Minosiella intermedia Denis, 1958

Marusik, Yuri M. & Kovblyuk, Mykola M., 2009, Redescription of Minosiella intermedia Denis, 1958 (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) with first description of the male, Zootaxa 2291, pp. 65-68 : 65-68

Minosiella intermedia Denis, 1958

Figs 1–15

M. i. Denis, 1958: 94, f. 16 (♀).

Material examined. TURKMENISTAN. 1 ♂, 4 ♀ ( ZMMU), Mary Area, Kushka District, ca 1.5 km NNE of Chemenibit, Kushka River valley, right riverside, ca. 520 m (35°28'21" N, 62°24'32" E), 5.04.2002 (A.V. Gromov).

Diagnosis. M. intermedia is very similar to M. pallida (L. Koch, 1875) (cf Dalmas, 1921: f. 116, 119) from which it can be distinguished by the outgrowth on the male palpal femur and the wider posterior part of the epigynal fovea (width of anterior and posterior parts equal in width in M. pallida ). From the generotype, M. mediocris Dalmas, 1921 (cf. Levy, 1995; Murphy, 2007), it differs by the shape of the male palp and of the epigyne.

Description. Measurements (♂/♀): total length 4.4/3.8; carapace 1.9/2.1 length, 1.6/1.7 width. Abdomen length 2.3/ 2.3. Length of leg segments (♂/♀):

Cheliceral teeth are lacking, but a serrate keel on the cheliceral retromargin (as in Gnaphosa Latreille, 1804 ) is present. Scutum is absent.

Leg spination (♂). Femur: I – d 1-1, pl 1; II – d 1-1-1, pl 1; III – d 1-1-1, pl 1, rl 1; IV – d 1-1-1, pl 1, rl 1. Patella: III – d 1, pl 2-2. Tibia: I – pl 1, v 1-1 -1(a); II – pl 1, v 1-1 -2(a); III – d 1-2, pl 2-1-2, rl 1-1, v 2-2 -2(a); IV – pl 1-1, rl 1-1-1, v 1-2 -2(a). Metatarsus: I – v 2; II – v 2-2; III – pl 2-2-2, rl 1-1-1, v 2-2 (a); IV – pl 1-2-2, rl 1-1-2, v 1 (pl)-1(pl)-2(a). Leg spination (♀). Femur: I – d 1-1, pl 1; II – d 1-1-1, pl 1; III – d 1-1-1, pl 1, rl 1; IV – d 1-1-1, pl 1, rl 1. Patella: III – pl 2-2, rl 1. Tibia: I – v 1; II – pl 1, v 1-1; III – d 1-1, pl 2-1-2, rl 1-2-1-1, v 1-1 -2(a); IV – pl 1-1, rl 1-1, v 1-1 -2(a). Metatarsus: I – v 2; II – v 2-1 (a); III – pl 2-2-2, rl 1-1-2, v 2-1 -2(a); IV – pl 1-2-2, rl 1-2-2, v 1-1 -2(a). Tarsus: IV – rl 1. Carapace, sternum, legs and palps yellow-brown ( Figs 7–8 ). Chelicerae brown. Abdomen yellow-grey. Male palp as in Figs 1–4 , 9–11 , femur with thick retrolateral process, tibia with long and thin RTA, cymbium like in other species with thick spines, embolus in basal part with membranous outgrowth.

Epigyne as in Figs 5–6 , 12–15 , with scape (Sc), variable in length, fovea narrow variable in shape, anterior part (Af) slightly wider than scape, thinnest part twice thinner than the anterior one, the posterior (Pf) part wider than the anterior one; receptacula long, tube like, bent in the anterior part.

Distribution. This species was described on the basis of six females and seven juveniles from Pirzada (environs of Kandahar). Besides type locality it was reported from Turkemistan ( Ovtsharenko & Fet, 1980; Krivokhatskii & Fet, 1982) and Aral Sea ( Ovtsharenko, 1992).

Habitat. In Karakum (=Gara Gum) Desert M. intermedia was found in rodent burrows where they live in silken tubes ( Krivokhatskii & Fet, 1982).

Comments. Judging from the figures provided by Dalmas (1921, figs 16, 19) for M. pallida there is a possibility that M. pallida and M. intermedia are synonyms. While the male of M. pallida is not sufficiently known, the epigynal fovea of the two species are clearly different.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Copulatory organs of Minosiella intermedia. 1 — male palp, retrolateral; 2 — male palp, ventral; 3 — male palp, prolateral; 4 — segments of male palp (without bulbus); 5 — epigyne, ventral; 6 — epigyne, dorsal. Scale = 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 7 – 15. Habitus of female and copulatory organs of Minosiella intermedia. 7 — habitus, dorsal; 8 — habitus ventral; 9 male palp, ventral; 10 — male palp, retrolateral; 11 — male palp, dorsal; 12 – 14 — epigyne, ventral; 15 — epigyne, dorsal. 14 – 15 — after maceration. Scale = 0.1 mm if not otherwise indicated. Abbreviations: Af — anterior part of fovea; Pf — posterior part of fovea; Sc — scape.