Ablemma malacca Lin & Li

Lin, Yucheng, Koh, Joseph K. H., Koponen, Seppo & Li, Shuqiang, 2017, Taxonomic notes on the armored spiders of the families Pacullidae and Tetrablemmidae (Arachnida, Araneae) from Singapore, ZooKeys 661, pp. 15-60 : 19-20

Ablemma malacca Lin & Li sp. n. Figs 7, 8, 9

Type material.

Holotype ♂ (LKCNHM), SINGAPORE: Central Catchment Nature Reserve, altitude 60 m, 1°21'21.7"N, 103°48'3.8"E, 26 August 2015, S. Li and Y. Tong leg. Paratypes 1♂ and 2♀ (LKCNHM), same data as holotype.

Other material examined.

1♂ and 1♀ (NHMSU), SINGAPORE: Central Catchment Nature Reserve, altitude 60 m, 1°21'21.7"N, 103°48'3.8"E, 26 August 2015, S. Li and Y. Tong leg.

Etymology.

The specific epithet refers to the Strait of Malacca, which separates Singapore from the Indonesian island of Sumatra; noun.

Diagnosis.

This new species can be distinguished from all its congeners with the exception of Ablemma datahu Lehtinen, 1981, Ablemma makiling Lehtinen, 1981, Ablemma shimojanai (Komatsu, 1968), Ablemma singalang Lehtinen, 1981, and Ablemma unicornis Burger, 2008 by the absence of a long, pointed tooth on male cephalic area posteriorly (Fig. 7E), the elongated palpal bulb (Fig. 8 B–C), and by the long, claviform inner vulval plate (Fig. 9C). It differs from Ablemma datahu (see Lehtinen, 1981: 48, figs 176, 190, 196) and Ablemma makiling (see Lehtinen, 1981: 50, figs 192, 187) by the trifurcated embolic end (Fig. 8C) and the narrower, longer and straighter inner vulval plate (Fig. 9C); from Ablemma shimojanai (see Shear, 1978: 32, figs 82-87) by the lack of cheliceral horn and posteriorly cephalic process in male (Fig. 7E, G), the larger embolus (Fig. 8 B–C), the inner vulval plate with a bent end and the stouter lateral horns (Fig. 9C); from Ablemma singalang (see Lehtinen, 1981: 48, fig. 170) by the shorter, trifurcated embolus (Fig. 8 B–C); and from Ablemma unicornis (see Burger, 2008b: 253, figs 1, 2, 5, 11, 13) by the higher cephalic process in male ocular area (Fig. 7E), the six eyes in both sexes (Fig. 7A, C), the longer embolus (Fig. 8 B–C) and the narrower base of inner vulval plate (Fig. 9C).

Description.

Male (holotype). Coloration: body brownish-yellow; legs yellowish-orange.

Measurements: total length 1.08; carapace 0.49 long, 0.44 wide, 0.47 high; abdomen 0.66 long, 0.50 wide, 0.40 high; clypeus 0.24 high; sternum 0.31 long, 0.30 wide. Length of legs: I 1.14 (0.39, 0.13, 0.28, 0.16, 0.18); II 1.01 (0.33, 0.12, 0.23, 0.16, 0.17); III 0.88 (0.28, 0.11, 0.18, 0.17, 0.14); IV 1.19 (0.37, 0.13, 0.30, 0.22, 0.17).

Prosoma (Fig. 7 A–B, E, G): carapace finely reticulated, margin rugose; eyes white, ALE>PME>PLE, ocular area protruded (Fig. 7E, G); clypeus very high, sloping forward, marginally rounded; cephalic part raised, flat top; thoracic part radial furrow distinctly smooth; chelicerae robust, with a small basal tuber and an anterodistal tooth (Fig. 7E), cheliceral lamina well developed; labium triangular, distally blunt; sternum finely reticulated, with sparse setae. Legs: cuticle striated; femur I slightly swollen, tibia I with a distal-laterally ventral tuber (Fig. 8A).

Opisthosoma (Fig. 7 A–B, G): dorsal scutum oval, dimpled with tiny pits, smooth between the pits, covered with sparse setae; ventral scutum rugose; perigenital scutum absent; postepigastral scutum straight, nearly same width as preanal scutum; preanal scutum rectangular, with thick posterolateral corners.

Palp (Fig. 8 B–C): femoral cuticle sculptured and ventrally granulated, approximately 2 times longer than patella; tibia not swollen, with a distally dorsal trichobothrium; cymbium small, cup-shaped; bulb long pear-shaped, its surface smooth; spermatic duct basally broad, distally narrow; embolus short, foot-shaped, distally strongly sclerotized, and forming a trifurcated terminal.

Female (one of paratypes). Coloration: same as in male.

Measurements: total length 1.10; carapace 0.52 long, 0.42 wide, 0.42 high; abdomen 0.72 long, 0.54 wide, 0.42 high; clypeus 0.14 high; sternum 0.31 long, 0.31 wide. Length of legs: I 1.14 (0.38, 0.14, 0.25, 0.17, 0.20); II 1.00 (0.32, 0.13, 0.22, 0.16, 0.17); III 0.88 (0.26, 0.12, 0.17, 0.18, 0.15); IV 1.16 (0.36, 0.13, 0.29, 0.20, 0.18).

Prosoma (Fig. 7 C–D, F, H): clypeus lower than in male, smooth, bears sparse setae; ocular area not protruded; cephalic part lower than in male, palps reduced; other features as in male.

Opisthosoma (Figs 7 C–D, H; 9 A–B): dorsal and ventral scuta as in male; lateral scutum I long, extending beyond posterior rim of booklung cover; cover centrally smooth, laterally rugose; postgenital scutum narrow, slightly curved; perigenital scutum absent; preanal scutum rectangular, with sparse serrated setae and one posteromedial and two posterolateral corners.

Genitalia (Fig. 9 B–D): epigynal pit and vulval stem forming to an oval structure, strongly sclerotized (Fig. 9B, D); vulval duct and lateral horn weakly sclerotized, connected to the translucent, saccular seminal receptaculum (Fig. 9C); inner vulval plate long, distal end slightly bent (Fig. 9C); central process absent.

Distribution.

Singapore.