Diplocephalus parentalis, Song & Li, 2010

Song, Yanjing & Li, Shuqiang, 2010, The spider genera Araeoncus Simon, 1884 and Diplocephalus Bertkau, 1883 (Arachnida, Araneae, Linyphiidae) of China, Zoosystema 32 (1), pp. 117-137 : 132-136

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5252/z2010n1a6
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4549320
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/EA079A4C-FFC2-F93A-FF2E-7D580ACFFA03
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Diplocephalus parentalis
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Diplocephalus parentalis View in CoL n. sp.

( Figs 9-11 View FIG View FIG View FIG )

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype: China, Zhejiang Province, Fenghua City, Shangsong Village, Mt Long’ao , 29.92°N, 121.00°E, 15.X.2006, coll. Y. Song & X. Yin, ♂ ( MNHN). GoogleMaps

Paratype: same data as for holotype, 1 ♀ (MNHN).

ETYMOLOGY. — Specific name from Latin parentalis = parental, in order to express the first author’s sincere appreciation to her parents for their collecting specimens of this new species.

DISTRIBUTION. — Known from Mt Long’ao in Zhejiang Province, China ( Fig. 12 View FIG ).

DESCRIPTION

Male

Total length 2.23. Carapace 1.11 long, 0.86 wide, bright reddish-brown, bearing cephalic pits within the post-ocular sulci ( Fig. 10B View FIG ); several moderately long hairs scattered in the ocular area and on the clypeus ( Fig. 10A View FIG ). Abdomen dark grey. Clypeus 0.21 high. AME interdistance 0.05, ALE 0.08, PME 0.08, PLE 0.09, AME interdistance 0.50 times their diameter, AME-ALE interdistance 0.62 times ALE diameter, PME interdistance 0.62 times their diameter, PME-PLE interdistance 1.20 times PLE diameter. Sternum 0.57 long, 0.61 wide. Coxa IV interdistance 1.00 times their width. Chelicerae with 6 promarginal teeth, 5 retromarginal teeth ( Fig. 10H View FIG ). Tibia I 7.47 times longer than deep. Tm I 0.55, Tm IV absent. Dorsal spine on tibia of leg IV: 1-1-1-1; dorsal spine on patella of leg IV: 1-1-1-1. Leg measurements: I: 2.98 (0.88, 0.24, 0.70, 0.63, 0.53); II: 3.04 (0.88, 0.26, 0.73, 0.68, 0.51); III: 2.51 (0.71, 0.25, 0.57, 0.57, 0.42); IV: 3.13 (0.87, 0.25, 0.80, 0.69, 0.52).

Length of femur and patella in ratio 5:2. Tibia curved retrolaterally to form a long prolateral apophysis whose apex armed with a tuft of thick bristles and distal part swollen, as well as lots of papillae on the mesal surface; with 1 retrolateral and 1 prolateral trichobothrium ( Fig. 9D View FIG ). Paracymbium spiral with terminal part hooked ( Fig. 9B View FIG ). Cymbium with a long and wide retrobasal process, as well as a longitudinal narrow ridge near the base ( Fig. 9B View FIG ). Tegulum distal to subtegulum in unexpanded palp. Protegulum vestigial ( Fig.9A View FIG ). Suprategulum armed with a typical dentiform marginal apophysis and a long curved upwards distal apophysis, slightly bifurcate distally and strongly sclerotized basally to shape triangular teeth ( Fig. 10C View FIG ). Embolic membrane similar to that of D. mirabilis ( Fig. 10D View FIG ). Radix large, with a transversally membranous extension at the base; outer rectangular margins strongly sclerotized to be dark black ( Fig. 10E View FIG ). Tailpiece relatively long, slightly upwards, ending in being rounded and slightly concave in the center ( Fig. 10E View FIG ). Embolus short, curved backwards to the dorsal side ( Fig. 9B View FIG ).

Female

Total length 2.44. Carapace 1.11 long, 0.81 wide, similar to male in general appearance and coloration, but without cephalic pits and sulci. Abdomen light grey. Clypeus 0.19 high. AME interdistance 0.05, ALE 0.10, PME 0.08, PLE 0.08, AME interdistance 0.38 times their diameter, AME-ALE interdistance 0.29 times ALE diameter, PME interdistance 0.52 times their diameter, PME-PLE interdistance 0.70 times PLE diameter.Sternum 0.61 long, 0.58 wide. Coxa IV interdistance 1.04 times their width. Chelicerae with 6 promarginal teeth, 5 retromarginal teeth. Tibia I 7.50 times longer than deep. Tm I 0.55, Tm IV absent. Dorsal spine on tibia of leg IV: 1-1-1-1; dorsal spine on patella of leg IV: 1-1-1-1. Leg measurements: I: 3.25 (0.94, 0.29, 0.84, 0.69, 0.48); II: 3.08 (0.89, 0.27, 0.75, 0.68, 0.48); III: 2.64 (0.74, 0.27, 0.60, 0.63, 0.40); IV: 3.31 (0.95, 0.28, 0.89, 0.76, 0.43).

Epigynum with a long fissure in the middle ( Fig. 10G View FIG ).Ventral plate armed with column-shaped complex anteriorly ( Fig. 10F View FIG ). Dorsal plate totally covered by ventral plate in ventral view ( Fig. 10G View FIG ), with its anterior part extended dorsally to form a cone-shaped apophysis in lateral view ( Fig. 11C View FIG ). Copulatory openings formed at the anterior end of the fissure ( Fig. 10G View FIG ). Copulatory ducts enclosed in a slightly sclerotized capsule, bearing large cavums ( Fig. 11B View FIG ). The path of copulatory ducts is shown in Figure 11A, B View FIG . Fertilization ducts thin, mesally oriented ( Fig.11A View FIG ). Spermathecae U-shaped, separated by a distance of more than 2 times their length ( Fig. 11B View FIG ).

REMARKS

Embolic division of D. parentalis n. sp. seems to belong to the genus Savignia in having a slightly curved and directed backwards embolus, but in fact this new species bears no anterior radical process of embolic division and its vulva is totally different from that of S. frontata . Its vulva is very similar to that of A. humilis and D. foraminifer . The copulatory ducts of D. parentalis n. sp. are very long and wide, but extremely short and totally fused with spermathecae in S. frontata . In addition, this new species is closely related to the Japanese D. hispidulus , so I place it in the genus Diplocephalus to serve a full revision of the genus Diplocephalus in the future. Due to its similarity in genital conformation to Savignia and Diplocephalus species, D. parentalis n. sp. may represent an intermediate species whose anterior radical process of somewhat T-shaped embolic division reduced, while the complexity of the copulatory ducts increased to shape the type of Diplocephalus species.

Even though D. parentalis n. sp. is particularly closely related to D. hispidulus ( Saito & Ono 2001: figs 88-91), it can be still distinguished by the under developed embolic membrane of the embolic division, the distally swollen prolateral palpal tibial apophysis, the small but complicated dorsal plate of the epigynum, and slightly different path of copulatory ducts of female vulva. Furthermore, those two related species can be easily separated from all the congeners by the shape of embolic division and presence of a tuft of thick bristles at the apex of male palpal prolateral tibial apophysis.

Specimens of D. parentalis n. sp. were found under leaf litter of shaded area in the evergreen broad-leaved forest in subtropics.