Pelecopsis monsantensis Bosmans & Crespo, 2010

Bosmans, Robert, Cardoso, Pedro & Crespo, Luis Carlos, 2010, A review of the linyphiid spiders of Portugal, with the description of six new species (Araneae: Linyphiidae) 2473, Zootaxa 2473 (1), pp. 1-67 : 44-46

Pelecopsis monsantensis Bosmans & Crespo new species

( Figs 94–98)

Type material: Holotype male from Portugal, Lisboa, Monsanto , mixed woodland forest, 24.X.2004, A. Rebelo leg.; deposited in KBIN.

Etymology: The species is named after its type locality, the Monsanto park in Lisboa.

Diagnosis: Pelecopsis monsantensis new species is distinghuished from other Pelecopsis species by combined characters of the shape of the prosoma and the structure of the male palp. The prosoma has a cephalic tubercle with a large sulcus behind the eyes, generally much smaller in other species and the palpal tibia has a twisted base, straight in all other species.

Description: Male: Measurements: Total length 2.0; prosoma 0.75 long, 0.71 wide.

Colour: Prosoma orange brown, paler at margins; legs yellowish orange; abdomen dark grey, with dark purplish brown, strongly denticulate scutum covering 9/10 of the abdomen. Prosoma ( Figs 94–95): Cephalic part with large, rounded lobe carrying the PM, with strong concavity between AM and PM and with large sulcus behind the PL; cephalic lobe with long erect hairs, eye region with short, oblique hairs; thoracic part coriaceous towards the margin, with punctuated striae. Eyes: a = 1, b = 1.5, c = 2, d = 3. Chelicerae: Fang groove with 3 promarginal and 3 small retromarginal teeth; stridulating file hardly perceptible, with 21–23 files. Sternum: Smooth. Legs: Tibiae spineless; Tb Mt I = 0.64; Tb Mt IV absent. Palp ( Figs 96–98): Tibia twisted at its base, with elongate dorsal apophysis with terminal hook and short, hooked retrolateral apophysis; cymbium with small basal hump; tegulum with large, triangular protegulum; embolus spirally coiled, describing 2.5 circles, terminally pointed.

Female: Unknown.

Distribution: Only known from Portugal.

Habitat type: Collected in mixed woodland.

Phenology: The only specimen was collected in November.