Mesiotelus damavandicus Zamani, Fomichev & Marusik, 2024

Zamani, Alireza, Fomichev, Alexander A., Naumova, Maria, Kaya, Rahşen S. & Marusik, Yuri M., 2024, New taxonomic and faunistic data on Liocranidae (Arachnida: Araneae) of West Palaearctic), with nine new species of Mesiotelus Simon, 1897, Zootaxa 5519 (2), pp. 190-214 : 199

Mesiotelus damavandicus Zamani, Fomichev & Marusik , sp. nov.

Figs 8 , 49‒51

Mesiotelus kulczynskii : Zamani et al. 2022: 556, fig. 2M‒N (♀).

Type material. Holotype ♀ ( NMP), IRAN: Mazandaran Prov.: Alborz Mts, Damavand , 3000 m, 20.V.1976 (leg. J. Boháč).

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the type locality of the new species near Mount Damavand, a dormant stratovolcano and the highest peak in Iran.

Diagnosis. The epigyne of the new species is somewhat similar to that of M. patricki by having a similar fovea, but differs by an anterior hood not as wide: ca. 3 times thinner than fovea wide (vs. 2 times thinner), proportions of fovea: 1.7 times longer than wide (vs. 2), and relatively larger receptacles (cf. Figs 49 and 58 ).

Description. Female (holotype). Habitus as in Fig. 8 . Total length 4.40. Carapace 1.90 long, 1.50 wide. Eye sizes: AME: 0.08, ALE: 0.12, PME: 0.09, PLE: 0.13. Carapace, chelicerae, maxillae, labium and sternum light yellowish-brown. Carapace with faint lateral bands. Legs slightly lighter than carapace, without annulations. Abdomen dark grey, lighter ventrally, without patterns. Spinnerets uniformly light yellowish-brown. Ventral paired tibial spines: I, II: 2p, III, IV: 3p. Measurements of legs: I: 6.56 (1.75, 1.00, 1.63, 1.32, 0.86), II: 5.75 (1.47, 0.84, 1.50, 1.17, 0.77), III: 5.46 (1.48, 0.75, 1.20, 1.32, 0.71), IV: 7.96 (2.11, 0.90, 1.95, 2.10, 0.90).

Epigyne as in Figs 49‒51 ; epigynal plate almost as wide as long; fovea ca. 1.7 times longer than wide; anterior hood wider than long, 3 times thinner than fovea; lateral margins subparallel in posterior half and slightly diverging in anterior half; receptacles oval, large, longer than diverging parts of lateral margins, their axes diverging; copulatory ducts distinct, wide, subparallel, spaced by their width.

Male. Unknown.

Comments. This species was previously misidentified as Mesiotelus kulczynskii Charitonov, 1946 (Zamani et al. 2022). Mesiotelus kulczynskii was described based on material from eastern Uzbekistan (Charitonov 1946). Judging by the figures provided by Mikhailov & Fet (1986), its record from Turkmenistan seems to be also based on a misidentification.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality in Mazandaran, northern Iran ( Fig. 75 ).

Figures

FIGURE 75. Collection localities of the studied liocranid species. 1—Agroeca angirasu; 2—A. cuprea; 3—A. inopina; 4—A. proxima; 5—Mesiotelus alanyensis sp. nov. (in part, specimens from Antalya); 6—M. bosmansi sp. nov.; 7—M. confusus sp. nov.; 8—M. cyprius; 9—M. damavandicus sp. nov.; 10—M. scopensis; 11—M. kravetsi sp. nov.; 12—M. mediterraneus sp. nov. and M. alanyensis sp. nov. (in part, specimens from Mersin); 13—M. patricki; 14—M. sistanus sp. nov.; 15—M. tadzhikus sp. nov.; 16—M. turanicus sp. nov.; 17—M. kulczynskii; 18—Scotina celans; 19—Sestakovaia annulipes. Some symbols could refer to more than one closely situated locality.

FIGURES 7–12. Dorsal habitus of Mesiotelus cyprius (7), M. damavandicus sp. nov. (8), M. kravetsi sp. nov. (9), M. mediterraneus sp. nov. (10), M. patricki (11) and M. sistanus sp. nov. (12). 7–8, 10–12—female; 9—male. Scale bars: 2 mm.

FIGURES 43–51. Epigyne of Mesiotelus bosmansi sp. nov. (43–45), M. confusus sp. nov. (46–48) and M. damavandicus sp. nov. (49–51). 43, 46, 49—intact, ventral; 44, 47, 50—macerated, ventral; 45, 48, 51—macerated, dorsal. Scale bars: 0.1 mm. Abbreviations: Ah—anterior hood, Lm—lateral margin, Re—receptacle.

FIGURES 52–60. Epigyne (52–53, 55–60) and receptacles (54) of Mesiotelus kulczynskii (52–54), M. mediterraneus sp. nov. (55–57) and M. patricki (58–60). 55, 58—intact, ventral; 52, 56, 59—macerated, ventral; 53–54, 57, 60—macerated, dorsal. Scale bars: 0.1 mm. Abbreviations: Ah—anterior hood, Hl—lateral margin of anterior hood.