Nerudia flecha, Huber & Meng & Král & Ávila Herrera & Izquierdo & Carvalho, 2023

Huber, Bernhard A., Meng, Guanliang, Král, Jiří, Ávila Herrera, Ivalú M., Izquierdo, Matias A. & Carvalho, Leonardo S., 2023, High and dry: integrative taxonomy of the Andean spider genus Nerudia (Araneae: Pholcidae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198, pp. 534-591 : 573-575

NERUDIA FLECHA HUBER SP. NOV.

( FIGS 35 , 36 )

Z o o b a n k r e g i s t r a t i o n: u r n: l s i d: z o o b a n k. org:act: 2A718011-CA44-43E3-8053-166B6AF843DF.

Diagnosis: Easily distinguished from known congeners by shape of procursus ( Fig. 35A–C ; short distal element with hooked tip, without membranous part) and by bulbal processes ( Fig. 35D–F ; embolus much shorter than ventral apophysis); also by armature of male chelicerae ( Fig. 35G, H ; frontal apophyses pointing downwards, with slightly widened flat tip, set with regular hairs), and by epigynum and female internal genitalia ( Figs 35I , 36 ; epigynal plate with large posterior indentation; internal genitalia apparently without or with small median ‘receptacle’).

Type material: CHILE – Coquimbo: • ♂ holotype, 1 ♀ paratype; road to Pascua Lama Mine; approximately 29.445° S, 70.502° W, +/– 6 km; 3000–3280 m a.s.l.; 3 Feb. 2014; A. A. Ojanguren-Affilastro, J. Pizarro-Araya, P. Agusto, R. Botero Trujillo and H. Iuri leg.; MACN Ar 37782.

Etymology: The species epithet flecha (Spanish for ‘arrow’) is taken from Pablo Neruda’s poem ‘Poema 1’; noun in apposition.

Description

Male (holotype). Measurements: Total body length 1.50, carapace width 0.62. Distance PME – PME 80 µm; diameter PME 50 µm; distance PME – ALE 20 µm; distance AME – AME 20 µm; diameter AME 35 µm. Leg 1: 4.57 (1.30 + 0.20 + 1.30 + 1.30 + 0.47), tibia 2: 1.07, tibia 3: 0.90, tibia 4: 1.27; tibia 1 L/d: 19 .

Colour (in ethanol): Prosoma and legs mostly pale ochre-yellow; carapace with light brown Y-mark behind ocular area; legs without dark rings; abdomen monochromous pale-grey.

Body: Habitus similar to N. poma (cf. Fig. 1B ). Ocular area barely raised. Carapace with indistinct thoracic groove. Clypeus unmodified (only rim slightly more sclerotized than in female). Sternum wider than long (0.44/0.40), with pair of small anterior processes near coxae 1. Abdomen globular.

Chelicerae: As in Figure 35G, H ; short frontal apophyses set with regular hairs, tips slightly flattened; stridulatory files on low lateral protrusions.

Palps: In general, similar to N. colina (cf. Fig. 4 ) but femur absolutely and relatively shorter (length/width 1.76) and tibia slightly less strongly enlarged (length/ width 1.13); procursus simple, in lateral view slightly bent towards dorsal, distal part short, with distinctive hooked tip, without membranous element ( Fig. 35A–C ); genital bulb with weakly curved ventral apophysis distally semi-transparent, embolus much shorter than ventral apophysis ( Fig. 35D–F ).

Legs: Without spines and curved hairs; with vertical hairs in higher than usual density on tibia 1 only, in two dorsal rows (prolateral and retrolateral); retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at 64%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1; tarsus 1 with ~seven pseudosegments, only distally distinct.

Female: In general, similar to male but sternum without humps and tibia 1 with usual low number of short vertical hairs. Tibia 1: 1.22; carapace width: 0.68. Epigynum ( Fig. 36A ) anterior plate semi-circular to trapezoidal, with large posterior indentation; posterior plate short but wide. Internal genitalia ( Figs 35I , 36B– D ) simple, apparently without or with small median ‘receptacle’.

Distribution: Known only from type locality in Coquimbo, Chile ( Fig. 3 ).

PUTATIVE FURTHER SPECIES

Figures

Figure 1. Nerudia, live specimens from Argentina. A, N. colina sp. nov., female from Jujuy, between San Salvador and Purmamarca (type locality). B, N. poma sp. nov., male from Salta, NW Campo Quijano (type locality). C, D, N. centaura sp. nov., male and female from Catamarca, E Paso de San Francisco (type locality). E, N. trigo sp. nov., female from Salta, SW Alemania. F, N. guirnalda sp. nov., male from Catamarca, El Rodeo (type locality). G, N. ola sp. nov., male from San Juan, San Agustin de Valle Fertil (type locality). H, N. nono sp. nov., male from Cordoba, E Nono (type locality).

Figure 3. Known distribution of Nerudia in South America (inset) and of individual species. Regions in Chile: AT, Atacama; COQ, Coquimbo. Provinces in Argentina: CA, Catamarca; COR, Córdoba; JU, Jujuy; LR, La Rioja; SA, Salta; SJ, San Juan.

Figure 4. Nerudia colina sp. nov.; paratype male from Argentina, Jujuy, between San Salvador and Purmamarca (ZFMK Ar 23883). Left palp, prolateral (A) and retrolateral (B) views. Abbreviations: b, genital bulb; c, coxa; e, embolus; f, femur; p, procursus; pa, patella; ta, tarsus; ti, tibia; tr, trochanter; va, ventral apophysis. Scale line: 0.3 mm.

Figure 35. Nerudia flecha sp. nov.; holotype male and paratype female from Chile, Coquimbo, road to Pascua Lama Mine (MACN Ar 37782). A–C, left male palpal tarsus and procursus, prolateral, dorsal and retrolateral views. D–F, left male genital bulb, prolateral, dorsal and retrolateral views. G, H, male chelicerae, frontal and lateral views. I, cleared female genitalia, dorsal view. Scale lines: 0.2 mm.

Figure 36. Nerudia flecha sp. nov.; paratype female from Chile, Coquimbo, road to Pascua Lama Mine (MACN Ar 37782).A, abdomen and epigynum, ventral view. B, median structures in internal genitalia. C, D, cleared genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. Scale lines: 0.2 mm (A, C, D), 0.1 mm (B).