Speocera bulbiformis, Lin & Pham & Li, 2009

Lin, Yucheng, Pham, Dinh-Sac & Li, Shuqiang, 2009, Six New Spiders From Caves Of Northern Vietnam (Araneae: Tetrablemmidae: Ochyroceratidae: Telemidae: Symphytognathidae), Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 57 (2), pp. 323-342 : 327

Speocera bulbiformis new species

( Figs. 3 A−C, 4A−E)

Material examined. – Holotype – Male ( IZCAS), Palace Cave (Dong Thien Cung) (20°18'N, 105°40'E; Alt: 256 m), Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam, coll. S. Li, 21 July 2008.

Paratypes – 4 males and 10 females ( IZCAS), same data as holotype .

Diagnosis. – The new species is similar to S. transleuser from Sumatra ( Deeleman-Reinhold, 1995), but can be distinguished by the spiral course of ejaculatory duct in bulb, the detailed structure of apical appendage on bulb, the absence of modified process on cheliceral surface and the asymmetrical “L” shape of paired chitinous ducts that connected to the spermathecae.

Etymology. – The specific name comes from Latin bulbiformis = globose, in reference to the shape of male palpal bulb.

Description. – Holotype male. Total length 1.12. Carapace 0.49 long, 0.41 wide; abdomen 0.57 long, 0.44 wide; clypeus 0.09 high; sternum 0.30 long, 0.30 wide. Carapace pear-shaped, smooth, pale yellow, with modified pigmental spots on thoracic margins. Ocular area dark. Six eye in a group, with black rings, anterior eyes row straight, PLE>ALE=AME. Chelicerae pale yellow, with broad lamina, six promarginal and two retromarginal teeth. Chelicerae laterally slightly excavated, modified with veins. Sternum pale yellow, smooth, without markings. Legs measurements: I 1.98 (0.63, 0.13, 0.60, 0.36, 0.26); II 1.76 (0.54, 0.12, 0.51, 0.34, 0.25); III 1.46 (0.45, 0.12, 0.37, 0.32, 0.20); IV 2.11 (0.62, 0.14, 0.58, 0.47, 0.30). Leg formula: 4 1 2 3. Palp measurements: 0.71 (0.22, 0.10, 0.18, 0.21), bulb 0.14 long, 0.18 wide. Abdomen pale, ovoid. Booklung invisible. One spiracle located ventrally at one third position to spinnerets.

Palpal femur narrower and longer than tibia and tarsus; tibia slightly swollen, shorter than tarsus, with three dorsal trichobothria. Tarsus obtuse. Bulb compressed, globose, with a small hooked appendage ( Fig. 3 A-C).

Female. Total length 1.14. Carapace 0.53 long, 0.43 wide; abdomen 0.64 long, 0.43 wide. clypeus 0.07 high; sternum 0.32 long, 0.32 wide. Pattern of carapace same as in male. Sternum with modified pigmental markins. Chelicerae as in male. Leg measurements: I 1.76 (0.52, 0.14, 0.50, 0.37, 0.23); II 1.64 (0.50, 0.14, 0.46, 0.33, 0.21); III 1.36 (0.44, 0.12, 0.31, 0.29, 0.20); IV 1.90 (0.55, 0.15, 0.54, 0.40, 0.26). Leg formula: 4 1 2 3. Palp measurements: 0.54 (0.18, 0.09, 0.13, 0.14).

Vulval structure simple, a pair of asymmetrical spermathecae connected with “L”-shaped copulatory ducts, copulatory opening widely spaced with spermathecae, locating at bilateral genital area, chitinous ducts relatively short, converged on the median line ( Fig. 4 E ).

Distribution. – Known only from the type locality ( Fig. 13 ).

Figures

Fig. 3. Speocera bulbiformis new species: A. Male left palp, prolateral view; B. Ditto, retrolateral view; C. Ditto, ventral view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

Fig. 4. Speocera bulbiformis new species: A. Male carapace, dorsal view; B. Female abdomen, ventral view; C. Ditto, lateral view; D. Male chelicerae, frontal view; E. Female vulva, dorsal view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm for A-D; 0.05 mm for E.

Fig. 13. Locality records of cave spiders in Vietnam.