Myrmarachne uniseriata Narayan, 1915

Tripathi, Rishikesh, Jose, Athira, Nafin, Karunnappilli Shamsudheen, Babu, Nishi & Sudhikumar, Ambalaparambil Vasu, 2023, The first description of the female of Myrmarachne uniseriata Narayan, 1915 and the first report of Myrmarachne spissa (G. W. Peckham & E. G. Peckham, 1892) from India, Peckhamia 289 (1), pp. 1-10 : 6-9

Myrmarachne uniseriata Narayan, 1915

Figures 16–30

Myrmarachne uniseriata Narayan, 1915: 402 , plate 32, fig. 6 (♂).

Myrmarachne aurantiaca Benjamin, 2015: 2613 , fig. 1A-D (♂).

Myrmarachne uniseriata Caleb & Benjamin, 2017: 294 , fig. 1-6 (♂, syn. of M. aurantiaca ).

Type material. Holotype (ZSI-2372/17): 1 ♂ from India, leg. Narayan, K. collection (illustrations and description of ♂) kept at the National Zoological Collection, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata. 1 ♂ from Sri Lanka, North Western Province, Kurunegala District , Kurunegala , Ethagala Range , 20 September 2009, leg. Ziyard Jaleel et al (misidentification; description & illustration of ♂). Type kept at the Museúm d’Histoire Naturelle, Geneva, Switzerland ( MHNG).

Other material examined. 1 ♂ and 1 ♀, designated paratype (NRC-AA-4165, NRC-AA-4166) from INDIA: Maharashtra: Pune: Urli-Kanchan (18°28'31.1"N 74°08'12.3"E; 560 m alt.), 14 Aug 2018, R . Tripathi leg ., from ground, by hand.

Diagnosis. For the diagnosis of the male, see Benjamin (2015). Female M. uniseriata are similar to the females of M. formicaria (De Geer, 1778) as both share an epigyne with a large, more or less triangular depression, and spermathecae with diverging fertilization ducts. M. uniseriata can be distinguished from the latter by a copulatory duct with 6 turns (vs. 4 turns in M. formicaria ) and the presence of a sizeable transparent coil (vs. absent or not presented in any images drawn for M. formicaria ). Compare Figures 25–30 with Żabka, 1997: figs. 215–221.

Description. Female (designated paratype, Figures 19–21 ). Carapace, chelicera, clypeus, labium, endites and sternum yellowish orange, eye-field darker; legs golden-yellow and opisthosoma cream. Carapace without hair, smooth and glossy; numerous shallow circular depression present around eye-field and two at mid of carapace; lateral margin with narrow dark brown lines, thoracic region with light brown striae radiating from the centre to lateral margins. Cheliceral promargin with six teeth, 1st and 2nd small and lying away from remaining four closely spaced teeth; retromargin with five subequal and closely spaced teeth. Opisthosoma elongate-oval; medially with six small sigillae, posterior half darker with cream chevron pattern. Measurements: Body length 5.30. Carapace length 2.22, width 1.12. Opisthosoma length 2.97, width 1.48. Ocular area length 0.95, width 1.16. Eye diameters and interdistances: AME 0.35, ALE 0.17, PME 0.03, PLE 0.20; AME–AME 0.02, AME–ALE 0.03, PME–PME 0.90, ALE–ALE 0.72, PME–PLE 0.23, PLE–PLE 1.03, ALE–PME 0.22, ALE–PLE 0.49. Chelicera length 0.66. Clypeus height 0.01. Sternum length 1.06, width 0.36. Length of palp and legs: Palp 1.34 [0.45, 0.17, 0.22, 0.50], I 3.26 [1.04, 0.47, 0.90, 0.50, 0.35], II 2.35 [0.76, 0.32, 0.59, 0.42, 0.26], III 2.62 [0.79, 0.36, 0.57, 0.60, 0.30], IV 3.92 [1.18, 0.49, 0.97, 0.94, 0.34]. Leg formula: 4132. Spination of palp: femur pl 1 do 2 rl 2, patella do 2, tibia do 2, tarsus pl 1 do 3 rl 2; legs: femora I–IV spineless; patellae I rlv 1, II–IV spineless; tibiae I plv 4 rlv 4, II plv 3 rlv 3, III–IV spineless; metatarsus I–II plv 2 rlv 2, III plv 6 rlv 6, IV plv 9 rlv 9; tarsi I–IV spineless. Genitalia ( Figures 25–30 ): Epigynum hirsute, with sclerotised inverted V-shaped depression at posterior margin. Copulatory openings wide, mediolaterally placed, widely spaced. Copulatory ducts long parallel, anteriorly coiled. Spermathecae long and oblong, contiguous. Fertilization ducts L-shaped, diverging.

Supplementary description. Male ( Figures 16–18 ). General aspects essentially as in female except for the followings: Body colour slightly darker, cephalic region with few black blotches, cheliceral paturon almost size of carapace, promargin with 10 teeth; retromargin without tooth; fang long, with tooth-like apophysis. 1/3rd of the opisthosoma black, chevron pattern absent; with anterior and posterior scutum, sigilla indistinct. Measurements: Body length 4.55. Carapace length 2.30, width 1.20. Opisthosoma length 2.16, width 1.09. Ocular area length 0.97, width 1.07. Eye diameters and interdistances: AME 0.34, ALE 0.18, PME 0.03, PLE 0.22; AME–AME 0.02, AME–ALE 0.01, PME–PME 0.96, ALE–ALE 0.71, PME–PLE 0.21, PLE–PLE 1.02, ALE–PME 0.25, ALE–PLE 0.50. Chelicera length 1.86. Clypeus height nought. Sternum length 1.19, width 0.40. Length of palp and legs: Palp 1.48 [0.53, 0.18, 0.21, 0.56], I 3.85 [1.19, 0.57, 1.08, 0.64, 0.37], II 2.86 [0.90, 0.46, 0.67, 0.54, 0.29], III 2.88 [0.92, 0.40, 0.63, 0.65, 0.28], IV 4.16 [1.30, 0.57, 1.01, 0.95, 0.33]. Leg formula: 4132. Spination of palp: femur pl 2 do 2 rl 1, patella do 1, tibia do 2, tarsus pl 1 do 3 rl 2; legs: femora I do 1, II –IV spineless; patellae I rlv 1, II–IV spineless; tibiae I plv 3 rlv 3, II plv 2 rlv 3, III–IV spineless; metatarsus I–II plv 2 rlv 2, III plv 3 rlv 3, IV plv 4 rlv 4; tarsi I–IV spineless. Pedipalp ( Figs 22–24 ): Segments pale brown. Cymbium oval, with two apical macroseta. RTA short, thumb shape, tapering, fairly round apex, slightly bent at base. Tegulum circular; U-shaped spermaphore in the 11–12 o’clock position. Embolus thin, long, with two coils around tegulum, mediodistally originating.

Distribution. India, Sri Lanka ( WSC, 2023). In India: Pune, Maharashtra and Chennai, Tamil Nadu (Caleb, & Benjamin 2017; present data).

Figures

Figures 16-21. Myrmarachne uniseriata (NRC-AA-4165, NRC-AA-4166) from Maharashtra, India. 16-18, Dorsal, lateral and frontal views of adult male. 19-21, Dorsal, lateral and frontal views of adult female.

Figures 22-27. Myrmarachne uniseriata (NRC-AA-4165, NRC-AA-4166) from Maharashtra, India. 22-23, Ventral and retrolateral views of left male pedipalp. 24, Detail of retrolateral tibial apophysis, from (23). 25, Ventral view of intact female epigyne. 26-27, Ventral (26) and dorsal (27) views of cleared female epigyne.

Figures 28–30. Diagrams of the epigyne of a female Myrmarachne uniseriata (NRC-AA-4166) from Maharashtra, India. 28, Ventral view (see Figures 25-26). 29, Dorsal view (see Figure 27). 30, Dorsal view of insemination ducts on left side.