Aetius maculatus, Zhang & Mu & Zhang, 2022

Zhang, Lu, Mu, Yannan & Zhang, Feng, 2022, First record of the genus Aetius O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897 from China, with description of a new species (Araneae, Corinnidae, Castianeirinae), Biodiversity Data Journal 10, pp. 96594-96594 : 96594

Aetius maculatus sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Weihang Wang; individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: 29C90E69-17CE-594E-9AA3-3E5CDAF65D92; Location : country: China; stateProvince: Yunnan Province; county: Jinghong ; locality: Wild Elephant Valley ; verbatimElevation: 814; verbatimLatitude: 22°10′25.05″N; verbatimLongitude: 100°51′19.07″E; Event : year: 2022; month: 6; day: 5; Record Level : institutionID: the Museum of Hebei University ; institutionCode: MHBU Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Ku Yu; individualCount: 1; sex: female; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: 782A0534-2547-5D0F-BE56-F27DFDCCC2C8; Location : country: China; stateProvince: Yunnan Province; county: Jinghong ; locality: Wild Elephant Valley ; verbatimElevation: 800; verbatimLatitude: 22°10′25.05″N; verbatimLongitude: 100°51′19.07″E; Event : year: 2021; month: 8; day: 3; Record Level : institutionID: the Museum of Hebei University ; institutionCode: MHBU

Description

Male (Holotype) (Fig. 1 B-D and Fig. 2 A-C). Total length 6.91; carapace 3.72 long, 2.15 wide; abdomen 3.19 long, 1.98 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.16, ALE 0.11, PME 0.10, PLE 0.09; AME-AME 0.36, AME-ALE 0.21, ALE-ALE 0.72, PME-PME 0.49, PME-PLE 0.57, PLE-PLE 1.37, ALE-PLE 0.63; MOA 0.21 long; anterior width 0.48, posterior width 0.58. Clypeal height 0.43. Chelicerae with two pro- (proximal smallest, distal largest) and two retromarginal teeth (same size). Labium 0.21 long, 0.39 wide; sternum 1.32 long, 0.97 wide. Measurements of legs: I 7.14 (1.91, 0.70, 1.76, 1.43, 1.34), II lost, III 6.65 (2.01, 0.77, 1.69, 1.37, 0.81), IV 9.03 (2.69, 0.77, 2.50, 2.02, 1.05).

Carapace black, sub-pentagonal, sclerotised, widest at coxae II and III, surface with white, sparse plumose hair; ocular region with white setae; posterior of carapace narrowed, forming trapezoidal extension over pedicel (Fig. 2 C). Legs dark brown, slender, all femora black, with white feathery setae dorsally, tibia Ⅰ-Ⅱ and middle of metatarsi Ⅳ yellow. Abdomen oval, laterally constricted, posteriorly gradually widened; both sides with pinnate hairs, forming two white patches and posterior with a white patch. Dorsal scutum large, nearly covered abdomen (Fig. 2 A); epigastric scutum extending anteriorly and sclerotised, forming short, grooved collar ring; ventral scutum rectangular, heavily sclerotised (Fig. 2 B).

Palp (Fig. 3 A-D). Tibia concaved in ventral surface; distal margin developed, forming prominence; retrolateral tibial apophysis digitiform, weakly sclerotised, slightly transparent; prolateral tibial apophysis semicircular. Embolus conical, elongate, slender distally, with screw thread surface.

Female (Fig. 2 D and E). Total length 8.25; carapace 4.22 long, 2.48 wide; abdomen 4.03 long, 2.97 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.15, ALE 0.12, PME 0.11, PLE 0.08; AME-AME 0.37, AME-ALE 0.22, ALE-ALE 0.80, PME-PME 0.53, PME-PLE 0.61, PLE-PLE 1.48, ALE-PLE 0.63; MOA 0.24 long; anterior width 0.47, posterior width 0.60. Clypeal height 0.53. Labium 0.33 long, 0.57 wide; sternum 1.62 long, 1.22 wide. Measurements of legs: I 7.86 (2.15, 0.70, 2.12, 1.67, 1.22), II 7.91 (2.29, 0.75, 2.03, 1.61, 1.23), III 7.62 (2.34, 0.79, 2.01, 1.56, 0.92), IV 10.2 (2.99, 0.92, 2.87, 2.28, 1.14).

As in male, except abdomen nearly round, with two white spots and dorsal scutum large, bluish-violet, extending five-sixths the length of dorsum.

Epigyne (Fig. 3 E and F): simple, strongly sclerotised, with copulatory opening, small, C-shaped. Copulatory duct extremely short, connecting to spermatheca. Spermatheca fabaceous, with fertilisation duct posteriorly.

Diagnosis

Aetius maculatus sp. n. can be distinguished from A. bicuspidatus by: 1) the trapezoidal posterior projection on the carapace (vs. the bicuspid posterior projection in A. bicuspidatus ) (compare Fig. 2 A and D with Fig. 4 A); 2) ocular region with white setae (vs. absent in A. bicuspidatus ) (compare Fig. 2 C with Fig. 4 A). Males can be further distinguished from those of A. bicuspidatus by: 1) the larger RTA, with weakly sclerotised edge; 2) the rounder and larger PTA; 3) the slender embolus (compare Fig. 3 A-D with Fig. 5 A-D). Females can be further distinguished by the short copulatory duct (vs. long in A. bicuspidatus ) (compare Fig. 3 E and F with figs. 2C and D in Yamasaki et al. 2020).

Etymology

The specific name is an adjective referring to the macule on the abdomen. Latin Aetius maculatus = macula.

Distribution

China (Yunnan Province) (Fig. 10 ).

Figures

Figure 1. Living habitus of Aetius maculatus sp. n. A female; B-D male (photographs by Weihang Wang).

Figure 2. Aetius maculatus sp. n. A male habitus, dorsal view; B same, ventral view; C male carapace, dorsal view; D female habitus, dorsal view; E same, ventral view. Scales = 0.5 mm (A-E).

Figure 3. Aetius maculatus sp. n. A Male left palp, prolateral view; B Same, ventral view; C Same, retrolateral view; D Same, dorsal view; E epigyne, ventral view; F same, dorsal view. Abbreviations: CD-copulatory duct; CO-copulatory opening; CN-cymbial semi-circular notch; E-embolus; FD-fertilisation duct; PTA-prolateral tibial apophysis; RTA-retrolateral tibial apophysis; S-spermatheca; SD-sperm duct; ST-subtegulum; T-tegulum. Scales = 0.1 mm (A-F).

Figure 4. Aetius bicuspidatus Yamasaki, 2020. A male habitus, dorsal view; B same, ventral view. Scales = 0.5 mm (A & B).

Figure 5. Aetius bicuspidatus Yamasaki, 2020. A male left palp, prolateral view; B same, ventral view; C same, retrolateral view; D same, dorsal view. Abbreviations: CN-cymbial semicircular notch; E-embolus; PTA-prolateral tibial apophysis; RTA-retrolateral tibial apophysis; SD-sperm duct; ST-subtegulum; T-tegulum. Scales = 0.1 mm (A-D).

Figure 10. Distribution map of the genus Aetius.