Tegestria coniata Roewer, 1938

Zhang, Chao, Zhao, Jing Jing & Martens, Jochen, 2023, On the genus Tegestria Roewer, 1936, new senior synonym of Gintingius Roewer, 1938 with the description of a new species (Opiliones: Epedanidae: Sarasinicinae), Zootaxa 5351 (2), pp. 276-286 : 283-285

Tegestria coniata Roewer, 1938

Figs 31–35

Tegestria coniata Roewer, 1938: 147 , fig. 67; Suzuki 1982: 30–31, fig. 2; 1983: 2.

Gintingius robustus Rower, 1938: 143 , fig. 62. New synonymy.

Type specimens. Tegestria coniata : Female holotype (SMF-5828/26) from Pahang ( Malaysia) (wrongly reported as a male in the original description), deposited in the Senckenberg Museum Frankfurt, Germany, labeled: “Arachn. Coll. Roewer – Lfd. No. 5828. Opil.: Sarasinicinae No.26. Tegestria coniata Rwr. [abbreviation for Roewer], 1♁, Malakka: Pahang, Typus Roewer det. 1935” (examined; Fig. 32 ) .

Gintingius robustus : Male holotype (without number) deposited in the Raffles Museum, Singapore (not examined). Male paratype ( SMF 7376 /33) from Ginting ( Malaysia), deposited in the Senckenberg Museum Frankfurt, Germany, labeled: “Arachn. Coll. Roewer – Lfd. No. 7376. Opil.: Sarasinicinae No. 33. Gintingius robustus Rwr. [abbreviation for Roewer], 1♁, Pahang: Ginting, Typus, Roewer det. 1938” (examined; Fig. 35 ) .

Remark: The male paratype was originally published under the number SMF 7376/19, but in the catalog, on the file card, and on the label in the vial, Roewer himself wrote RII/7376/33-13, and no other specimens of Gintingius robustus are currently in the SMF collection (Julia Altmann, pers. comm.). Therefore, we assumed that the specimen RII/7376/33-13 is the paratype and the number 7376/ 19 in Roewer 1938: 143 is a publication lapsus.

Diagnosis. The species differ from all known species of this genus by the following combination of characters: scutal areas III and IV each with a median pair of seta-tipped tubercles; area V and free tergites each with a transverse row of seta-tipped tubercles ( Fig. 34 ); femur of pedipalpus dorsally with a row of five seta-tipped tubercles ( Figs 31, 33–34 ).

Description. See the original description of the type specimens by Roewer (1938: 143; 147) and the supplementary plates and description by Suzuki (1982). [Note: Suzuki (1982) apparently did not revise the types of Tegestria coniata nor that of Gintingius robustus , because he did not raise any doubts about whether the two ‘species’ are the same]

Synonymy justification. The monotypic epedanid genus Gintingius Roewer, 1938 , was described only based on two male specimens of the nominate species G. robustus from Pahang, Malaysia ( Roewer 1938: 142–143). One of the two specimens is deposited as the type [holotype] in the Raffles Museum ( Singapore) (No specimen number is given in Roewer 1938) and the other one as paratype in the Senckenberg Museum Frankfurt (No. 7376/33-13, see "type specimens" above). By carefully comparing the G. robustus paratype specimen (SMF 7376/33) with the Tegestria coniata holotype specimen (SMF 5828/26) we are convinced that they are the same species. The holotype specimen of Tegestria coniata is a female and not a male as originally given by Roewer (1938). Therefore, the G. robustus paratype specimen (SMF 7376/33) is in fact a male of Tegestria coniata .

Evidences of the synonymy can be found in the redescriptions of Tegestria coniata by Suzuki (1982). He identified the specimens as Tegestria coniata collected at the type locality from Malaysia and noted the differing numbers of tubercles distally on mesal side of pedipalpal femur, one in male and two in the ‘male’ holotype ( Suzuki 1982: 31) referring in fact to the sexual dimorphism differences. Actually, Gintingius Rower, 1938 , coincides in its general traits with Tegestria Roewer, 1936 . Roewer established this genus only upon a minor and unimportant character, the single seta-tipped tubercle distally on the mesal side of pedipalpal femur in Gintingius robustus Roewer, 1938 , instead of two in Tegestria .

The number of distal seta-tipped tubercles on mesal side of pedipalpal femur are variable between male and female of the same species. This is obvious in a number of epedanid species, e.g., male specimens of Toccolus globitarsis Suzuki, 1969 , with two and three in female (c.f., Suzuki 1969: 96; Zhang & Martens 2020, 42, 48: fig. 71, 83), male with two and female without these tubercles in Plistobunus columnarius Lian et al., 2011 ( Lian et al. 2011: 47, fig. 14, 22), male with one and female without in P. jaegeri Zhang & Martens, 2020 ( Zhang & Martens 2020: 37, 41, fig. 38, 52).

Figures

FIGURES 31–35. Tegestria coniata Roewer, 1938. 31 Body, female (holotype), lateral view; 32 Label of T. coniata holotype; 33 Body, male, paratype of Gintingius robustus Roewer, 1938, lateral view; 34 Same, dorsal view; 35 Label of G. robustus paratype. Scale bars: 2 mm (31, 33–34).