Stenaelurillus albus, Sebastian, Pothalil A., Sankaran, Pradeep M., Malamel, Jobi J. & Joseph, Mathew M., 2015

Sebastian, Pothalil A., Sankaran, Pradeep M., Malamel, Jobi J. & Joseph, Mathew M., 2015, Description of new species of Stenaelurillus Simon, 1886 from the Western Ghats of India with the redescription of Stenaelurilluslesserti Reimoser, 1934 and notes on mating plug in the genus (Arachnida, Araneae, Salticidae), ZooKeys 491, pp. 63-78 : 64-67

Taxon classification Animalia Araneae Salticidae

Stenaelurillus albus sp. n. Figs 1 A–B, 2 A–G, 3 A–C, 7A, 8 A–I, 9 A–F

Type material.

Holotype: Male (ADSH 83503Ai): India, Kerala, Ernakulam, Kurisumudi (10°12'33.36"N, 76°30'08.85"E) in Malayatoor (10°11'43.76"N, 76°29'48.45"E), 94 m. alt., Pradeep M. S., 04. XII. 2013, by hand; Paratypes: 8 females, 6 males (ADSH 83503Aii), same data as holotype.

Diagnosis.

Males of Stenaelurillus albus sp. n. can be separated from all other described congeners by uniformly dark dorsal opisthosoma without any pattern (Figs 1A, 8A), paired creamy white areas at the anterior part of the bulbus, (Fig. 2E, arrows) and palpal femur with a single disto-dorsal spine (Figs 2A, 2C); females are most similar to Stenaelurillus abramovi Logunov, 2008 as both possess wide copulatory openings ( Logunov 2008, Fig. 4 and herein Figs 3A, 9E), but can be distinguished by the presence of small and ‘vase’ - shaped spermathecae (Figs 3B, 9F) and copulatory ducts with weakly sclerotized anterior part (Fig. 3B).

Description.

MALE (holotype, Figs 1A, 8 A–F): Prosoma black with white lateral bands of nearly uniform thickness; thoracic region dorsally with paired white longitudinal bands extending back from the rear eyes. Eye field black; anterior row of eyes encircled by black hairs. Clypeus densely covered with white hairs, which is a continuation with that on the lateral margins of carapace. Chelicerae short, vertical, brownish with a thick mid-dorsal transverse layer of white hairs; promargin with two, one large and one small, and retromargin with one large teeth. Fangs short, pale brown. Maxillae, labium and sternum yellowish-brown. Opisthosoma oval; dorsum uniformly shiny black without any pattern; lateral opisthosoma and venter dull yellow with several broken black striations and spots. Trochanters III and IV and coxae III and IV yellowish-brown; trochanters I and II and coxae I and II black; all tarsi brown; all other leg segments dull yellow with broad black patches giving a blackish appearance to the legs. Body length 5.89. Prosoma length 2.98, width (at the middle) 2.08, height (at the middle) 1.72. Opisthosoma length 2.91, width (at the middle) 1.98, height (at the middle) 1.45. Eye diameter: AME 0.44. ALE 0.22. PME 0.06. PLE 0.23. Eye interdistance: AME–AME 0.04. PME–PME 1.35. PLE–PLE 1.33. AME–ALE 0.06. ALE–PLE 0.41. ALE–PME 0.27. PME–PLE 0.14. Clypeus height at AMEs 0.36, at ALEs 0.64. Chelicera length 0.65. Measurements of palp and legs. Palp 1.78 [0.70, 0.32, 0.16, 0.60], I 4.25 [1.40, 0.81, 0.90, 0.60, 0.54], II 4.14 [1.45, 0.75, 0.84, 0.59, 0.51], III 6.60 [2.02, 1.14, 1.33, 1.51, 0.60], IV 6.26 [1.94, 0.87, 1.28, 1.53, 0.64]. Leg formula: 3412. Spination. Palp. 0100, 0000, 0000, 0000; legs: femur I 1500, II 1520 (right 1510), III 0300 (right 1300), IV 1500; patellae I–IV 1000; tibia I 2000, II 2022, III 2122, IV 2033 (right 2023); metatarsus I 2014, II 2022, III 3523 (right 3423), IV 2423; tarsi I–IV 0000. Copulatory organ (Figs 2 A–G, 8 G–I): Palpal segments pale yellow, the basal 1/4th of femur with black striations; femur disto-dorsally with a short spine and dorsally and laterally with a fringe of long yellowish-white hairs, dorsal and prolateral ones are prominent; patella and tibia disto-dorsally with a long black hair; patella ventro-laterally covered with short yellowish-white hairs; cymbium dark and dorsally with a few long black hairs. Bulb brown; anterior edge of the bulbus has two creamy-white regions, the distal one runs retrolaterally to near the antero-lateral edge of the ventral tibial apophysis (Fig. 2E, arrows); retro-basal process of tegulum not fused with the tibia; embolus short with blunt end and is prolaterally directed (Figs 2 D–E, 2G); conductor apparently absent; terminal apophysis short, directed at eleven o'clock position (Figs 2E, 2G). VTA short with blunt end and directed at two o'clock position (Fig. 2E); RTA simple with broad base and pointed end and directed at one o'clock position (Fig. 2F).

FEMALE (Paratype, Figs 1B, 9 A–D): Prosoma black with dull yellow lateral bands, the thoracic part of which is broader; thoracic region dorsally with paired white longitudinal bands extending back from the rear eyes. Eye field black; anterior row of eyes encircled with dull yellow hairs. Clypeus black; Chelicerae short, vertical and dull yellow; promargin with two, one large and one small, and retromargin with one large teeth. Maxillae, labium and sternum yellowish-brown. Opisthosoma widely oval; dorsum black with several dull yellow patches, the posterior three are prominent, which together forming an inverted triangle; lateral opisthosoma and venter dull yellow with several broken black striations and spots. Leg segments dull yellow with black patches and narrow transverse stripes. Palpal segments yellow with black patches; patella, tibia and tarsus dorsally with long black hairs. Body length 6.82. Prosoma length 2.99, width (at the middle) 2.29, height (at the middle) 1.94. Opisthosoma length 3.83, width (at the middle) 2.84, height (at the middle) 2.27. Eye diameter: AME 0.53. ALE 0.24. PME 0.06. PLE 0.21. Eye interdistance: AME–AME 0.05. PME–PME 1.50. PLE–PLE 1.45. AME–ALE 0.07. ALE–PLE 0.50. ALE–PME 0.31. PME–PLE 0.19. Clypeus height at AMEs 0.38; at ALEs 0.41. Chelicera length 0.63. Measurements of palp and legs. Palp 1.99 [0.69, 0.29, 0.33, 0.68], I 4.06 [1.42, 0.72, 0.86, 0.52, 0.54], II 3.76 [1.28, 0.76, 0.77, 0.47, 0.48], III 6.95 [2.18, 1.05, 1.48, 1.65, 0.59], IV 6.78 [1.97, 0.95, 1.39, 1.77, 0.70]. Leg formula: 3412. Spination. Palp 0100, 0000, 0000, 1020; legs: femora I–II 0700, III 2700, IV 0700; patellae I–II 1000, III–IV 1010; tibia I 3004, II 1004, III 4133, IV 4143; metatarsus I 3003, II 3013, III 3234, IV 4054; tarsi I–IV 0000. Copulatory organ (Figs 3 A–C, 9 E–F): Spermathecae small with a characteristic vase- shape (Figs 3B, 9F). Copulatory opening wide (Figs 3A, 9E) and nearly half the size of the spermathecae. Anterior part of copulatory duct near the copulatory opening is weakly sclerotized (Fig. 3B).

Variation.

Male: Body length 4.61-5.89 (n = 7). Female: Body length 5.43-6.82 (n = 8).

Etymology.

The specific epithet is an adjective and is derived from the whitish part of the tegulum: Latin Albus = white. Gender musculine.

Habitat.

Rocky area covered with litter in a deciduous forest (Fig. 12A).

Distribution.

At present known only from the type locality.