Eustala Simon, 1895

Baert, Léon, 2014, Three new Eustala (Araneae, Araneidae) species from the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador), European Journal of Taxonomy 86, pp. 1-18 : 2-3

Genus Eustala Simon, 1895

Diagnosis of the genus

The carapace has a deep longitudinal cleft in the thoracic region. The abdomen has a triangular shape with a dorsal folium pattern and a ventral white patch. The posterior median eyes are usually slightly smaller than the anterior median eyes. The males are smaller than the females. The distal margin of the male Frst coxa has a distinct hook, which Fts into a groove on the second femur. The palpal patella has one very long macroseta. The bulb has a huge, variably-shaped conductor and a conspicuous white, cone-shaped median apophysis produced downward on the ventral side of the large bulb. Females are characterized by the scapus of the epigyne projecting forward.

The males of the three species described here differ from all known Eustala species by the structure of the terminal apophysis, the subterminal apophysis and the embolus, the females by the shape of the anteriorly projecting scapus.

The males of these three Galápagos species differ from each other by the structure of their terminal apophysis ( Fig. 6 ) while the females are recognized by the shape of their scapus ( Figs 1 C, 3C, 4C).

Figures

Fig. 1. Eustala occidentalis sp. nov. A. Ƌ left palp, ventral view. B. Ƌ left palp, apical view. C. ♀ scapus, lateral view. D. ♀ epigyne scapus, ventral view. E. ♀, spermathecae. c = conductor, e = embolus, ma = median apophysis, sc = scapus, sp = spermathecae, sta = subterminal apophysis, ta: terminal apophysis, th = tarsal hook. Scale lines = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 6. Electron microscopic photographs of terminal apophysis of Ƌ left palp. A. Eustala occidentalis sp. nov. B. Eustala meridionalis sp. nov. C. Eustala orientalis sp. nov. Scale lines = 0.1 mm.