Carapoia agilis, Huber, 2018

Huber, Bernhard A., 2018, The South American spider genera Mesabolivar and Carapoia (Araneae, Pholcidae): new species and a framework for redrawing generic limits, Zootaxa 4395 (1), pp. 1-178 : 155-157

Carapoia agilis sp. n.

Figs 670–672 , 689–695 , 715–716

Diagnosis. Distinguished from similar known congeners ( C. djavani , C. exigua ) by details of male pedipalp ( Figs 689–691 ; long tibia; procursus with subdistal prolateral branch), by armature of male chelicerae ( Fig. 692 ; distinctive arrangement and sizes of two pairs of small frontal apophyses), by simple epigynum without pocket, with whitish median area at posterior margin of anterior plate ( Figs 694 , 715 ), and by internal female genitalia ( Figs 695 , 716 ; very large elongated pore-plates, parallel to each other).

Etymology. The specific name refers to the rapid running of this species (Latin agilis = quick, swift); adjective.

Type material. BRAZIL: Pernambuco: ♂ holotype, 1♀ paratype, UFMG (21560–61), and 3♂ 10♀ paratypes, ZFMK (Ar 19295), near Bonito, forest near Cachoeira da Gruta (8.547°S, 35.712°W), 380 m a.s.l., 24–25.v.2015 (B.A. Huber, L.S. Carvalho).

Other material examined. BRAZIL: Pernambuco: 2♀ 3 juvs in pure ethanol, ZFMK (Br 15-222), same data as type material . 1♂ 1♀, ZFMK (Ar 19296), near Bonito, Alto da Serra (8°30.7’S, 35°34.3’W), 750–800 m a.s.l., 24–25.v.2015 (B.A. Huber, L.S. Carvalho) . 5♂ 9♀ 2 juvs, ZFMK (Ar 19297), Reserva Biológica de Saltinho (8°43.6’S, 35°10.7’W), 50 m a.s.l., 26.v.2015 (B.A. Huber, L.S. Carvalho) ; 1 juv. in pure ethanol, ZFMK (Br 15- 230), same data.

Description. Male (holotype)

MEASUREMENTS. Total body length 2.0, carapace width 0.95. Distance PME-PME 80 µm, diameter PME 60 µm, distance PME-ALE 50 µm, distance AME-AME 25 µm, diameter AME 25 µm. Sternum width/length: 0.60/ 0.50. Leg 1: 12.4 (2.8 + 0.3 + 3.0 + 5.2 + 1.1), tibia 2: 1.9, tibia 3: 1.4, tibia 4: 1.7; tibia 1 L/d: 40. Femora 1–4 width (at half length): 0.19, 0.20, 0.20, 0.20.

COLOR (in ethanol). Prosoma and legs ochre, legs without dark rings, tips of tibiae whitish; abdomen pale gray, with large yellowish mark in hear area, light brown plate in front of gonopore, yellowish plate in front of spinnerets.

BODY. Habitus as in Figs 670–671 ; ocular area barely raised; carapace with deep median furrow; clypeus unmodified; sternum unmodified.

CHELICERAE. As in Fig. 692 ; with two pairs of small frontal apophyses; proximal pair with one uniquely curved modified hair on each apophysis.

PALPS. As in Figs 689–690 ; coxa with large retrolateral apophysis; trochanter with small ventral process; femur with retrolatero-ventral process proximally; tibia very long; tarsus with prolatero-dorsal process; procursus weakly curved, with subdistal prolateral branch ( Fig. 691 ); genital bulb large, with straight pointed apophysis and large, mostly membranous dorsal protrusion.

LEGS. Densely covered with regular short hairs, without spines and curved hairs, few vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium on tibia 1 at 12%; prolateral trichobothrium present on tibia 1; tarsus 1 with ~25 pseudosegments, distally fairly distinct.

Male (variation). Tibia 1 in nine other males: 2.5–3.1 (mean 2.9); abdomen in some specimens with dark bluish internal marks dorsally and laterally.

Female. In general similar to male ( Fig. 672 ) but abdomen without yellowish mark in heart area. Tibia 1 in 19 females from near Cachoeira da Gruta and Reserva Biológica de Saltinho: 2.2–2.5 (mean 2.3); in female from Alto da Serra: 2.8. Epigynum as in Figs 694 , 715 ; anterior epigynal plate simple, semicircular, without pocket and processes, weakly protruding, with distinctive whitish area at posterior margin; posterior plate narrow. Internal genitalia as in Figs 695 , 716 , with pair of large elongated pore-plates lying parallel to each other.

Natural history. This species was abundant in dead bamboo sheaths on the ground at the forest edge and in regular leaf litter in the forest. During about 1 hour of searching of 1m 2 at Cachoeira da Gruta, about eight adult specimens were found, together with several specimens of the syntopic C. bispina . In contrast to C. bispina , this species lived higher in the leaf litter and ran rapidly when disturbed. Some females had large genital plugs.

Distribution. Known from three localities in Pernambuco state ( Brazil) ( Fig. 743 ).

Figures

FIGURE 743. Known distributions of the Carapoia agilis ‘group’ and of unplaced species (C. maculata, C.bispina).

FIGURES665–676. Live specimens,Carapoia agilis group andunplaced species.665–666.C. exiguasp.n., male and female from Morro de Pedra. 667–669. C. djavani sp. n., males from Pedra Talhada and Usina Serra Grande, female from Murici. 670–672. C. agilis sp. n., males from Saltinho and near Bonito, female from near Bonito. 673–674. C. maculata sp. n., male and female from Morro de Pedra.675–676.C. bispina sp. n., male and female from near Bonito.

FIGURES689–695.Carapoia agilis sp. n.(ZFMK Ar 19295).689–690.Left male palp, prolateral and retrolateral views.691. Left procursus, dorsal view. 692. Male chelicerae, frontal view.693. Cheliceral apophysis with modified hair. 694. Epigynum, ventral view. 695.Cleared female genitalia, dorsal view. Scale lines: 0.3 (689–692, 694–695), 0.05 (693).

FIGURES 711–720. Female epigyna in ventral views and cleared female genitalia in dorsal views, Carapoia agilis group and unplaced species. 711–712. Carapoia exigua sp. n., from Morro de Pedra (UFMG 21557). 713–714. C. djavani sp. n., from Pedra Talhada (ZFMK Ar 19292). 715–716. C. agilis sp. n., from near Bonito (ZFMK Ar 19295). 717, 720. C. bispina sp. n., from near Bonito (ZFMK Ar 19300). 718–719.C. maculata sp. n., from Morro de Pedra (ZFMK Ar 19299).