Steriphopus wangala Kadam, Tripathi & Sankaran, 2024

Sankaran, Pradeep M., Tripathi, Rishikesh & Kadam, Gautam, 2024, A new species of Steriphopus Simon, 1887 from India (Araneae: Palpimanidae, Chediminae), with the proposal of a new combination, Zootaxa 5474 (1), pp. 97-100 : 97-98

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5474.1.10
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12526840
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/A62E878A-FFEA-463F-FF77-F97FFBA9FC37
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Steriphopus wangala Kadam, Tripathi & Sankaran
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Steriphopus wangala Kadam, Tripathi & Sankaran sp. nov.

Figs 1–2 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2

Type material. Holotype ♀ ( ZSI / WGRC /I. R.INV.26757) from INDIA: Meghalaya: Baladinggre, West Garo Hills (25°30’28.0”N 90°17’55.5”E; 1056 m a.s.l.), from ground, by hand, 13.IV.2022, leg. G. Kadam. GoogleMaps

Etymology. The specific epithet is a noun in apposition, referring to the harvest festival known as ‘the 100 drums festival’ among the Garo community of Meghalaya. This festival is held in honour of Saljong, the Sun-God of fertility, marking the end of a period of toil, and indicating the beginning of the winter season.

Diagnosis. The female of S. wangala sp. nov. is most similar to those of S. benjamini Zonstein & Marusik, 2023 , the only known Indian congener, as both have well developed median, unpaired scutum, and long connective stalks of grape-shaped glands with single loop, but it can be distinguished by closely spaced dot-like scuta (vs. widely spaced), presence of stripe-like lateral scuta (vs. absent), and medially placed and closely spaced anterior globular parts of receptacles (vs. basolaterally placed and widely spaced) (cf. Figs 1F–H View FIGURE 1 , 2A–B View FIGURE 2 and Zonstein & Marusik, 2023: figs 17, 21).

Description. Female (holotype). Habitus and somatic structures as in Fig. 1A–E View FIGURE 1 . Carapace, clypeus, sternum, mouthparts and legs scarlet red, with orange shades on legs II–IV and spinnerets; opisthosoma creamy white. Cheliceral furrow with 8–10 peg teeth; promargin lacks true tooth, retromargin with two ( Fig. 1E View FIGURE 1 , arrows). Opisthosoma ovate ( Fig. 1A, C View FIGURE 1 ); epigastric scutum nearly circular ( Fig. 1B View FIGURE 1 ); venter with seven thin scuta lying near epigastric scutum, one pair of lateral, one pair of stripe-like and one pair of dot-like lateral, and one patch-like median, unpaired and posteriorly with pair of dot-like scuta on both sides of tracheal spiracle ( Fig. 1B View FIGURE 1 ). Body length 7.36. Carapace 2.66 long, 2.09 wide. Opisthosoma 4.69 long, 3.08 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: ALE 0.07, AME 0.13, PLE 0.08, PME 0.08; AME–ALE 0.14, AME–AME 0.12, AME–PME 0.10, PME–PLE 0.19, PME–PME 0.18. Clypeus height at ALEs 0.48, at AMEs 0.47. Chelicerae 1.06 long. Measurements of palp and legs: palp 1.61 [0.50, 0.19, 0.38, 0.54], I 6.42 [2.02, 1.63, 1.31, 0.70, 0.76], II 5.88 [1.75, 0.89, 1.62, 0.93, 0.69], III 5.00 [1.63, 0.69, 1.15, 1.05, 0.48], IV 8.38 [2.24, 0.94, 1.73, 1.78, 1.69].

Copulatory organs as in Figs 1F–H View FIGURE 1 , 2A–B View FIGURE 2 . Epigastric scutum moderately sclerotised, with internally thick posterior edge having median concavity ( Figs 1F–G View FIGURE 1 , 2A View FIGURE 2 ). Median transverse plate (MTP) of epigastric scutum sclerotised, remained internal to epigastric scutum ( Fig. 2B View FIGURE 2 ). Receptacles (Re) long, sclerotised, spiralled remained contiguous posteriorly, whereas medially placed blunt anterior parts lying close to each other, but not contiguous ( Figs 1H View FIGURE 1 , 2B View FIGURE 2 ). Grape-shaped glands (GG) lying adjacent to anterior parts, with long thread-like twisted connective stalks ( Figs 1H View FIGURE 1 , 2B View FIGURE 2 ).

Male. Unknown.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality.

Note. With the description of this species, the known palpimanid fauna in India is increased from seven to eight species belonging to four genera ( Tripathi et al. 2023; Zonstein & Marusik 2023).