Mallinella abdita, Dankittipakul, Pakawin, Jocqué, Rudy & Singtripop, Tippawan, 2010

Dankittipakul, Pakawin, Jocqué, Rudy & Singtripop, Tippawan, 2010, Five new Mallinella species from the Sundaland of Indonesia (Araneae, Zodariidae), Zootaxa 2636, pp. 21-36 : 28-29

Mallinella abdita sp. nov.

Figs 3–4 , 37–45

Types: Holotype: 3, INDONESIA, East Kalimantan Province, Berua District, 1 km off road Tanjungredeb – Tanjungselor, ca. 45 km north of Tanjungredeb (2º29'33''N, 117º28'46''E), 190 m, primary forest, 29.ix. / 3.x.2008, leg. P.J. Schwendinger [MHNG, IND-08/07]. Paratypes: 1♀, data as holotype [MHNG, IND-08/07].

Etymology: The specific epithet is a derived from the Latin past participle abditus (= hidden, concealed, secret) and refers to the median plate of the epigyne which is fairly small and situated posteriorly, almost indistinct in dorsal view.

Diagnosis: Females of M. abdita sp. nov. can be easily separated in having a broad epigynal area with a small median plate situated posteriorly. Males are most similar to those of M. albomaculata from Sulawesi and Borneo in the presence of a large apico-retrolateral fold on the TA and the bifurcated embolus. They can be easily distinguished from the latter species by the much smaller size (approximately half the length) and the baso-prolateral tooth on the TA being distinctly larger and with a concave posterior margin.

Description: Male (holotype). Total length 6.0; prosoma 2.98 long, 2.60 wide; opisthosoma 3.02 long, 2.50 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME>PME>ALE=PLE; ratio: AME 1.0, ALE 0.62, PME 0.92, PLE 0.68, AME-AME 0.42, AME-ALE 0.86, PME-PME 0.46, PME-PLE 1.64; MOQ: 1.00 anterior width, 0.86 posterior width, 0.98 long. Leg formula: 4123. Leg measurements: I 12.0 (3.4, 3.5, 2.8, 2.3), II 11.7 (3.2, 3.3, 2.8, 2.4), III 10.6 (3.0, 3.1, 2.4, 2.1), IV 13.4 (3.8, 3.8, 3.0, 2.8).

Pattern and coloration ( Fig. 3 ): Carapace pear-shaped, longer than wide, in profile highest just in front longitudinal fovea; tegument smooth, dark brown in color. Chelicerae dark brown. Labium triangular, dark yellowish brown, basal and lateral margins brown. Endites reddish brown, apices yellowish brown, with anteromesal brush of black hairs. Sternum reddish brown, triangular, with bluntly pointed extensions fitting coxal and intercoxal concavities; anterior margin straight, posterior margin protruding; pairs of circular pits running along lateral margins. Legs bicoloured: coxa and trochanter whitish; other leg segments brown, tibia distally paler, yellowish brown in color.

Opisthosoma ovoid. Dorsal scutum lightly sclerotized, lanceolated, occupying cardiac region. Dorsum dark purplish, covered with fine pubescence. Dorsal pattern: first and second pairs pale round spots, slightly larger than third and fourth pairs; fifth and sixth pairs thin transverse chevrons; flank with two pale spots. Venter purplish, with two meso-lateral pale spots. Posterior ventral spines thin and elongate, apices bluntly pointed, arranged in a single row.

Palp ( Fig. 37–41 ): Palpal tibia with short, digitiform RTA curving ventrad, apex blunt. Cymbial fold relatively broad, occupying approximately half the length of cymbium. TA with bifid apical process, apicoretrolateral fold round, relatively broad, baso-prolateral tooth distinctly elevated, surface rounded. Conductor beak-shaped, apex sharp, pointing ectad. Embolic base with straight anterior margin and broad triangular membrane. Embolus originating at 270°, bifurcated, with shallow groove, lateral ramus with broad flange-like apex, slightly shorter than lanceolate mesal ramus.

Female (paratype). Total length 5.92; prosoma 2.80 long, 2.54 wide; opisthosoma 3.12 long, 2.62 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME=PME>ALE=PLE; ratio: AME 1.0, ALE 0.60, PME 0.98, PLE 0.64, AME-AME 0.60, AME-ALE 1.02, PME-PME 0.62, PME-PLE 1.80; MOQ: 1.00 anterior width, 0.96 posterior width, 1.12 long. Leg formula: 4123. Leg measurements: I 11.4 (3.2, 3.3, 2.6, 2.3), II 11.0 (3.1, 3.2, 2.5, 2.2), III 10.3 (2.8, 3.0, 2.3, 2.2), IV 12.6 (3.5, 3.6, 3.0, 2.5).

Pattern and coloration ( Fig. 4 ): Generally closely resembling male but carapace more elongated, yellowish brown in color. Legs bicoloured, coxa and trochanter whitish, other segments yellowish brown with distinctly paler distal region. Dorsal pattern with paired of pale spots, without transverse posterior chevrons.

Genitalia ( Figs 42–45 ): Median plate of epigyne minute, ovoid, with elevated triangular basolateral extensions. Lateral lobes as part of epigyne, sharply pointed, directed inwards. IDs long, originating posteriorly, ascending then curving posteriorly. Spermathecae very compact, more or less spherical, with semicircular posterior swelling ( Fig. 45 ); internal ducts simple, with few apical coils.

Natural history: The type specimens were collected by sifting leaf and decomposing organic litter in primary lowland forests.

Distribution: Known only from the type locality in East Kalimantan, Indonesia ( Fig. 51 ).

Figures

FIGURE 51. Records of Mallinella species treated in the present study.

FIGURES 1 – 4. Mallinella albomaculata, new material from Borneo (1 – 2). M. abdita sp. nov., holotype (3) and paratype (4). Habitus, dorsal (1, 3 – 4). Epigyne, ventral (2). Scale bar = 1.0 mm (for 1, 3 – 4).

FIGURES 37 – 45. Mallinella abdita sp. nov., holotype (37 – 41) and paratype (42 – 45). Male palp, ventral (37), retrolateral (38). TA, retroventral (39), prolateral (40). Apex of embolus, prolateral (41). Epigyne, ventral (42). Vulva, dorsal (43). Spermatheca, anrterior (44), lateral (45). Scale bar = 0.1 mm (37 – 38, 42 – 45).