Priscula acarite Huber, 2020

Huber, Bernhard A. & Villarreal, Osvaldo, 2020, On Venezuelan pholcid spiders (Araneae, Pholcidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 718, pp. 1-317 : 248-253

Priscula acarite Huber sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:633EF73A-111D-4F21-92EC-238E38F65C2E

Figs 871–873 , 877–897 , 1026, 1061

Diagnosis

Easily distinguished from known congeners by shapes of procursus ( Figs 886–889 ; distal ventral spine proximally undulating, large prolateral membranous structure), genital bulb ( Figs 892–897 ; distinctive shape of apophysis, with large whitish area on retrolateral-ventral side), and by female internal genitalia ( Fig. 891 ; distinctive transversal sclerite in front of whitish triangular area; pore plates long and narrow, in vertical position). From most species also by ventral process on male palpal femur ( Fig. 879 ; present but smaller in P. salmeronica González-Sponga, 1999 ).

Etymology

The species name refers to the type locality; noun in apposition.

Type material

VENEZUELA – Falcón • ♂ holotype, ZFMK (Ar 22107), Sierra de San Luis, E Curimagua, Cuevas de Acarite (11.1737° N, 69.6280° W), 960 m a.s.l., 18 Nov. 2018 (B.A. Huber, O. Villarreal M.) .

Other material examined

VENEZUELA – Falcón • 7 ♂♂, 9 ♀♀, ZFMK (Ar 22108–09), and 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀ in pure ethanol, ZFMK (Ven18-196), same collection data as for holotype, from same cave and from neighboring caves (11.1716° N, 69.6266°E, 970 m a.s.l.; 11.1706° N, 69.6296°E, 1040 m a.s.l.). – Lara • 3 ♂♂, and 1 ♀ abdomen, ZFMK (Ar 22110), and 2 ♀♀ in pure ethanol, ZFMK (Ven18-197) (one abdomen transferred to ZFMK Ar 22110), between Coro and Barquisimeto, El Rodeo (10.7240° N, 69.3008° W), 400 m a.s.l., 19 Nov. 2018 (B.A. Huber, O. Villarreal M.) .

Description

Male (holotype)

MEASUREMENTS. Total body length 4.9, carapace width 2.0. Distance PME–PME 220 µm; diameter PME 140 µm; distance PME–ALE 100 µm; diameter AME 25 µm; distance AME–AME 30 µm. ALE and PLE larger than PME (diameter ALE 220 µm). Leg 1: 43.9 (10.9+ 0.8+11.2 +18.5 +2.5), tibia 2: 8.1, tibia 3: 5.9, tibia 4: 7.5; tibia 1 L/d: 59.

COLOR (in ethanol). Carapace pale ochre with light brown radial marks, ocular area slightly orange, clypeus with large brown mark narrowing towards chelicerae; sternum ochre to light brown; legs ochreyellow, with darker rings on femora subdistally and on tibiae proximally and subdistally; abdomen ochre-gray, dorsally and laterally densely covered with large indistinct dark marks and many small distinct white marks; ventrally grey with darker ochre marks in gonopore area and in front of spinnerets.

BODY. Habitus as in Fig. 871 . Ocular area distinctly raised, with hump on posterior side. Deep thoracic groove. Clypeus strongly protruding, with brown mark at rim. Sternum wider than long (1.25/0.95), unmodified. Abdomen higher than long, dorso-posteriorly pointed.

CHELICERAE. As in Fig. 890 , with short entapophyses, pair of short apophyses close to fang joints, without stridulatory ridges.

PALPS. As in Figs 877–879 ; coxa unmodified, trochanter slightly protruding ventrally, femur very large, with unsclerotized retrolateral process proximally, distinctive sclerotized ventral process at half length, and sclerotized protruding ventral rim distally; patella ventrally reduced to strongly sclerotized narrow rim; tibia small relative to femur; procursus ( Figs 886–887 ) with distinctive distal elements: ventral spine proximally undulating, retrolateral-dorsal sclerotized rim, and large prolateral membranous element; genital bulb ( Figs 892–894 ) with small proximal sclerite connecting to tarsus, strong curved

main apophysis with strongly sclerotized transversal ridges on prolateral side, with large whitish area on retrolateral-ventral side.

LEGS. Without spines and curved hairs; with more than usual short vertical hairs (but not in high density); retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at 5%; prolateral trichobothrium present on all leg tibiae; tarsi without distinct pseudosegments but rather with many small platelets.

Male (variation)

Tibia 1 in nine males from type locality (incl. holotype): 9.9–11.2 (mean 10.5); in three males from Lara: 8.7, 9.2, 9.5. Apart from being slightly smaller, males from Lara appear indistinguishable in all relevant aspects (preliminary molecular data show an unusually deep split; J.J. Astrin, B.A. Huber, unpubl. data). Only dark mark ventrally in front of spinnerets apparently consistently larger in males from Lara, and AME slightly more reduced in males from Lara (one male with only one AME lens, two males with black spot but without AME lenses). Large whitish area on genital bulb (asterisk in Fig. 894 ) collapsed in some males (in two males only on one side), giving the bulb a very different appearance (compare Figs 892–894 and 895–897 ); this was observed both in males preserved in 80% ethanol and in males preserved in pure ethanol. One male from type locality with darker (brown) book-lung covers.

Female

In general similar to male ( Fig. 873 ), clypeus rim without brown mark. Some females with pair of tiny AME, some with black spot but without AME lenses, one with only one AME lens. One female without black eye pigment. Tibia 1 in 12 females from type locality: 6.5–8.4 (mean 7.7); in two females from Lara: 5.7, 5.9. Epigynum ( Figs 880, 883 ) large trapezoidal plate, posterior margin with whitish triangular area; internal large arc and smaller arc-shaped transversal sclerite in front of whitish area (arrow in Fig. 891 ) visible through cuticle. Without posterior epigynal plate. Internal genitalia ( Figs 881–882, 884–885 , 891 ) small relative to epigynum; simple partly sclerotized ‘valve’ connected laterally to thick but weakly sclerotized cuticular folds; pore plates long and narrow, in vertical position (above dark arc and thus barely visible in Fig. 891 ).

Distribution

Known from two localities in the Venezuelan states Falcón and Lara (Fig. 1061).

Natural history

At the type locality, the spiders were collected in cave entrances where they were resting in a flat position directly on the rock surface. In Lara, the spiders were found on large rocks along a small creek. They were resting on the rock surface and had domed sheet webs that appeared very small compared to the size of the spider.

Figures

Figs 871–876. Priscula Simon, 1893; live specimens. 871–873. P. acarite Huber sp. nov.; male from Falcón, Curimagua, and male and female from Lara, between Coro and Barquisimeto. 874. P. lagunosa González-Sponga, 1999; male from Trujillo, Laguna Negra. 875–876. P. limonensis González-Sponga, 1999; females from La Guaira, El Limón.

Figs 877–885. Priscula acarite Huber sp. nov. 877–879. Left male pedipalp, prolateral, dorsal, and retrolateral views, male from Falcón, Curimagua (type locality; ZFMK Ar 22108). 880–885. Epigyna, ventral views, and cleared female genitalia, ventral and dorsal views, females from Falcón, Curimagua (880–882; type locality; ZFMK Ar 22109) and from Lara, between Coro and Barquisimeto (883–885; ZFMK Ar 22110).

Figs 886–891. Priscula acarite Huber sp. nov. 886–889. Left procursi, prolateral and retrolateral views, males from Falcón, Curimagua (886–887; type locality; ZFMK Ar 22108) and from Lara, between Coro and Barquisimeto (888–889; ZFMK Ar 22110). 890. Male chelicerae, frontal view, male from Falcón, Curimagua (ZFMK Ar 22108). 891. Cleared female genitalia, dorsal view, female from Falcón, Curimagua (ZFMK Ar 22109) (arrow: distinctive internal transversal sclerite). Scale lines: 0.5 mm.

Figs 892–897. Priscula acarite Huber sp. nov.; genital bulbs in dorsal, retrolateral, and ventral views, males from Falcón, Curimagua (892–894; type locality; ZFMK Ar 22108) and from Lara, between Coro and Barquisimeto (895–897; ZFMK Ar 22110). Note that bulbal membrane (asterisk) in upper row is slightly collapsed. Scale line: 0.5 mm (all figures at same scale).