Suffasia

Sudhikumar, Ambalaparambil V., Jocqué, Rudy & Sebastian, Pothalil A., 2009, A new species of the ant spider genus Suffasia (Araneae: Zodariidae) from the Western Ghats, India with a key to the species of the genus, Zootaxa 2203, pp. 59-64 : 63

Key to the described species of the genus Suffasia

The following key will separate all 7 described species of female Suffasia spiders and all 6 described species of male Suffasia spiders based on the structural details of the genital organs.

1a. Males............................................................................................................................................................................. 2

1b. Females ......................................................................................................................................................................... 7

2a. Palpal tibia broad .......................................................................................................................................................... 3

2b. Palpal tibia not broad .................................................................................................................................................... 4

3a. Wide tibia with a large retrolateral spine .............................................................................................. S. kanchenjunga

3b. Tibia longer than wide, without such spine .................................................................................................. S. martensi

4a. Cymbium with lateral pits (e.g. Fig. 10 )....................................................................................................................... 5

4b. Cymbium without lateral pits ....................................................................................................................................... 6

5a. Cymbium with 3 pits, embolus strongly curved ......................................................................... S. keralaensis sp. nov.

5b. Cymbium with only one pit, embolus strongly tapering .......................................................................... S. tumegaster

6a. Tibia with strongly tapering retrolateral apophysis, cymbial flange attached at its base to the cymbium, shorter broad tegular apophysis ................................................................................................................................... S. mahasumana

6b. Tibia with stout retrolateral apophysis, cymbial flange attached at its center to the cymbium, long tapering tegular apophysis ........................................................................................................................................................ S. attidiya

7a. Epigyne with scape ....................................................................................................................................................... 8

7b. Epigyne without scape (e.g. Fig. 7 ) .............................................................................................................................. 9

8a. Epigynal scape thick, copulatory opening near the centre of the epigyne.................................................... S. martensi

8b. Epigynal scape thin; copulatory opening in the frontal part of the epigyne ......................................... S. kanchenjunga

9a. Epigyne with a rectangular plate ........................................................................................................... S. mahasumana

9b. Epigyne without such plate (e.g. Fig. 7 ) ..................................................................................................................... 10

10a. Epigyne with a central anchoring hole ........................................................................................................... S. tigrina

10b. Epigyne without an anchoring hole............................................................................................................................ 11

11a. Spermathecae oval (e.g. Fig. 8 ) .................................................................................................. S. keralaensis sp. nov

11b. Spermathecae spherical .............................................................................................................................................. 12

12a. Thick walled copulatory ducts first run outward and then inwards .............................................................. S. attidiya

12b. Thin walled copulatory ducts first run inward and then outwards.......................................................... S. tumegaster

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 10. Suffasia keralaensis sp. nov. Female and male paratypes, 1 Female dorsal view; 2 Female frontal view; 3 Female lateral view; 4 Female labium and maxillae; 5 Female sternum; 6 Male dorsal view; 7 Epigyne ventral view; 8 Internal genitalia dorsal view; 9 Left male pedipalp, ventral view; 10 Left male pedipalp, lateral view. Scale bars: 1 – 2, 2 mm; 3, 1.5 mm; 4 – 5, 0.75 mm; 6, 1.5 mm; 7 – 8, 0.1 mm; 9 – 10, 0.2 mm.