Allomedmassa deelemanae, Dankittipakul & Singtripop, 2014

Dankittipakul, Pakawin & Singtripop, Tippawan, 2014, Allomedmassa, a new spider genus from evergreen forests of Southeast Asia (Araneae: Corinnidae), Revue suisse de Zoologie 121 (1), pp. 15-31 : 24-28

Allomedmassa deelemanae sp. nov. Figs 26-39

HOLOTYPE: 3, Malaysia, Borneo Island , Sabah State, Tawau Division, fogging forest canopy in evergreen forests, leg. C. Deeleman (RMNH, not examined).

REMARKS: The holotype of this species has not been examined by the first author but it fits well with the definition of Allomedmassa gen. nov. and should be placed here (Deeleman-Reinhold pers. comm.). The male palp is quite peculiar, its retrolateral tibial apophysis is voluminous, almost as large as the tibia itself, and consists of a large bent outer lobe and a strongly chitinized inner part which ends

FIGS 26-29

Allomedmassa deelemanae gen. & sp. nov., male holotype. (26) Habitus, dorsal view. (27) Ditto, lateral view. (28) Ditto, ventral view. (29) Apex of left leg I with claw tufts, prolateral view.

distally in a strong spine or rod. The embolus is massive, very broad-based and not ending in a tapering spine as do the emboli of all other castianeirines but ending in a broad cup-shaped tip instead. The sperm duct is also sigmoid. The male of this new species can also be distinguished from those of congeners by six pairs of pronounced (not reduced as in the two congeners) spines on the ventral side of its anterior tibiae.

ETYMOLOGY: The species is dedicated to Dr Christa Deeleman-Reinhold, who collected the type specimen, helped with the description and provided insightful comments on the genus.

DESCRIPTION OF MALE (HOLOTYPE): Total length 9.9; prosoma 4.9 long; opisthosoma 5.0 long. Leg formula 1234. Leg measurements: Leg I 18.0 (5.0, 6.5, 4.5, 2.0), leg II 16.9 (4.6, 5.5, 4.8, 2.0), leg III 13.3 (4.0, 4.3, 3.5, 1.5), leg IV 12.4 (3.7, 4.0, 3.3, 1.4). Spination: Leg I: Fe, d-11, p-1; Ti, v-222222; Mt, v-22; leg II: Fe, d-11, p-1; Ti, v-222222; Mt, v-22.

FIGS 30-33

Allomedmassa deelemanae gen. & sp. nov., male holotype. (30) Prosoma, frontal view. (31) Anterior part of prosoma, ventral view. (32) Left leg I, prolateral view. (33) Spinnerets, ventral view.

Coloration and pattern (Figs 26-28, 30). Prosoma convex; carapace entirely black, covered with numerous pits; chelicerae dark brown; labium and palpal coxae reddish brown, distal areas pale; sternum reddish brown; legs orange, except proximal part of femora dark brown; tibiae and metatarsi pale proximally.

Opisthosoma elongate-ovoid, sparsely covered with black pubescence; dorsally with orange-brown pigmentation, its margin clearly outlined, covering entire dorsal surface of opisthosoma; dorsal pattern consisting of a pair of pale longitudinal patches, followed by six disconnected transverse chevrons; venter pale, with lightly sclerotized median band running from epigastric furrow to spinnerets.

Palp (Figs 34-39). Palpal tibia with large, tripartite RTA consisting of a small, dark, retrodorsal tooth with pointed apex (Figs 38-39, indicated by arrow), a much larger, pointed, light-coloured retrolateral prong with a large bulging base, and a blunt, relatively wide dark retroventral ridge; tegulum ovoid, slightly excavated meso-prolaterally, with sigmoid sperm duct running medially; embolus heavily sclerotized, represented by a transverse basal ridge, a distally twisted rectangular lamina, and a smaller dorso-prolateral projection.

FEMALE: Unknown.

FIGS 34-37

Allomedmassa deelemanae gen. & sp. nov., male holotype. (34) Left male palp, ventral view. (35) Ditto, prolateral view. (36) Ditto, retrolateral view. (37) Ditto, dorsal view.

FIGS 38-39

Allomedmassa deelemanae gen. & sp. nov., male holotype. (38) RTA of left palp, with arrow indicating retrodorsal tooth, retrolateral view. (39) Ditto, dorsal view.

NATURAL HISTORY: The type of A. deelemanae sp. nov. was collected by canopy fogging in an evergreen rain forest.

DISTRIBUTION: Known only from the type locality in northeastern Borneo .