Metagonia embera Huber, 2025

Huber, Bernhard A. & Meng, Guanliang, 2025, New species of Metagonia Simon with directionally asymmetric male and female genitalia (Araneae, Pholcidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 1026, pp. 199-235 : 221-227

Metagonia embera Huber sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:

Figs 1G – H, 17 – 21

M025 Metagonia Car 260 – Huber et al. 2022: 678 (molecular data).

Diagnosis

Easily distinguished from known congeners by male palpal asymmetry largely restricted to procursus ( Figs 17 – 18), i.e., barely involving palp size as in other species with asymmetric males described above. Also by rounded median process on clypeus ( Fig. 19A), by male chelicerae with small, modified (globular) hairs arranged in two lateral bands ( Fig. 19A), by epigynum without scape ( Fig. 20B), and by asymmetric structures in female internal genitalia ( Figs 19B, 20D – G; sclerotized receptacle on right side and arched membranous structure on left side).

Etymology

The species name honors the Emberá, an indigenous people in the Chocó Department of western Colombia and in Panama.

Type material

Holotype

COLOMBIA – Risaralda • ♂; near Santa Cecilia ; 5.3458° N, 76.1094° W; 450 m a.s.l.; 9 Sep. 2022; B.A. Huber and G.A. Rodríguez leg.; on leaves at forest edge; MUSENUV Ar 3535.

Paratype

COLOMBIA – Risaralda • 1 ♂; same collection data as for holotype; ZFMK Ar 24784 .

Other material examined

COLOMBIA – Chocó • 1 ♂, 1 ♀, in pure ethanol; Jardin Botánico del Pacífico , “trail to Mirador after stream crossings”; 6.266° N, 77.375° W; 16 Jan. 2014; CarBio team leg.; ZFMK Car260 (voucher of M025) • 1 juv., assigned tentatively, in pure ethanol; Jardin Botánico del Pacífico, Ceiba Loop Trail ; 6.266° N, 77.375° W; 13 Jan. 2014; CarBio team leg.; ZFMK Car257. – Risaralda • 1 ♂, in pure ethanol; same collection data as for holotype; ZFMK Col247 (voucher of UH260) .

PANAMA – Colón • 1 ♂; San Lorenzo Protected Area ; 9.267° N, 79.967 – 79.983 ° W; ~ 150 m a.s.l.; 13 May 2004; J. Schmidl and J. Bail leg.; fogging; ZMUC • 1 ♂; same locality as for preceding; 15 May 2004; J. Schmidl and J. Bail leg.; ZMUC • 1 ♀; same locality as for preceding; 17 Oct. 2003; J. Schmidl and A. Floren leg.; ZMUC • 1 ♂; same locality as for preceding; 17 Oct. 2003; J. Schmidl and J. Bail leg.; ZMUC • 1 ♂; same locality as for preceding; 12 May 2003; J. Schmidl and J. Bail leg.; ZMUC • 1 ♀; same locality as for preceding; 27 May 2004; J. Schmidl and J. Bail leg.; ZMUC • 1 ♂; same locality as for preceding; 8 Oct. 2004; J. Bail leg.; ZMUC • 2 ♂♂; same locality as for preceding; 15 May 2004; J. Schmidl and J. Bail leg.; ZMUC .

Description

Male ( holotype)

MEASUREMENTS. Total body length 2.1, carapace width 0.7. Distance PME–PME 70 µm; diameter PME 90 ×110 µm; distance PME–ALE 30 µm; AME absent. Leg 1: 22.9 (5.7 +0.3+ 5.4+10.3 +1.2), tibia 2: 3.5, tibia 3: 2.1, tibia 4: 3.3; tibia 1 L/d: 77; diameters of leg femora (at half length) 0.09; of leg tibiae 0.07.

COLOR (in ethanol). Carapace pale ochre-yellow with distinct ochre-brown pattern on posterior half, ocular area and clypeus without dark marks ( Fig. 1G – H); sternum mostly whitish, only posteriorly with small ochre mark; legs ochre-yellow, patellae and tibia-metatarsus joints dark brown; abdomen pale ochre-gray, dorsally and laterally with dark marks.

BODY. Habitus as in Fig. 1G – H. Ocular area slightly raised. Carapace without thoracic groove. Clypeus with short median process at rim (length ~30 µm). Sternum wider than long (0.56/0.44), unmodified. Abdomen approximately twice as long as wide, dorso-posteriorly pointed.

CHELICERAE. As in Fig. 19A; with series of ~16 – 19 modified (globular) hairs on each side and pair of distal apophyses near fang joints, without proximal lateral processes.

PALPS. As in Fig. 17; coxa unmodified; trochanter with short ventral apophysis; femur short, distally strongly widened, with short conical process on prolateral side, apparently symmetric; femur-patella hinges and tibia-tarsus hinges slightly shifted toward prolateral side; tibia short, slightly asymmetric (see below), with two trichobothria in relatively distal position; procursi strongly asymmetric, see below; genital bulb simple, with small conical process on prolateral side and long weakly sclerotized embolus ending with pointed process, slightly asymmetric (see below).

ASYMMETRY. Proximal palpal segments (coxa, trochanter, femur) apparently symmetric. Right tibia slightly thicker than left tibia (maximum diameter in lateral view ~220 vs 210 µm). Procursi directionally asymmetric ( Fig. 18): left procursus with strong and distally sclerotized ventral hinged process, with slender prolateral sclerotized process, prominent dorsal hump, without distal sclerite; right procursus with slender and weakly sclerotized ventral hinged process, without prolateral sclerotized process, with smaller dorsal hump, with long distal sclerite directed towards ventral and prolateral. Genital bulbs weakly asymmetric: right embolus slightly longer than left embolus (~340 vs 310 µm).

LEGS. Without spines, without curved hairs, without sexually dimorphic short vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at 7%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1; tarsus 1 with ~20 pseudosegments, very indistinct.

Variation

Males

Tibia 1 in eight males: 4.8 – 5.9 (mean 5.5). Sternum in some males with small dark marks near bases of leg coxae.

Females

In general, very similar to male (including color pattern on carapace) but clypeus unmodified. Tibia 1 in two females: 4.5, 5.3 (missing in third female). Epigynum ( Fig. 20A – C) very simple, weakly sclerotized, without scape; internal asymmetric structures visible through cuticle; posterior epigynal plate short and indistinct. Internal genitalia ( Figs 19B, 20D – G) asymmetric, with sclerotized receptacle on right side connected with arched membranous structure on left side; the three examined females were same-sided; with pair of elongated pore plates (possibly slightly asymmetric, but this might be an artifact of preparation). One cleared female from Panama very similar but pore plate slightly longer ( Fig. 21).

Barcodes

We sequenced two specimens from two localities (geographic distance: 173 km) ( Table 1; Fig. 23). The CO1 distance was 0.6% ( Table 2). Distances to the other three species treated herein ranged from 16.7 to 20.9%.

Distribution

Known from two localities in Colombia and one locality in Panama ( Fig. 24).