Telema exiloculata, Lin & Pham & Li, 2009

Lin, Yucheng, Pham, Dinh-Sac & Li, Shuqiang, 2009, Six New Spiders From Caves Of Northern Vietnam (Araneae: Tetrablemmidae: Ochyroceratidae: Telemidae: Symphytognathidae), Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 57 (2), pp. 323-342 : 332

Telema exiloculata new species

( Figs. 7 A−F, 8A−G)

Material examined. – Holotype - Male ( IZCAS), Trung Trang Cave (20°48'N, 106°59'E; Alt: 256 m), Cat Ba National Park, Vietnam, coll. S. Li, G. Zheng & D.S. Pham, 16 July 2008.

Paratypes – 15 males and 43 females ( IZCAS), same data as holotype .

Diagnosis. – The new species resembles to T. spina from China (Tong & Li, 2008) in having the similar palp, but can be distinguished by the underdeveloped eyespot, the lack of modified pigmentation in both sexes, the small and elliptic palpal bulb, the presence of seven plumose setae at distal palpal tarsus in male, the asymmetrical, distally swollen and basally narrowed spermatheca (female unknown in T. spina ). T. exiloculata is similar to T. cucphongensis in the body size and the shape of palp, but different by the reduced eyespot, the narrower embolus, the longer and asymmetrical spermatheca.

Etymology. – The specific name is from Latin exil- = tiny, small and oculata = ocular, in reference to the vestigial eyespots on carapace of both sexes.

Description. – Holotype male. Total length 1.30. Carapace 0.60 long, 0.54 wide; clypeus 0.16 high; sternum 0.38 long, 0.34 wide; abdomen 0.76 long, 0.66 wide. Carapace, legs, sternum, labium, endites and chelicerae yellow. Abdomen pale yellow. Carapace smooth, without unmodified pattern, with paired of setae at clypeus, behind eyes and at thoracic fovea. Reduced six eyes remaining in white eyespots, almost same size, anterior eye row slightly recurved, separated from each other by about 1.5 times their diameter, lateral eyes contiguous. Cheliceral fang furrow with three large teeth, three barely visible granulous denticles and eleven plumose hairs on promargin, three barely visible denticles on retromargin. Legs with a dorsal spine at distal patella, three row of short spines on prolateral femur I. Tibia I-IV bear spines. Leg measurements: I 2.76 (0.85, 0.11, 0.86, 0.59, 0.35); II 2.33 (0.73, 0.11, 0.70, 0.48, 0.31); III 1.70 (0.56, 0.09, 0.49, 0.32, 0.24); IV 2.08 (0.70, 0.10, 0.61, 0.41, 0.26). Leg formula: I-II-IV-III. Abdomen pale yellow, almost globose, with sparse long hairs. Colulus pale and pentagonal, spinnerets pale, the anterior largest, the middle smallest.

Palp with a prolateral cymbial apophysis, elliptic bulb with a simple trigonal embolus that basally broad and distally bent ( Fig. 7 A-C).

Female. Total length 1.56. Carapace 0.66 long, 0.58 wide; clypeus 0.16 high; sternum 0.38 long, 0.34 wide; abdomen 1.04 long, 0.94 wide. Eyes and chelicerae as in male. Leg measurements: I 2.66 (0.82, 0.11, 0.83, 0.55, 0.35); II 2.23 (0.70, 0.10, 0.68, 0.45, 0.30); III 1.67 (0.54, 0.09, 0.49, 0.31, 0.24); IV 2.07 (0.69, 0.10, 0.61, 0.41, 0.26). Leg formula: I-II-IV-III.

Genital area covered with long hairs on genital plate. A row of short spines present posterior epigastric furrow. Posterior margin of genital area straight, bilaterally slightly sclerotized. Spermatheca relatively large, with distinct shape, distorted two times medially, swollen distally, attaching to a distal-lateral vesicle ( Fig. 8 C-G).

Distribution. – Known only from the type locality ( Fig. 13 ).

Figures

Fig. 7. Telema exiloculata new species: A. Male left palp, prolateral view; B. Ditto, retrolateral view; C. Ditto (treated in lactic acid), retrolateral view; D. Male carapace, dorsal view; E. Male abdominal pedicel, dorsal view; F. Ditto, lateral view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.view; C-F. Male leg I-IV, prolateral view. Scale bars: 0.05 mm for A, B; 0.2 mm for C-F.

Fig. 8. Telema exiloculata new species: A. Male chelicerae, frontal view; B. Female colulus and spinnerets, ventral view; C. Female epiginal area, ventral view; D-G. Cleared spermatheca, ventral (D), anterior (E); posterior (F) and lateral view (G). Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

Fig. 13. Locality records of cave spiders in Vietnam.