleman 1988: figs 236–237), (2) less bent embolic division (i.e., ca 60°) in D. jaegeri , vs ca 80° in D. sultani , (3) the apical part of the embolic division is a whole plate in D. jaegeri ( Figs 6, 8 ), while in D. sultani it is sulcate apically, and (4) the posterior apophysis in D. jaegeri is more or less straight, perpendicular to the tegulum ( Figs 6, 8 ), vs long and more bent towards the tegulum in D. sultani ( Deeleman-Reinhold & Deeleman 1988: fig. 236).

Etymology

This species is named after our colleague and reputed German arachnologist Peter Jäger.

Type material

Holotype

SYRIA • 1 ♂; Homs Province, west of Homs, ruins and abandoned cemetery NW of the castle; 18 Mar. 1973; R. Kinzelbach leg.; SMF.

Description

Male ( Figs 6–8 )

PROSOMA. 3.13 long; maximum width 2.32; minimum width 1.61. Reddish, uniformly; with small dark grains mainly in frontal part; frontally covered with small white setae. Frontal border roughly round, ca ½ of carapace length; anterior lateral borders parallel; rounded at maximum dorsal width, back lateral borders rounded; back margin narrow, bilobulated. Eye diameters: AME 0.17; PLE 0.15; PME 0.14; AMEs on edge of frontal border, separated from one another by ca ½ diameter, close to PLEs; PMEs very close to one another, ca ⅓ of PME diameter from PLEs. Labium trapezoid-shaped, base wider than distal part; as long as wide at base; semicircular groove at tip. Sternum orange-red, frontally darker, becoming lighter posteriorly; smooth; uniformly covered with slender black setae.

CHELICERAE. 1.13 long, ca ⅓ of carapace length in dorsal view; fang medium-sized, 0.88 long; paturon dorsal and ventral side completely covered with piligerous granulations. Cheliceral inner groove short, ca ⅓ of cheliceral length; armed with three teeth and lamina at base; B> M>D; D triangular, located roughly at centre of groove; B close to basal lamina; M close to B.

LEGS. Anterior legs orange, posterior legs yellow. Lengths of leg segments: fe1 2.36; pa1 1.49; ti1 1.87; me1 2.06; ta1 0.58; total 8.36; fe2 2.14; pa2 1.38; ti2 1.68; me2 1.95; ta2 0.56; total 7.72; fe3 1.65; pa3 0.94; ti3 1.00; me3 1.45; ta3 0.51; total 5.59; fe4 2.04; pa4 1.48; ti4 1.46; me4 1.97; ta4 0.62; total 7.58; fe Pdp 1.50; pa Pdp 0.88; ti Pdp 0.57; ta Pdp 0.91; total 3.86; leg formula: 1>2> 4>3. Leg2 spineless. Fe3d spineless; pa3 spineless; tb3d spines arranged in two bands; proximal 1.0.0-1; medial-proximal 0; medial-distal 0; distal 1.0.1; tb3v spines arranged in two bands; proximal 1-2.0.0; medial-proximal 0; medial-distal 0; distal 1-0.0.0; with one terminal spine on forward margin. Fe4d spines in two rows; forward 1; backward 2; pa4 spineless; tb4d spines arranged in two bands; proximal 1.0.1; medial-proximal 0; medial-distal 0; distal 0.0.1; tb4v spines arranged in two bands; proximal 1.1.0; medial-proximal 0; medial-distal 0; distal 0-1.0.0; with one terminal spine at the distal border. Dorsal side of frontal legs smooth; ventral side of pedipalp smooth. Claws with 8 teeth or less; hardly larger than claw width.

OPISTHOSOMA. 3.87 long; cream-colored; cylindrical. Abdominal dorsal setae 0.04 long; thin, almost straight, pointed; uniformly and thickly distributed.

PALP ( Figs 6–8 ). T slightly longer than ED; external distal border straight, internal projected at middle. ED bent ca 60 degrees in lateral view, internal distal border markedly expanded. IS and ES completely fused, forming a single anterior sclerite ( Fig. 7 ). ED tip straight in lateral view. C present, short and poorly developed, located in distal end on ED internal tip, proximal border of C continuously decreasing. LF absent. L well developed, anteriorly not projected with a spine-like basal projection. External border poorly sclerotized, forming a transparent ridge between spine-like apophysis and distal part, not folded.AL present, well developed; proximal border in posterior view smooth, not fused with distal haematodocha. P short, fused to T; lateral length of P from ⅖ to ½ of T width; ridge present, perpendicular to T; distinctly expanded, rounded, upper margin smooth; distally ridge-like expanded; posterior margin not folded.

Female

Unknown.

Distribution

Known only from the type locality in Homs Province, central Syria.

Remarks

Dysdera jaegeri sp. nov. along with D. argaeica Nosek, 1905 , D. sultani , D. galinae Dimitrov, 2018 and D. yozgat Deeleman-Reinhold, 1988 form a complex of species within the diverse asiatica group that can be characterized by the long cylindrical T, entirely fused IS and ES, and the sclerotized processus-like lateral sheet. This complex is distributed in Turkey and Syria. Unfortunately, we were unable to sequence any of these species and their position in the Dysderinae tree remains unclear.

Figures

Figs 6–8. Male Dysdera jaegeri Bellvert & Dimitrov sp. nov. (SMF), left palp. 6. Prolateral view. 7. Anterior view. 8. Retrolateral view. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.