Silhouettella tiggy n. sp.

Ranasinghe, U. G. S. L. & Benjamin, Suresh P., 2018, Taxonomic descriptions of nine new species of the goblin spider genera Cavisternum, Grymeus, Ischnothyreus, Opopaea, Pelicinus and Silhouettella (Araneae, Oonopidae) from Sri Lanka, Evolutionary Systematics 2 (1), pp. 65-80 : 70-72

Silhouettella tiggy n. sp. Figs 18 A–F, 19 D–E, 20B

Type material.

Male holotype from Sri Lanka, Central Province, Kandy District, Corbett's Gap, Knuckles range, 07°21'40"N 80o50'00"E, 1360m, 02 November 2010, Hand collecting, leg. S. P. Benjamin, S. Batuwita (IFS_Oon_034) (ZFMK).

Other material examined.

1 male; Sri Lanka, Central Province, Kandy District, Knuckles site 01, litter, 07 April 2015, leg. N. Athukorala (IFS_Oon_290); 1 female; Central Province, Kandy District, Dunumadalawa FR, 701m, 07°16'38"N 80°38'69"E, litter, 06 February 2017, leg. N. Athukorala et al. (IFS_Oon_449).

Diagnosis.

Silhouettella tiggy n. sp. resembles S. usgutra Saaristo & van Harten, 2002 by the rough, granulated carapace (Fig. 18A), but can be differentiated by the snout-shaped embolus-conductor complex (Fig. 20B).

Etymology.

This species is a noun in apposition named after “Tiggy” a brownie and one of the characters in the story “Billy’s Little Boats" by Blyton in 1971.

Description.

Male: Total length 1.34 (Carapace, L: 0.58, W: 0.44. Abdomen, L: 0.76, W: 0.54). Coloration: carapace orange-brown, sternum and mouthparts orange, abdominal scuta orange-yellow, abdominal inter scutal region white and covered with setae, legs pale orange, palps pale orange. Carapace broadly oval in dorsal view anteriorly narrowed 0.5 times its maximum width (Fig. 18A), strongly elevated in lateral view (Fig. 18B), surface and sides with the roughly granulated black serrations (Fig. 18B), posterior margin rounded (Fig. 18E). Clypeus slightly rebordered, straight in front view. Chelicerae straight, anterior face unmodified (Fig. 18D). Six eyes, well developed (Fig. 18D). Sternum as long as wide, radial furrows slightly visible in between coxae I–II, II–III, III–IV (Fig. 18C). Abdomen ovoid (Fig. 18A), dorsal scutum strongly sclerotized, pale orange, cover full length of abdomen, no soft tissue visible from above (Fig. 18A). Postepigastric scutum long, semicircular, covering nearly full length of abdominal length, fused to epigastric scutum, without posteriorly directed lateral apodemes (Fig. 18C). Posterior spiracles connected by groove, booklung covers narrow (Fig. 18C). Spinnerets scutum present as incomplete ring (Fig. 18F). Legs spines absent. Genitalia: Sperm pore large, situated at level of anterior spiracular groove (Fig. 18C). Palp of normal size, not strongly sclerotized, cymbium yellow, not fused with bulb, not extending beyond distal tip of bulb. Bulb yellow, 1 to 1.5 times as long as cymbium, stout, spherical with snout-shaped embolus-conductor complex (Fig. 20B).

Female: Total length 1.32 (Carapace, L: 0.56, W: 0.46. Abdomen, L: 0.76, W: 0.58). Somatic morphology similar to the two males of Silhouettella tiggy n. sp. (Figs 19D, E). Genitalia: Receptaculum length approximately 1/3 of its width, between posterior spiracular groove and epigastric furrow. External genital structures on ventral scutum as in Fig. 19E.

Remarks.

The association of this single female, collected from a locality further away from the type locality should be considered provisional.

Distribution.

Corbett’s Gap, Knuckles site 01, possibly in Dunumadalawa FR (Fig. 21).