Trichoncus hirtus Denis, 1965

Tanasevitch, Andrei V., 2019, On linyphiid spiders collected by Antoine Senglet on Corsica, with the description of a new species (Araneae, Linyphiidae), Revue suisse de Zoologie 126 (1), pp. 43-51 : 47-48

Trichoncus hirtus Denis, 1965

Figs 10-16

Trichoncus hirtus Denis, 1965: 436 , figs 15-18 (description of female only).

Material: 1 male; FRANCE, Corsica, Sotta; 27.V.1971; leg. A. Senglet. – 1 male, 3 female; Patrimonio; 21.V.1971; leg. A. Senglet.

Remarks: This species was originally described on the basis of a single female from Bonifacio, Corsica ( Denis, 1965).

Description

Male from Patrimonio: Total length 1.75. Carapace 0.80 long, 0.63 wide, unmodified, pale brown; eyes normal. Chelicerae 0.35 long, unmodified; mastidion absent. Legs pale yellow.Leg I 2.71 long (0.70+0.20+0.68+0.63+0.50), IV 2.60 long (0.75+0.22+0.63+0.60+0.40). Chaetotaxy: 1.1.1.1, length of spines about 1.5-2.5 diameters of leg segment. Metatarsi I-III with a trichobothrium. TmI 0.35. Palp ( Figs 10-12 ): Tibia with a very long, narrow, falcate prolateral outgrowth gradually tapering towards the tip; retrolateral outgrowth conical. Cymbium with a dorsoproximal depression as typical for the genus. Distal suprategular apophysis short, tapered. Median membrane relatively wide, covering anterior apophysis of radix. Radix thin and long, its proximal part widely rounded, its distal part claw-shaped. Embolus long, forming a loop. Abdomen 0.88 long, 0.58 wide, pale grey, sparsely covered with strong hairs dorsally.

Females from Patrimonio: Somewhat bigger than male: total length 1.80-1.91 mm. Body and leg colouration, chaetotaxy, as in male. TmI 0.36-0.37. Posterior median plate of epigyne (= dorsal plate) bent to ventral side and forming a transverse plate. Shape of this plate variable, see Figs 13-16 . See also superb description of female by Denis (1965).

Taxonomic remarks: Trichoncus hirtus is most similar to the Eastern European T. sordidus Simon, 1884 and to the Western Mediterranean T. aurantiipes Simon, 1884 , distinguished by a smaller median denticle (MD) and a pointed prolateral outgrowth on the palpal tibia, as well as by a larger, claw-shaped anterior apophysis of the radix. The main differences lie in the shape of the posterior median plate of the epigyne: large and rectangular in T. hirtus , almost hidden by the lateral walls in T. sordidus , pyramidal in T. aurantiipes .

Distribution: Known from Corsica only.

Range: Central Mediterranean, presumed endemic to the island.

Figures

Figs 10-12. Trichoncus hirtus Denis, 1965, male from Patrimonio. (10-11) Right palp, retrolateral and prolateral view, respectively. (12) Palpal tibia, dorsal view.

Figs 13-16. Trichoncus hirtus Denis, 1965, females from Patrimonio. (13) Body, ventral view. (14-16) Epigyne of three different specimens, ventral view.