Pirata digitatus, Tso & Chen, 2004

Tso, I-Min & Chen, Jun, 2004, Descriptions Of Three New And Six New Record Wolf Spider Species From Taiwan (Arachnida: Araneae: Lycosidae), Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 52 (2), pp. 399-411 : 403-405

Pirata digitatus , new species

( Figs. 17-24 )

Material examined. – Holotype - female, Hui-Sun Experimental Forest Station , Nantou County, Taiwan, 24 Apr.1998, coll. Sheng- Hai Wu (NMNS-THU-Ar-00-0061).

Paratypes – 1 female, Hui-Sun Experimental Forest Station , Nantou County, Taiwan, 24 Apr.1998, coll. Sheng-Hai Wu ( ZRC) ; 1 female, Hui-Sun Experimental Forest Station , Nantou County, Taiwan, Feb.1998, coll. Hai-Yin Wu (NMNS- THU-Ar-00-0063) ; 1 male, Hui-Sun Experimental Forest Station , Nantou County, Taiwan, 24 Apr.1998, coll. Sheng-Hai Wu (NMNS-THU-Ar-00-0008) ; 1 male, Hui-Sun Experimental Forest Station , Nantou County, Taiwan, 24 Apr.1998, coll. Sheng-Hai Wu ( ZRC) .

Diagnosis. – Total length 2.88-3.80; carapace with distinct pattern, V-shaped dark mark distinct, sublateral belt absent; epigynum with a pair of copulatory openings near posterior margin, copulatory tube bifurcate at base, terminal part of inner tube expanded, lateral tube with a digitiform prominent distally, its tip beyond that of inner tube; cymbium of pedipalp of male without thick apical seta, median apophysis near rectangle shaped, anterior margin incurved distinctly.

Etymology. – The specific name refers to the distal digitiform prominence of lateral copulatory duct of the epigynum.

Description. – Female: Total length 2.91-3.80. Holotype: total length 3.80, carapace length 1.78, width 1.29; abdomen length 2.08, width 1.56. Body with brownish pubescence. Head vertical laterally. Carapace with distinct pattern ( Fig. 17 ), median band yellowish-brown, V-shaped dark mark distinct; lateral band wide, radiating stripes relatively distinct; lateral bands yellowish-brown, wide; sublateral belt absent. Margin of carapace pale. Bases of posterior eyes dark, colour between them pale and that between PLEs yellowish-brown. Anterior eye row procurved, AME smaller than ALE, AME- AME subequal to AME-ALE. Clypeus about twice the diameter of AME. Chelicerae with 3 promarginal and 3 retromarginal teeth. Sternum slightly swollen, yellowishbrown, with an obscure “U”-shaped dark median mark. Legs yellowish brown, with distinct annulations. Tarsi of pedipalps and legs slightly darker. Leg measurements: I 4.80 (1.34, 0.57, 1.17, 1.10, 0.62); II 4.32 (1.24, 0.53, 0.98, 1.00, 0.57); III 4.24 (1.19, 0.50, 0.86, 1.12, 0.57); IV 6.27 (1.69, 0.62, 1.48, 1.72, 0.76). Dorsum of abdomen dark brown, heart stripe pale, with several transversal bands posteriorly; ventral side pale, muscle marks distinct, dark brown. Epigynum with a pair of copulatory openings near posterior margin in ventral view ( Fig. 18 ); copulatory tube bifurcate at base, terminal part of inner tube expanded, lateral tube with a digitiform prominent distally, the tip beyond that of inner tube ( Fig. 19 ).

Male: Total length: 2.88-3.06. One paratype: total length 3.06, carapace length 1.72, width 1.23; abdomen length 1.38, width 0.86. Similar to female in general shape and colour. Body rather dark. AME smaller than ALE. Clypeus about 1.6 times the diameter of AME. Annulations of legs indistinct. Leg measurements: I (lost); II 4.32 (1.22, 0.50, 0.93, 1.05, 0.62); III 4.13 (1.17, 0.45, 0.84, 1.10, 0.57); IV 6.08 (1.60, 0.57, 1.41, 1.74, 0.76). Pedipalp yellowish brown, with brown pubescence, distal part of femur and tibia dark coloured, cymbium without thick apical seta. Median apophysis near rectangle shaped, anterior margin incurved distinctly ( Figs. 20-24 ).

Remarks. – The genus Pirata , similar to most other genera of Lycosidae , awaits detailed revision based mainly on morphological characters of pedipalp. Considering the distinct V-shaped dark mark in the median band of carapace of this species, we temporarily placed this species in Pirata , although its pedipalp is diagnostic.

This species is similar to P. piraticus (Clerck, 1757) and P. subpiraticus (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906) , but can be distinguished easily by the following characters: in P. digitatus , anterior eye row procurved, AME smaller than ALE, AME-AME subequal to AME-ALE; posterior margin of epigynal plate almost straight; copulatory tube bifurcate at base, lateral tube with a digitiform prominence distally, tip beyond that of inner tube; median apophysis of pedipalp near rectangle shaped, anterior margin incurved distinctly; in P. piraticus , anterior eye row straight, AME distinctly larger than ALE, AME-AME longer than AME-ALE; posterior margin of epigynal plate concave strongly; copulatory tube bifurcate at base, lateral tube without prominent, tip of inner tube beyond that of lateral tube; median apophysis of pedipalp organ like a bird head in ventral view; in P. subpiraticus , anterior eye row almost straight, AME larger than ALE, AME-AME longer than AME-ALE; posterior margin of epigynal plate concave strongly; copulatory tube bifurcate at base, lateral tube without prominent, tip of inner tube beyond that of lateral tube; median apophysis of pedipalp organ digit shaped, directed laterally.

Distribution. – Taiwan.

Figures

Figs. 17-24. Pirata digitatus, new species. 17. carapace (female, dorsal view); 18-19. epigynum (18. ventral view; 19. dorsal view); 20-22. left pedipalp of male (20. ventral view; 21. retrolateral view; 22. prolaterla view); 23-24. right pedipalp of male (expanded, 23. ventral view; 24. dorsal view). Abbreviations:co: copulatory opening; ct: copulatory tube; em: embolus; ma:median apophysis; st: subtegulum; t: tegulum. Scale bars: Fig. 17 = 0.40mm; Figs. 18-19 = 0.05mm; Figs. 20-24 = 0.10mm.