Brigittea avicenna, Zamani & Marusik, 2021

Zamani, Alireza & Marusik, Yuri M., 2021, A new genus and ten new species of spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) from Iran, ZooKeys 1054, pp. 95-126 : 95

Brigittea avicenna sp. nov.

Figures 1A-E , 2A-D , 3A-D

Type material.

Holotype ♂ (MHNG), Iran: Kurdistan Province: S of Divandareh, 35°45'N, 47°05'E, 23.6.1975 (A. Senglet). Paratypes: 3♀ (MHNG), same collection data as the holotype; 2♀ (MHNG), Alborz Province: Asara, 36°02'N, 51°14'E, 1900 m, 4.7.1975 (A. Senglet).

Etymology.

The new species is named after Ibn Sina, also known as Avicenna (ca 980-June 1037), a Persian polymath who is regarded as the father of early modern medicine; noun in apposition.

Diagnosis.

The male of the new species differs from all congeners by its thick embolus (vs filamentous) and the posterior tip of conductor (Ct) directed mesally (vs retrolaterally). The female can be distinguished by the almost round copulatory openings and ridges (Er) spaced by more than 8 diameters of copulatory openings (vs copulatory openings not round and ridges spaced by less than 3 diameters).

Description.

Male. Habitus as in Figure 1A, D, E . Total length 2.60. Carapace 1.25 long, 0.55 wide at pars cephalica, 0.85 at pars thoracica, pars cephalica very high, higher than ½ (ca 0.65) of carapace length. Eye sizes: AME: 0.05, ALE: 0.06, PME: 0.06, PLE: 0.06. Carapace, labium, chelicera, maxilla and sternum dark reddish brown, without any pattern. Pars cephalica and sternum with sparse coating of long white setae. Legs light brown, without annulations. Abdomen dark grey, with coating of dense short white setae. Spinnerets brownish, unicolourous. Cribellum undivided (Fig. 1C ). Measurements of legs: I: 3.50 (1.04, 0.34, 0.85, 0.81, 0.46), II: 3.07 (0.94, 0.33, 0.70, 0.68, 0.42), III: 2.23 (0.71, 0.27, 0.42, 0.50, 0.33), IV: 2.55 (0.80, 0.29, 0.54, 0.59, 0.33).

Palp as in Figures 2A, B , 3A-D ; tibia with dorso-retrolateral socket (Ts); cymbium almost 2 times longer than wide; anterior part of conductor (Ca) terminates at about 11:30 o’clock position; posterior part (Ct) covered with fine granulation, tip directed mesally; embolic base large, about ½ of cymbium’s length; embolus thick, originates at 10 o’clock position, tip modified with fine hook terminally.

Female (paratype from Kurdistan). Habitus as in Figure 1B . Total length 3.60. Carapace 1.15 long, 0.58 wide at pars cephalica, 0.94 at pars thoracica. Coloration, general somatic features and eye sizes as in male. Measurements of legs: I: 3.57 (1.06, 0.40, 0.77, 0.79, 0.55), II: 3.09 (0.96, 0.36, 0.63, 0.71, 0.43), III: 2.36 (0.75, 0.33, 0.46, 0.52, 0.30), IV: 3.02 (0.95, 0.39, 0.66, 0.68, 0.34).

Epigyne as in Figure 2C, D ; epigynal field about 3 times wider than long; copulatory opening almost round, spaced by 1.6 diameters, lateral ridges (Er) located 2 diameters of copulatory openings apart from copulatory openings, their length about diameter of copulatory openings; copulatory ducts gradually tapering, making a course of about 90°, about 2 times longer than copulatory opening’s diameter; receptacles (Re) smaller than copulatory openings, spaced slightly by more than one width.

Comments.

At first look, the male palp is similar to those of the species of Emblyna Chamberlin, 1948 due to the modified embolus (thick and with complex tip). Current generic placement is due to the strongly raised cephalic region, which is also documented in the generotype, Brigittea latens (Fabricius, 1775), and modification of chelicera (cf. Fig. 1D and Miller and Svatoň 1978: pl. IV, figs 1, 2). All species assigned to Brigittea similarly have the posterior tip of conductor covered with fine teeth (cf. Marusik et al. 2015: figs 31, 35). Another similarity with the generotype is spaced receptacles (vs touching each other in Emblyna and Dictyna ). Although B. latens has a filamentous embolus, its tip is modified in a similar way as in B. avicenna sp. nov. (cf. Marusik et al. 2015: fig. 36). There is another character that is different in the new species and the generotype - the structure of the cribellum. In the new species the cribellum is integral, while in B. latens it is bipartite (cf. Lehtinen 1967).

Distribution.

Known only from the listed localities in Alborz and Kurdistan provinces, northern and western Iran.

Figures

Figure 1. Male (A, C-E) and female (B) of Brigittea avicenna sp. nov. A, B habitus, dorsal D, E same, frontal and lateral, respectively C cribellum and spinnerets, ventral.

Figure 2. Male palp (A, B) and epigyne (C, D) of Brigittea avicenna sp. nov. A, C ventral B retrolateral D dorsal. Abbreviations: Er - epigynal ridge, Re - receptacle. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

Figure 3. SEM images of the male palp of Brigittea avicenna sp. nov. A, B ventral C, D retrolateral. Abbreviations: Ca - anterior part of conductor, Ct - posterior part of conductor, Ts - tibial socket. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.