Deltshevia danovi, Marusik & Fet, 2009

Marusik, Yuri & Fet, Victor, 2009, A survey of East Palaearctic Hersiliola Thorell, 1870 (Araneae, Hersiliidae), with a description of three new genera, ZooKeys 16 (16), pp. 75-114 : 99-102

Deltshevia danovi sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:47699594-B924-4F00-8435-D0200734C1C2

Figs 3 .4, 4 .6, 5 .6, 9 .1-5, 10 .1-3

Hersiliola afghanica: Fet 1983: 837 ( Turkmenistan: SW Kopetdagh). Misidentification.

Hersiliola danovi: Fet 1985: 72 (nomen nudum; no description published).

Hersiliola sp. 1: Mikhailov and Fet 1994: 504.

Type material ( 31 specimens): Holotype: ♁ ( ZMMU) and paratypes 3♀, 1 juv.♀ ( ZMMU), 3♀ ( SMF), TURKMENISTAN: Balkan Province, Southwest Kopetdagh, Syunt-Khasardagh Reserve, N of Mt. Syunt , Damdam , 1000 m a.s.l., 8.07.1984, V. Fet coll.

Paratypes. TURKMENISTAN: Balkan Province, Southwest Kopetdagh, Garrygala (= Kara-Kala ), Parkhai , 400 m a.s.l., 2 juv.♀, 08.1983 ; 1♀, 7.06.1984, V. Fet coll. ( ZMMU) ; Balkan Province, Southwest Kopetdagh, Hodzhagala , 400 m a.s.l., under stones, 1 subad.♀, 05.1981, N. Yermakov coll. ( ZMMU), 1♁, 11.05.1984, V. Fet coll. ( SMF), 4 subad.♀, 11.05.1984, 2 subad. ♁, 3 subad.♀, 4.06.1984, V. Fet coll. ( ZMMU) ; Balkan Province, Gyzylarbat (= Kyzyl-Arvat ), 12.05.1984, 2♀, 1 juv. ♁, V. Fet coll. ( ZMMU) . KAZAKHSTAN: 3♁, 3♀, Atyrau (= Guryev) Province, Ustyurt Reserve , W of Baskorgan, 27.05.1989, Raikhanov and Ibrayev coll. ( ZMMU) .

Etymology. The species name is a patronym honoring the late Rostislav Danov (1941-1993) of St. Petersburg, Russia, a naturalist, snake hunter, and artist, a friend of VF and his family, who spent many years working in Southwest Kopetdagh.

Diagnosis. Deltshevia danovi sp. n. is similar to D. gromovi sp. n., from which it can be easily distinguished by the shape of the embolus, tegular apophysis and epigyne. Deltshevia gromovi sp.n has a shorter and screw-shaped embolus, while D. danovi sp. n. has a longer, non-screw-shaped embolus. The apical portion of the tegular apophysis in D. gromovi sp. n. has subparallel margins, while the apical portion of the tegular apophysis in D. danovi sp. n. is triangular, with slanting margins. The epigyne of D.

danovi sp. n. has round openings (bell-shaped in D. gromovi sp. n.), a wider septum than in D. gromovi sp. n., a higher median plate, and larger spermathecae.

Description. Male. Total length 5.0. Carapace 2.4 long, 2.7 wide. Eyes, AME 0.11, ALE 0.17, PME 0.08, PLE 0.14, AME–AME 0.11, AME–ALE 0.07, ALE–PLE 0.03, PME–PLE 0.17, PME–PME 0.11. Carapace pattern and eye arrangement as in Fig. 9.1. Palp as in Figs 3.4, 4.6, 5.6, femur as long as cymbium, patella+tibia length about 2/3 of cymbium or femur length; bulbus globular, seminal duct thin; embolus thick, long and screw-shaped, terminal portion tapering, tip sharply pointed; tegular apophysis massive, with two arms: a large membranous apical arm, and a bill-shaped retrolateral arm.

Female. Total length 6.0-7.0. Carapace 2.1-2.3 long, 2.4-2.5 wide (wider than long). Carapace pattern and eye arrangement as in Figs 9.4-5. Abdominal pattern as in Fig. 9.3, dorsal side with a dark heart band and four transverse stripes, sides of abdomen with dark spots, venter without pattern. Epigynal plate 1.00-1.14 wide, fovea 0.47-0.57 wide, plate/fovea ratio 2-2.1. Epigyne as in Figs 10.1-3, with distinct windows, well-separated septum, median plate anchor-like, epigynal opening distinct (with well-expressed borders), opening diameter larger than septum width and equal to median plate height; translucent spermathecae elongate and located aside of openings. Vulva simple, with large pockets (continuation of epigynal opening), with oval spermathecae separated by more than three times their widths; insemination duct short, accessory gland globular, poorly visible.

Distribution. Turkmenistan (southwest), Kazakhstan (southwest).

Figures

Figure 3. Retrolateral view of the male palp of Hersiliola esyunini sp. n. (1), H. sternbergsi sp. n. (2), Duninia baehrae sp. n. (3), Deltshevia danovi sp. n. (4), D. gromovi sp. n. (5), and Ovtsharenkoia pallida (6). Scale = 0.5 mm.

Figure 4. Retrolateral view of the male palp of Hersiliola macullulata (1), H. simoni (2), H. sternbergsi sp. n. (3), H. esyunini sp. n. (4), Duninia baehrae sp. n. (5), Deltshevia danovi sp. n. (6), D. gromovi sp. n. (7), and Ovtsharenkoia pallida (8). Scale = 0.5 mm.

Figure 5. Prolateral view of the male palp of Hersiliola macullulata (1), H. simoni (2), H. sternbergsi sp. n. (3), H. esyunini sp. n. (4), Duninia baehrae sp. n. (5), Deltshevia danovi sp. n. (6), D. gromovi sp. n. (7), and Ovtsharenkoia pallida (8). Scale = 0.5 mm.

Figure 9. Somatic characters of Deltshevia danovi sp. n. (1-5), and D. gromovi sp. n. (6-7). 1, 7 female carapace, dorsal 2-3 abdomen of female, ventral and dorsal respectively 4-5 male carapace, frontal and lateral, respectively 6 female habitus.

Figure 10. Epigynes of Deltshevia danovi sp. n. (1-3), and D. gromovi sp. n. (4-5). 1, 3-4 ventral 2, 5 dorsal. Scale = 0.5 mm.