Cybaeus ubicki Bennett, 2021

Bennett, Robb, Copley, Claudia & Copley, Darren, 2021, Cybaeus (Araneae: Cybaeidae): the consocius species group of the Californian clade, Zootaxa 4965 (3), pp. 401-436 : 424

Cybaeus ubicki Bennett spec. nov.

Figs 68–79, 84

Type material. U.S.A.: California: Holotype male, Marin County, S.P. Taylor State Park , 8.xi.1953, V. D. Roth & R. O. Schuster ( CAS) . Paratypes: Marin. 1♂, Burdell Mtn. , 12.i.1984, D. Ubick ( CAS) ; 1♀, SE slope of Burdell Mtn. , 16.iii.1990, D. Ubick & T. Briggs ( CAS) ; 4♀, Inverness , 8.xi.1953, V. D. Roth ( CAS) ; 1♀, Mt. Tamalpais State Park, near Cataract Falls , 12.ii.2013, I.M. Sokolov ( CAS) ; 2♂ 2♀, 4 mi. E of Muir Woods National Monument , 10.i.1964, V.D. Roth ( CAS) ; 3♂ 1♀, Novato , 7.i.1987, D. Ubick ( CAS) ; 3♂ 12♀, Novato, San Marin Dr. , 18.xii.1982, D. Ubick ( CAS) ; 3♂ 5♀, Novato, San Marin Dr. , 7.xii.1985, D. Ubick ( CAS) ; 4♀, Novato, San Marin Dr. , 2.xii.1988, D. Ubick ( CAS) ; 1♂, Novato , open space N of San Marin Dr., 28.xi1987, D. Ubick ( CAS) ; 1♂, Novato , open space N of Simmon’s Lane, 4.i.1990, D. Ubick & A. Gudeli ( CAS) ; 1♀, 7 mi. E of Point Reyes Station , 1.iii.1960, Smith & Schuster ( AMNH) ; 3♂ 2♀, S.P. Taylor State Park , 8.xi.1953, V. D. Roth & R. O. Schuster ( CAS) ; 1♀, S end of S.P. Taylor State Park, 1.xi.1953, V. D. Roth & G. Marsh ( CAS) ; 1♂ 2♀, World College West, 1 mi. W of highway 101, San Antonio Rd. , 60 m elev., 11.i.1986, D. Ubick ( CAS) ; Mendocino . 3♂ 2♀, 5 mi. E of Anchor Bay , 12.ix.1961, W.J. Gertsch & W. Ivie ( AMNH) ; Sonoma . 1♀, Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve , 14.iii.1954, J. Helfer ( CAS) ; 3♀, 2.1 mi. NW of Camp Meeker , 90 m elev., 14.i.1983, T. S. Briggs, V. F. Lee, & D. Ubick ( CAS) ; 1♀, Kruse Rhododendron State Natural Reserve , 9.x.1954, Schuster & MacNeill ( CAS) ; 1♀, Monte Rio , 30.vi.1996, P. Craig, W. Savary, & D. Ubick ( CAS) ; 2♀, 2.4 mi. SE of Monte Rio , 20.xii.2001, T. Briggs, G. Giribet, D. Ubick, & S. Ubick ( CAS) ; 1♀, Salt Point State Park Campground, 29.iii.1980, D. Ubick ( CAS) .

Etymology. The specific epithet is a patronym honoring Darrell Ubick whose unconditional help and prodigious collecting expertise has greatly benefited our work on Californian Cybaeidae ; name in the genitive case.

Diagnosis. The male of C. ubicki spec. nov. is unlikely to be confused with the males of the other species in the consocius group and is distinguished by a combination of features of the patellar apophysis and the genital bulb. The patellar apophysis ( Figs 68–69, 72) is relatively short (length about 1/3 width of the patella) with the peg setae divided into basal and distal groups; the basal group is clustered on a small dorsal prominence (in some specimens the separation into two groups is indistinct). The embolus is broad and flattened medially ( Figs 70–71) and the proximal arm of the tegular apophysis ( Figs 70–71, 73) features a deep ventral longitudinal groove and terminates in a broad rounded tip. In addition the palpal tibia bears a small flattened ridge (inconspicuous in some specimens) dorsal to the retrolateral tibial apophysis ( Figs 68–69). Among the females of the consocius group, the female of C. ubicki spec. nov. is most likely to be confused with the other species which lack U-shaped copulatory ducts: C. opulentus spec. nov., C. penedentatus , C. vulpinus , C. pan spec. nov., and C. simplex . The female of C. ubicki spec. nov. is characterized by its large transverse atrium (nearly as wide as the vulva) ( Figs 74–75, 77–78) and the broad, conspicuously prominent copulatory ducts ( Figs 75–76, 78–79). Separating the female of C. ubicki spec. nov. from the females of C. opulentus spec. nov., C. pan spec. nov., and C. simplex is discussed under the diagnoses of those species. The female of C. vulpinus has a large atrium but it is only about 1/2 the width of the vulva ( Fig. 40) and the copulatory ducts are narrower and relatively inconspicuous ( Fig. 40–41). The female of C. penedentatus has a transverse atrium but it is very small ( Figs 46–47, 49–50, 52).

Description. Ventral tibia I macrosetae usually 2-1p-2-1p-0.

Male: (n=22). Patellar apophysis ( Figs 68–69, 72) with about 12–15 peg setae usually in two groups; groups merge in some specimens). Proximal arm of tegular apophysis ( Figs 70, 73) with small excavation on posterior margin near tip. Measurements (n=19). CL 1.80–2.8 (2.2+0.3), CW 1.35–1.98 (1.62+0.20), SL 0.91–1.30 (1.10+0.13), SW 0.91–1.21 (1.05+0.11). Holotype CL 2.13, CW 1.50, SL 1.04, SW 1.00.

Female: (n=47). Atrium ( Figs 74–75, 77-78) medially located on epigynum. Copulatory ducts ( Figs 75–76, 78– 79) converging along midline anterior to atrium then diverging anteriorly before turning posteriorly. Spermathecal stalks contiguous ( Fig. 76) or widely separated ( Fig. 79) near Bennett’s glands. Measurements (n=22). CL 1.73–2.6 (2.2+0.3), CW 1.25–1.73 (1.52+0.17), SL 0.90–1.26 (1.11+0.12), SW 0.83–1.18 (1.03+0.11).

Distribution and natural history. Coastal central California from southern Mendocino County to southern Marin County ( Fig. 84). Males have been collected from November through January and in September.