Neonella acostae, Rubio, Gonzalo D., Arganaraz, Carina I. & Gleiser, Raquel M., 2015

Rubio, Gonzalo D., Arganaraz, Carina I. & Gleiser, Raquel M., 2015, A new species of jumping spider Neonella Gertsch, with notes on the genus and male identification key (Araneae, Salticidae), ZooKeys 532, pp. 1-14 : 3-4

Taxon classification Animalia Araneae Salticidae

Neonella acostae sp. n. Figs 1A, B; 2; 4D

Type material.

Holotype ♂ (MACN-Ar 34509) from near Toledo (31°32'10.54"S, 64°1'43.97"W; 381 m asl), Córdoba province, Argentina, 24.XI.2013, C.I. Argañaraz leg. Paratypes: 1 ♂ and 1 ♀ (IBSI-Ara 00242) and 1 ♀ (MACN-Ar 34510) from Ciudad de Córdoba (31°22'27.67"S, 64°10'42.70"W; 430 m asl), Córdoba province, Argentina, 23.XI.2013, C.I. Argañaraz leg.

Other material examined.

ARGENTINA: Córdoba: Ciudad de Córdoba, site 1 (31°22'27.67"S, 64°10'42.70"W; 430 m asl), 15.III.2014, C.I. Argañaraz & R.M. Gleiser leg., 1 ♂ (CREAN, tissue sample [tiss.s.] CIA 010); site 2 (31°26'6.13"S, 64°12'47.42"W; 441 m asl), 21.XI.2013, C.I. Argañaraz leg., 2 ♂ (CREAN); site 3 (31°20'18.24"S, 64°9'30.97"W; 438 m asl), 15.III.2014, C.I. Argañaraz & R.M. Gleiser leg., 1 ♀ (CREAN, tiss.s. CIA 008); near Toledo (31°32'10.54"S, 64°1'43.97"W; 381 m asl), 24.XI.2013, C.I. Argañaraz leg., 2 ♀ (CREAN).

Diagnosis.

Males of Neonella acostae are similar to those of Neonella camillae and Neonella noronha in the coiled (semi-spiral) embolus (E), but can be distinguished from those and others with long spiral embolus by having only one patellar apophysis (PA) of palp (Fig. 2C; compare among Figs 4 A–D). Furthermore, males differ from Neonella noronha in the shorter embolus. Females also resemble Neonella noronha and Neonella salafraria in having two small, round, simple copulatory openings (CO), but can be distinguished by having them more laterally placed and with different course of the copulatory ducts (CD) (Fig. 2D, E; compare with Figs 14, 15 in Ruiz et al. 2007 and Figs 4, 5 in Ruiz and Brescovit 2004).

Description.

Male holotype (Fig. 2 A–C). Total length: 1.27. Carapace 0.62 long, 0.47 wide, 0.25 high; abdomen 0.62 long, 0.36 wide. Eye sizes: AME 0.12, ALE 0.087, PME 0.026, PLE 0.087. Ocular quadrangle 0.31 long. Anterior eye row 0.45 wide, posterior 0.47 wide. Clypeus height 0.017. Chelicerae with two very tiny promarginal teeth, hard to see; retromarginal teeth inconspicuous. Sternum longer (0.30) than wide (0.23). Leg measurements: I 0.78 (0.26, 0.25, 0.12, 0.14); II 0.70 (0.20, 0.25, 0.12, 0.12); III 0.86 (0.27, 0.29, 0.12, 0.17); IV 1.00 (0.31, 0.32, 0.17, 0.18). Carapace yellow with black spots, uniformly distributed; cephalic region darker to black, covered by white hairs. Thoracic region slightly lighter. Clypeus very low. Chelicerae tiny, yellow, grayish brown proximally. Legs pale yellow, with dark rings around the distal ends of the patella, tibia and metatarsus. Sternum and labium pale yellow. Palp (Fig. 2B, C): dark brown to black; cymbium brown, distally darker. Patella with a pointed retrolateroventral apophysis (PA). Copulatory bulb brown, with tegular lobe (TL) and conspicuous embolus base (EB). Embolus long (E), with a retrolateral half spiral (Fig. 2C). Abdomen pale yellow, uniformly covered with small black hairs; with an inconspicuous small thin dorsal abdominal scutum (DS). Spinnerets pale yellow. Variation (n=5): none apparent.

Female paratype (IBSI-Ara 00242) (Fig. 2D, E). Total length: 1.70. Carapace 0.75 long, 0.51 wide, 0.30 high; abdomen 0.87 long, 0.57 wide. Eye sizes: AME 0.14, ALE 0.075, PME 0.025, PLE 0.10. Ocular quadrangle 0.37 long. Anterior eye row 0.47 wide, posterior 0.50 wide. Clypeus height 0.012. Chelicerae as in male. Sternum longer (0.32) than wide (0.22). Leg measurements: I 0.93 (0.30, 0.32, 0.15, 0.15); II 0.86 (0.26, 0.30, 0.15, 0.15); III 0.99 (0.32, 0.32, 0.16, 0.17); IV 1.20 (0.37, 0.40, 0.22, 0.20). Carapace in general as in male, thoracic region slightly lighter. Clypeus very low. Chelicerae as in male, but light brown proximally. Legs, sternum and labium as in male. Palp yellow. Epigynum wider than long, with a thin translucent plate; two small copulatory openings (CO). Spermathecae tubular (S), connected to thick copulatory ducts (CD). Abdomen and spinnerets as in male; dorsal abdominal scutum absent. Variation (n=5): one female is more pigmented, with more dark spots on thoracic region.

Etymology.

The specific name is a Latinized patronym in honor of Dr. Luis E. Acosta, arachnologist of Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, who was major professor for the PhD of G.D.R. and advisor for the bachelor thesis of C.I.A.

Distribution.

Known only from Córdoba province (Fig. 1A): Ciudad de Córdoba and near Toledo, Argentina.

Sexual dimorphism.

Males and females differ only slightly in their somatic morphology. Females are slightly larger than males, mainly due to their larger abdomen. The carapace is somewhat more pigmented in males than in females.