Falcileptoneta triformis, Oh & Lee, 2023

Oh, Jong-Hwa & Lee, Seunghwan, 2023, Six new epigean species of the genus Falcileptoneta Komatsu, 1970 (Araneae Leptonetidae) from South Korea, Zootaxa 5339 (1), pp. 40-58 : 56

Falcileptoneta triformis sp. nov.

Figures 11–12 , 13 (6)

Type material. Holotype: ♁, Hakgye-ri , Haksan-myeon, Yeongam-gun, Jeollanam-do, Korea (34°41ʹ41.8ʺN, 126°37ʹ53.2ʺE), 08.ix.2021, J.H. Oh leg. ( NIBR) . Paratypes: 1 ♀, same data as holotype ( SNU) .

Etymology. The specific name is derived from the Latin numeral tres (three) and the Latin suffix -formis (having the form of) referring to three types of retrolateral tibial apophyses.

Diagnosis. Falcileptoneta triformis sp. nov. can be separated from all Falcileptoneta species except F. digitalis Seo, 2015 by the following combination: male palpal tibia with three types of RTA, palpal bulb with a small hook-like embolus tip, median sclerite shoehorn-like. Separated from F. digitalis by having one pulpy dorsal spine on the male palpal tibia (two spines in F. digitalis ).

Description. Male (Holotype). Habitus as in Fig. 11A, B . Total length 1.56. Prosoma brown with two setae on thoracic area, one in front of AER, and three round PME, 0.69 long 0.65 wide, 1.06 times longer than wide; eyes six well developed. Sternum bell shape, 0.49 long, 0.36 wide. Endite L-shaped, longer than wide. Legs thin and slightly elongated, femur I 1.94 times longer than prosoma length, leg formula I-IV-II-III, measurements: I 5.06 (1.34, 0.24, 1.49, 1.15, 0.84); II 3.87 (1.06, 0.23, 1.13, 0.85, 0.60); III 3.36 (0.90, 0.23, 0.88, 0.79, 0.56); IV 4.53 (1.12, 0.23, 1.40, 1.09, 0.69); palp 1.22 (0.44, 0.21, 0.23, 0.34). Palp ( Fig. 11C–F ): femur without row of strong spine; tibia with three trichobothrium, with one pulpy dorsal spine; retrolateral tibial apophysis (RTA) three, dorsal RTA flat and transparent, middle RTA black and finger-like, ventral RTA black and droplet-shaped; tarsus unbranched, apically blunt with dense of long setae; palpal bulb oval, 1.76 times longer than wide, with small hook-like developed embolus tip, and three types of sclerite: median sclerite shoehorn-like slightly recurved, prolateral sclerite dark and needle-like, retrolateral sclerite membranous. Opisthosoma brown and oval with scattered setae, 0.87 long, 0.69 wide.

Female. Habitus as in Fig. 12A, B . Similar to male in general appearance but slightly lighter than male in colouration. Total length 1.45. Prosoma yellowish brown with purplish border line in thoracic area, setae arrangement similar to male, 0.69 long 0.60 wide, 1.15 times longer than wide; eyes six. Sternum pentagonal, slightly protruded posteriorly, 0.48 long, 0.41 wide. Legs thin and slightly elongated, femur I 1.67 times longer than prosoma length, leg formula I-IV-II-III, measurements: I 4.26 (1.15, 0.24, 1.28, 0.97, 0.62); II 3.56 (0.95, 0.23, 1.01, 0.77, 0.60); III 2.95 (0.78, 0.22, 0.76, 0.70, 0.49); IV 4.25 (1.14, 0.23, 1.30, 0.97, 0.61); Palp 1.17 (0.35, 0.16, 0.28, 0.38). Internal genitalia ( Fig. 12C ): atrium sub-triangular, spermathecae stalk loosely coiled twice, spermathecae pear-shaped. Opisthosoma brown, 0.76 long, 0.57 wide.

Habitat. This species was found in a layer of litter in mountainous regions.

Distribution. South Korea (Yeongam-gun, Jeollanam-do) ( Fig. 13 )

DNA barcodes of this species have been reported in Oh et al. (2022), synonym to Falcileptoneta sp 19 (GenBank Acc. No.: ON042092, ON042093).

Figures

FIGURE 11. Falcileptoneta triformis sp. nov., holotype male. A–B, habitus (A: dorsal view, B: ventral view); C–F, left palp (C: prolateral view, D: retrolateral view, E: dorsal view, F: ventral view). Abbreviations: Em=embolus, MS=median sclerite, PS=prolateral sclerite, RTA=retrolateral tibial apophysis. Scale bars: A–B=0.5 mm, C–F=0.1 mm.

FIGURE 12. Falcileptoneta triformis sp. nov., paratype female. A–B, habitus (A: dorsal view, B: ventral view); C, internal genitalia, dorsal view. Abbreviations: At=atrium, SH=spermathecae, SS=spermathecae stalk. Scale bars: A–B=0.5 mm, C=0.1 mm.

FIGURE 13. Sampling sites of collected specimens of six new Falcileptoneta species from Korea. 1 (Pink), F. alboclavata sp. nov.; 2 (Orange), F. decemspina sp. nov.; 3, (Brown) F. innuta sp. nov.; 4 (Yellow), F. jindoensis sp. nov.; 5 (Green), F. stilla sp. nov.; 6 (Blue), F. triformis sp. nov..