Crossopriza surobi, Huber, 2022

Huber, Bernhard A., 2022, Revisions of Holocnemus and Crossopriza: the spotted-leg clade of Smeringopinae (Araneae, Pholcidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 795 (1), pp. 1-241 : 204-208

Crossopriza surobi sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:6D67AB05-2114-445F-9217-35ED08B6B68F

Figs 353A , 806–822 , 841–853

Diagnosis

Distinguished from known congeners by details of male palp ( Figs 809–811 ; procursus ventral sclerite with strong retrolateral branch; procursus tip with strong dorsal process; distal bulbal sclerite with distinctive series of apophyses on prolateral side); from the similar C. lyoni (identical male chelicerae) also by longer epigynum and less elongated pore plates ( Figs 816–819 ); from the similar C. maculipes also by male chelicerae ( Fig. 815 ; lateral apophyses in lateral view long and pointed) and by female internal genitalia ( Fig. 817 ; pore plates farther apart).

Etymology

The species name refers to the type locality; noun in apposition.

Type material

Holotype AFGHANISTAN – Kabul • ♂; SE of Surobi / Sarobi (“Sorubay”); 34.50° N, 69.87° E (see Remark below); 800 m a.s.l.; 6 Aug. 1975; A. Senglet leg.; MHNG.

Remark

The label coordinates (34°30’ N, 69°52’ E) are actually slightly outside of Kabul Province in Laghman Province. The actual collecting site might thus be slightly further west or northwest.

Other material examined

AFGHANISTAN – Kabul • 8 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀ (partly used for SEM); same collection data as for holotype; MHNG • 1 ♂, 3 ♀♀, 1 juv.; E of Kabul; 34.57° N, 69.48° E; 4 Aug. 1975; A. Senglet leg.; MHNG . – Wardak • 1 ♀; [between] Kabul [and] Shahabuddin ; 34.33° N, 68.85° E; 12 Aug. 1975; A. Senglet leg.; MHNG • 1 ♀; NNE of Ghazni; 33.75° N, 68.57° E; 12 Aug. 1975; A. Senglet leg.; MHNG .

Description

Male (holotype)

MEASUREMENTS. Total length 4.2, carapace width 1.6. Distance PME–PME 100 µm; diameter PME 100 × 130 µm; distance PME–ALE 25 µm; diameter AME 90 µm; distance AME–AME 20 µm. Leg 1: 32.8 (9.2 + 0.6 + 8.9 + 11.9 + 2.2), tibia 2: 6.0, tibia 3: 4.3, tibia 4: 5.3; tibia 1 L/d: 64; femora 1–4 diameters: 0.22, 0.17, 0.17, 0.17.

COLOR (in ethanol). Carapace ochre-yellow, anteriorly in median pit light brown; sternum with many small brown spots partly arranged in radial marks; legs ochre-yellow, without darker rings, with black lines on femora and (few) on tibiae; abdomen pale gray, with few indistinct small dark marks dorsally and posteriorly above spinnerets; ventrally with broken dark band, with indistinct parallel longitudinal marks behind gonopore.

BODY. Habitus similar to C. tiwi sp. nov. (cf. Figs 393–394 ). Ocular area slightly raised. Deep thoracic pit and pair of furrows diverging from pit toward posterior margin. Clypeus unmodified, only rim slightly more sclerotized than in female. Sternum wider than long (1.05/0.65), unmodified. Abdomen slightly elongated, dorso-posteriorly angular to conical. Gonopore with four epiandrous spigots ( Fig. 852 ).

CHELICERAE. As in Figs 814–815 , with two pairs of frontal apophyses; proximal pair in lateral position, pointed and directed towards lateral; distal pair directed towards median, at tip with one large modified cone-shaped hair each ( Fig. 845 ); distance between tips of modified hairs 30 µm; lateral stridulatory ridges distinct ( Fig. 841 ; distances between ridges ~4 µm), clearly visible in dissecting microscope.

PALPS. As in Figs 806–808 ; coxa with rounded retrolateral hump; trochanter barely modified; femur distally strongly widened, with rounded ventral protrusion, proximally with prolateral stridulatory pick ( Fig. 842 ), without retrolateral transversal line, without retrolateral proximal process; femur-patella joints shifted toward prolateral side; tibia-tarsus joints slightly shifted toward retrolateral side; tarsus without macrotrichia; tarsal organ capsulate ( Fig. 849 ); procursus ( Figs 809–810 ) straight, prolateral proximal hump set with many hairs, long dorsal hairs not curved, procursus tip with flat dorsal sclerite (wide in dorsal view), strong ventral sclerite with distinctive retrolateral branch ( Fig. 846 ), and brush of short hair-like processes on retrolateral side ( Fig. 847 ); genital bulb ( Figs 811–813 ) with simple basal sclerite connected to distal (main) sclerite, sperm duct opening at basis of distal sclerite on prolateraldorsal side (arrow in Fig. 848 ); distal sclerite with retrolateral ridge and distinctive set of prolateral apophyses and ridge.

LEGS. Femur 1 with single row of ~18 ventral spines; without curved hairs; few vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at 4.5%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1, present on other leg tibiae; tarsal pseudosegments not seen.

Male (variation)

Tibia 1 in seven males (incl. holotype): 7.8–8.9 (mean 8.4). Some males also with whitish internal marks on abdomen.

Female

In general similar to male but without spines on legs, without stridulatory files on chelicerae ( Fig. 843 ), and with stridulatory organ consisting of pair of weakly sclerotized but distinct processes posteriorly on carapace and pair of small but distinct light brown plates anteriorly on abdomen. Tibia 1 in 12 females: 6.0–8.3 (mean 7.3). Epigynum as in Figs 819 and 853 ; main epigynal plate wider than long, weakly protruding, sclerotized area at posterior margin widening towards lateral; with median ridge with shallow pair of opposing pockets close together (distance 30 µm); internal sclerotized arcs and median anterior internal sclerite visible in uncleared specimens; posterior plate light brown, short but wide. Internal genitalia ( Figs 816–817 , 820–822 ) with large angular pore plates, dorsal arc simple, ventral arc stronger, with median sclerite asymmetric; apparently antisymmetric (only two females cleared; ‘left’ and ‘right’ sided).

Distribution

Known from four localities in eastern Afghanistan (Kabul and Wardak Provinces) ( Fig. 353A ).

Figures

Fig. 353. Known distribution of Crossopriza Simon, 1893; autochthonous species part 2 (cf. Fig. 352): species with main cheliceral apophyses in frontal position and epigynal pockets close together. The figure is split into two to avoid too much overlap; the split is not meant to reflect any natural grouping of species. The single record of C. maculipes from China is not shown (see text).

Figs 806–808. Crossopriza surobi sp. nov.; non-type male from Afghanistan, SE of Surobi (MHNG); left palp, prolateral, dorsal, and retrolateral views. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.

Figs 809–817. Crossopriza surobi sp. nov.; non-type male and female from Afghanistan, SE of Surobi (MHNG). 809–810. Left procursus, prolateral and retrolateral views; arrow: branch of ventral sclerite. 811–813. Left genital bulb, prolateral, dorsal, and retrolateral views; arrow: retrolateral ridge. 814– 815. Male chelicerae, frontal and lateral views. 816–817. Cleared female genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. Abbreviations: ds = dorsal sclerite; vs = ventral sclerite. Scale bars = 0.3 mm.

Figs 818–822. Crossopriza surobi sp. nov.; female from Afghanistan, SE of Surobi (MHNG). 818– 819. Abdomen and epigynum, ventral views. 820–822. Cleared female genitalia, dorsal view with dorsal arc tilted backwards, ventral view, and regular dorsal view; arrow: asymmetric median sclerite. Abbreviations: da = dorsal arc; va = ventral arc. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Figs 841–848. Crossopriza surobi sp. nov.; male and female from Afghanistan, SE of Surobi (MHNG). 841–842. Male stridulatory file and corresponding pick on palpal femur. 843–844. Female cheliceral side and proximal prolateral hair on female palpal femur. 845. Tip of male cheliceral apophysis. 846. Tip of left procursus, retrolateral-ventral view. 847. Detail of procursus tip. 848. Distal sclerite of left genital bulb, prolateral (slightly ventral and distal) view; arrow: sperm duct opening. Abbreviation: vs = ventral sclerite. Scale bars: 841, 843 = 20 µm; 842, 844–845, 847 = 10 µm; 846, 848 = 100 µm.

Figs 849–857. 849–853. Crossopriza surobi sp. nov.; male and female from Afghanistan, SE of Surobi (MHNG). 849–850. Male and female palpal tarsal organs. 851. Tarsal organ on female tarsus 1. 852. Male gonopore. 853. Epigynum. 854–857. Crossopriza maculipes (Spassky, 1934); male from Afghanistan, Djelalabad (MHNG). 854. Gonopore. 855. ALS. 856. Left procursus tip, retrolateral view; arrow: branch of ventral sclerite. 857. Detail of preceding figure. Abbreviations: ds = dorsal sclerite; vs = ventral sclerite. Scale bars: 849–851, 855, 857 = 10 µm; 852, 856 = 20 µm; 853–854 = 100 µm.

Figs 391–398. Crossopriza Simon, 1893, live specimens. 391–392. C. sahtan sp. nov., male and female from Oman, Wadi Ghul. 393–395. C. tiwi sp. nov., males and female with egg-sac from Oman, Wadi Tiwi. 396–398. C. dhofar sp. nov., male and female from Oman, Ain Razad, and female from Oman, Wadi Nahiz.