Pirata catindigae Barrion, Barrion-Dupo Heong

Alberto T. Barrion, Aimee Lynn A. Barrion-Dupo, Josie Lynn A. Catindig, Sylvia C. Villareal, Ducheng Cai, Qianhua Yuan & Kong Luen Heong, 2016, NEW SPECIES OF SPIDERS (ARANEAE) FROM HAINAN ISLAND, CHINA, UPLB Museum Publications in Natural History 3, pp. 1-103 : 18-19

Pirata catindigae Barrion, Barrion-Dupo Heong , new species [ Figure 19 A-D]

& FEMALE. Holotype female, total length 7.40 mm. Cephalothorax length 3.00 mm, width 2.20 mm. Abdomen length 3.60 mm, width 2.50 mm.

Carapace. Brown with a five arm forkedshaped yellow band medially forming an inverted V posteriorly behind fovea and longitudinally on the sublaterals. Cephalic width barely 0.63x thoracic width. Cephalic median area between PME and PLE and midway before fovea smooth. Eye margins black. Midclypeus below AME yellow and bulge out with a long bristle on the hump.Chelicerae brownish yellow. Promargin bears three teeth, midtooth largest. Retromargin with three teeth, basal two subequal in size. Pedipalp yellow brown except black tarsal claw. Maxillae longer than wide, broad apical one-third yellow and 2.83x wider than yellow brown basal two-thirds. Scopulae on maxillae moderately thick and pale brownish yellow. Labium as long as wide and brown with yellow truncated apical margin. Sternum yellow with brownish margins, 1.25x longer than wide, anterior margin truncated and posterior end pointed.

Eyes. In three rows of 4, 2 and 2. Eye diameter (mm): PME (0.26)> PLE (0.21)> AME (0.17)> ALE (0.11). Eye separation (mm): PLE-PLE (0.51)> PME-PLE (0.20)> PME-PME (0.14)> AME-AME (0.07)> AME-ALE (0.03). Clypeus height 1.54x AME diameter.

Legs. Uniformly brown. Spination in femur I 3 -0-2-1, femur III 3 -0-2-2, and femur IV 2 -0-2-0; tibia I 2-4 -0-0, tibia III 2-4 -2-2 and tibia IV 2-6 -2-2; metatarsus I 0-6-0-0 and metatarsus IV 2-6 -3-3. Dorsal spines in tibia I and II reduced to bristles. Apical ventral spines in tibia I absent. Tibia IV with two longest dorsal trichobothria located slightly below midlength and near the apicodorsal tibial spine. Longest dorsal trichobothrium in tarsus IV on apical one-fourth. Outer claws of tarsus IV each with six teeth. Leg formula 4123.

Abdomen. Oblong and brownish yellow with paired gray bands anteriorly and two closed cells posteriorly, and 1.44x longer than wide.

Epigynum with basal component of spermathecae stretchly ovoid and anterior part stands perpendicular to basal part. A short sclerotized posterior epigynal margin visible at base of narrowed part of basal spermathecae. Apices of perpendicular spermathecae truncate. Tip of fertilization tube nearly reaches apex of perpendicular spermathecae.

MALE. Unknown.

Material Examined. Holotype female (coll. no. Da 2010 -1), CHINA, Hainan Island, Danzhou, 9-13 August 2010, ATBarrion and SCVillareal.

Diagnostic Features. This species runs close to Pirata subpiraticus (Boesenberg & Strand, 1906) and P. piratoides (Boesenberg & Strand, 1906) but differs from both taxa in having the following (1) swollen yellow midclypeus extended to AME, (2) broadly truncate apex of perpendicular spermathecae, (3) band pattern of abdominal dorsum, (4) dense mat of white hairs in the cleft posterior epigynal margin and (5) tibia I as long as metatarsus II.

Etymology. Patronym, in recognition of Miss Josie Lynn A. Catindig’s tediousness and patience in collecting and processing arthropods in support of the biodiversity exploration in Hainan Island, China.