Tetragnatha didorata, Castanheira & Baptista & Oliveira, 2022

Castanheira, Pedro de Souza, Baptista, Renner Luiz Cerqueira & Oliveira, Francisca Samia Martins, 2022, Five new species of the long-jawed orb-weaving spider genus Tetragnatha (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) in South America, with a key to the species from Argentina and Brazil, Evolutionary Systematics 6 (2), pp. 175-210 : 175

Tetragnatha didorata sp. nov.

Figs 10 , 19

Type-material.

Holotype male, Torres (29°20'06.0"S, 49°43'37.0"W, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), 26.iii.2006, ELC da-Silva leg. (MCTP 43335). Paratypes: Brazil - Pará • 1 male, Belém, Reserva Mocambo, 01°26'28.7"S, 48°24'46.2"W, 05.v.2008, BVB Rodrigues leg. (MPEG.ARA 031362); Paraná • 1 male, Cambará, 23°02'45.0"S, 50°04'26.0"W, iv.2011, AM Giroti leg. (IBSP 167755); Santa Catarina • 1 male, Lebon Régis, 26°55'44.0"S, 50°41'42.0"W, 15.vii.2006, R. Lignau leg. (MCTP 19580).

Diagnosis.

Males of Tetragnatha didorata sp. nov. resembles T. tenuissima and T. amazonica sp. nov. considering the elongated slender abdomen; T. bogotensis considering cheliceral morphology as both share long and straight ‘t’, and T. renatoi sp. nov. considering their pedipalp morphology with large subquadrate paracymbium (Fig. 6A-C , 10A-F, J, K , Castanheira et al. 2019, figs 1C, E, F, 3C, Castanheira and Baptista 2020, figs 4I, 6F, 12A, B). Tetragnatha didorata sp. nov. differs from T. tenuissima and T. amazonica sp. nov. by the presence of a projection after the spinnerets (Figs 10B, C ), from T. bogotensis by ‘a’ not slanted and carved on its lower portion, absence of AXu, the more elongated and sclerotized ‘t’, Gu and L2 smaller, absent AXl and much smaller teeth on lower row (Figs 10D-G ), and from T. renatoi sp. nov. by the narrower translucent lobe, larger notch and larger knob (Fig. 10J, K ).

Description.

Male (holotype MCTP 43335): Carapace elongated, slightly elevated anteriorly and with orange hue (Fig. 10A, B ). Labium longer than wide and yellowish brown (Fig. 10C ). Sternum oval and yellowish brown, with no marks or contour (Fig. 10C ). Eyes with ALE and PLE almost touching (Fig. 10A ). Legs very elongated, with yellowish hue, with legs I and II slightly darker (Fig. 10A-C ). Chelicera paturon very elongated, approximately 4.95 × longer than wide and as long as carapace, slightly curved outwards, around 25° from body median line, moderately thick and yellowish brown (Fig. 10A, D-G ). ‘a’ elongated, thin, straight distalward projected and constricted on inner margin of its tip, located close to fang groove on centre of paturon (Fig. 10D-G ). AXu absent (Fig. 10D, E ). ‘t’ bulky, sclerotized, pointed and straight, forming the letter “L” with the apophysis (Fig. 10D, E ). Upper row with eight teeth (Fig. 10D, E ): Gu small, sclerotized and slightly distalward projected, located on a dark ridge apart from fang groove by large gap; U2-U7 of similar size, pointed and straight, U2-U3 apart by a large gap and remaining teeth apart from one another by small gaps. AXl absent (Fig. 10E, F ). Lower row with nine teeth distalward projected (Fig. 10E, F ): Gl small, triangular, pointed and sclerotized, located on fang groove and apart from L2 by very large gap; L2-L4 pointed and decreasing in size, apart by large gaps; L5-L9 extremely reduced in size, L7-L9 reduced to denticles. Cheliceral fang not thick, uniformly tapering to its tip and closing between teeth rows (Fig. 10D-F ). Abdomen slender, approximately 2.7 × longer than carapace, with a pointed end projection posterior to the spinnerets, pale yellow and completely covered by guanine crystals, with no lateral bands (Fig. 10A-C ). Pedipalps with elongated cymbium, only around 1.2 × longer than long and rounded tibia, medially bending outwards, bearing wide basis and with no apical constriction (Fig. 10H, I ); tegulum about 1.4 × wider than long and inflated (Fig. 10H ); conductor elongated, distally projected and completely enfolding the embolus from its middle portion as a pouch, ending in rounded and twisted tip (Fig. 10H, I ); embolus thick, filiform, sclerotized and twisted from mid-way, opening from below the conductor (Fig. 10H, I ); paracymbium very long, around 3.3 × longer than wide, subquadrate, bearing transparent lobe that occupies around 50% of paracymbium width, notch carved and rounded, and knob enlarged and mushroom-like (Fig. 10J, K ).

Measurements. Total length 9.0. Carapace 2.5 long, 1.4 wide. Abdomen 6.6 long, 1.0 wide. Left chelicera 2.4 long, 0.6 wide. Leg formula I-II-IV-III. Leg I: femur 7.1, patella 0.9, tibia 6.8, metatarsus 7.5 and tarsus 1.6. Leg II: patella + tibia 4.4. Leg III: patella + tibia 1.7. Leg IV: patella + tibia 4.9.

Female. Unknown.

Etymology.

The specific epithet " Tetragnatha didorata " is the compound latinized form of the Greek words: “di” meaning “two” and "dory, dorata" meaning “spear”, referring to the spear-like shape of the thin and long apophysis and the elongated and pointed ‘t’ at the upper side of the male chelicerae.

Variation.

Males (n = 3): total length, 7.0 - 9.0. Little variation in colour pattern.

Distribution.

This species is mainly found at Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, in the South region, but it was also collected in Pará state, in the North region, all in Brazil (Fig. 19 ).

Life history and habitat preferences.

All specimens of T. didorata sp. nov. were collected during the autumn (late March, April and May) and the beginning of winter (July). No information on habitat preferences was given on the original labels of this species.

Figures

Figure 6. Tetragnatha amazonica sp. nov. male (MNRJ 1571). A. Dorsal habitus; B. Lateral habitus; C. Ventral habitus; D-G. Left chelicera; D. Upper view; E. Inner view; F. Lower view; G. Outer view; H-J. Left pedipalp; H. Mesal view; I. Dorsal view; J. Ventral view (paracymbium). Scale bars: 2 mm (A-C); 0.5 mm (D-J).

Figure 10. Tetragnatha didorata sp. nov. male (MCTP 43335). A. Dorsal habitus; B. Lateral habitus; C. Ventral habitus; D-G. Left chelicera; D. Upper view; E. Inner view; F. Lower view; G. Outer view; H-J. Left pedipalp; H. Mesal view; I. Dorsal view; J. Ventral view (paracymbium); K. Paracymbium detail, ventral view. Scale bars: 2 mm (A-C); 0.5 mm (D-J); 0.2 mm (K).

Figure 19. Distribution of T. amazonica sp. nov., T. didorata sp. nov. and T. pradoi sp. nov.