Phintella mii, Wang & Li, 2020

Wang, Cheng & Li, Shuqiang, 2020, Seven new species of jumping spiders (Araneae, Salticidae) from Xishuangbanna, China, ZooKeys 968, pp. 43-69 : 43

Phintella mii sp. nov. Figs 9 , 10

Type material.

Holotype ♂ (IZCAS-Ar40621), China: Yunnan: Xishuangbanna, Mengla County, Menglun Town, Menglun Nature Reserve, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, tropical rainforest (21°55.35'N, 101°16.36'E, ca 610 m), 29.07.2018, X. Mi et al. leg. Paratype 1♀ (IZCAS-Ar40622), Palm Garden (21°55.47'N, 101°15.05'E, ca 550 m), 6.08.2018, C. Wang et al. leg.

Etymology.

The specific name is a patronym after Prof. Xiaoqi Mi (Tongren, China), one of the collectors of the new species; noun (name) in genitive case.

Diagnosis.

The male of Phintella mii sp. nov. resembles P. aequipeiformis Żabka, 1985 in the shape of the palp but can be distinguished by the following: 1) the distance between the embolus and cymbial tip is almost equal to the embolic length vs more than three times the embolic length in P. aequipeiformis ( Luong et al. 2016: fig. 4A, D, E); 2) proximally, the RTA is strongly curved dorsally in retrolateral view vs straight in P. aequipeiformis ( Luong et al. 2016: fig. 4B); 3) the chelicerae of the male are underdeveloped, the ratio of the length of the fang to the width of the paturon is about 1:1 vs well-developed chelicerae, with a ratio of almost 2.5:1 in P. aequipeiformis ( Luong et al. 2016: fig. 3I). The female of this new species can be easily distinguished from other congeners by having an anterior subtriangular lamellar epigynal fold (Fig. 10A, F ), which is absent in other species.

Description.

Male (Figs 9 , 10C, D, F, G ). Total length 2.39. Carapace 1.05 long, 0.95 wide. Abdomen 1.15 long, 0.76 wide. Clypeus 0.05 high. Eye sizes and inter-distances: AME 0.30, ALE 0.15, PLE 0.14, AERW 0.93, PERW 0.91, EFL 0.59. Legs: I 2.46 (0.73, 0.90, 0.51, 0.32), II 2.20 (0.68, 0.76, 0.44, 0.32), III 2.68 (0.80, 0.88, 0.66, 0.34), IV 2.92 (0.90, 0.95, 0.73, 0.34). Carapace nearly square, bearing sparse white scales on cheeks, between both ALEs and PLEs and posteriorly, with a pair of indistinct stripes anteriorly and two pairs of round, dark markings near the PMEs and the posterior margin. Clypeus yellow-brown. Fovea longitudinal, short, bar-shaped. Chelicerae yellow, with one retromarginal tooth and two promarginal teeth. Endites yellow to green-brown. Labium dark brown. Sternum green-brown, heart-shaped, covered by dense, white setae. Legs pale to green-brown. Abdomen suboval, dorsum green-brown, speckled, with a nearly square white marking posteriorly, followed by a round, dark spot; venter dark brown, with a pair of longitudinal dotted lines medially.

Palp (Fig. 9A-D ): tibia wider than long, with a RTA proximally curved dorsally, and then curved towards bulb terminally, pointed at the tip in retrolateral view; bulb flat, with sperm duct strongly bent anteriorly; lamellar process small, nearly round, tegular bump located retrolatero-medially; embolus short, tapered, with a blunt tip directed antero-prolaterally in ventral view.

Female (Fig. 10A, B, E ). Total length 3.04. Carapace 1.24 long, 1.01 wide. Abdomen 1.52 long, 1.12 wide. Clypeus 0.06 high. Eye sizes and inter-distances: AME 0.32, ALE 0.16, PLE 0.15, AERW 1.01, PERW 1.00, EFL 0.67. Legs: I 2.16 (0.68, 0.80, 0.44, 0.24), II 2.14 (0.68, 0.76, 0.46, 0.24), III missing, IV 3.05 (0.93, 1.05, 0.78, 0.29). Carapace yellow, with a pair of longitudinal dark stripes anteriorly in eye field and two pairs of dark brown patches close to PMEs and the posterior margin of the thoracic area. Abdomen suboval, dorsum pale, with indistinct transverse brown stripes medially and a round, brown spot at the terminus; venter colored as dorsum.

Epigyne (Fig. 10A, B ): with a slightly recurved basal plate; copulatory openings located anteriorly, obscured by an inverted subtriangular lamellar epigynal fold; copulatory ducts extending transversely before extending posteriorly along the longitudinal axis, and then curving to connected to the dorsoectal surface of spermathecae; spermathecae almost round, separated from each other by less than one-third their diameter; fertilization ducts well-developed, located anteriorly on spermathecae.

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality in Yunnan, China.

Comments.

The female is paired with the holotype because it shares similar carapace markings with the male. These markings differ from other congeners known only from a single male from Xishuangbanna. However, the male and female have different abdominal markings, so the pairing requires further confirmation.

Figures

Figure 9. Male palp of the holotype of Phintella mii sp. nov. A prolateral B retrolateral C ventral D dorsal. Scale bars: 0.1.

Figure 10. Phintella mii sp. nov., female paratype and male holotype A epigyne, ventral B vulva, dorsal C holotype habitus, dorsal D holotype habitus, ventral E paratype habitus, dorsal F holotype carapace, frontal G holotype chelicerae, dorsal. Scale bars: 0.1 (A, B, G); 0.5 (C-F).