Wraios longiembolus, Ballarin & Li, 2015

Ballarin, Francesco & Li, Shu-Qiang, 2015, Three new genera of the family Nesticidae (Arachnida: Araneae) from Tibet and Yunnan, China, Zoological Systematics 40 (2), pp. 179-190 : 189-190

Wraios longiembolus sp. nov. ( Figs 5–7 )

Material examined. Holotype ♂, 27 June 2013, China, Yunnan, Xishuangbanna, Jinghong City, Guanping Town , Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve (22°13'38.7588"N, 100°53'20.8788"E), elev. 939 m, primary tropical seasonal rain forest, in the litter, sieving, leg. Qing-Yuan Zhao & Zhi-Gang Chen. Paratypes: 1 ♂, 14 ♀ , same locality and date as holotype .

Etymology. The name is a combination of the Latin word " longus " meaning "long" and the word " embolus ". It's referred to the very long embolus typical of this species; adjective.

Diagnosis. Males of the new species can be easily distinguished by the unusual shape of the embolus ( Fig. 5E ), extremely long and coiled around the cymbium, and by the shape of the conductor, strongly elongated and U-shaped, wrapped around the last part of the embolus and ending with a long, pointed apex ( Figs 5B–D ). The short paracymbium with a flat distal process bended inward and the shape of the tegular apophysis are also diagnostic ( Figs 5B–D ). The females can be separate from all the other species by the large, roughly trapezoidal epigynal plate and especially by the long and unusually strongly coiled copulatory ducts ( Figs 6A–C ). The dorsal pattern of both male and female ( Figs 6D–E ) can also help in the species identification.

Description. Male (holotype). Total length 1.72. Carapace length 0.91, width 0.86. Leg formula: I, IV, II, III. Leg measurements: I: 1.28, 0.39, 1.64, 1.39, 0.56 (5.26); II: 0.82, 0.34, 0.75, 0.74, 0.49 (3.14); III: 0.85, 0.3, 0.62, 0.71, 0.46 (2.94); IV: 1.01, 0.35, 0.87, 0.89, 0.5 (3.62). Habitus as in Fig. 6D . Prosoma circular in dorsal view, yellow, with two wide black stripes at the side borders. Fovea visible as a depression. Cephalic area not clearly differenced from the rest of the prosoma. Chelicera yellow with three teeth of the same length on the promargin. Clypeus dark, pointed onwards. Labium rebordered. Sternum uniformly dark gray. Legs yellow with black annulations on femur, patella, tibia and metatarsus. Metatarsal trichobothrium position (TmI) = 0.3. Metatarsus IV with a ventral row of long, serrated bristles (tarsal comb). Opisthosoma oval in dorsal view, grey with a black transverse stripe on the anterior margin extended on the lateral sides. Four black dots, more rarely only two, are present on the dorsal area; the dots are replaced in the posterior half of the prosoma by two black marks more or less merged to each other. In few samples the dots are less defined. Ventral side uniformly gray with a black area around the spinnerets.

Palp as in Figs 5A–D . Cymbium, tibia and partially patella black, femur and proximal part of the patella yellow. Paracymbium short distally ending with an enlarged, flat process (Dp) bended ventrally and inward. A small dorsal apophysis (Da) is present. Tegular apophysis (Tg) wide and protruding, axe-head shaped, with a basal triangular process

© Zoological Systematics, 40(2): 179–190 ventrally oriented (Tg-I). Terminal apophysis (Ta) with two laminar lobes shaped together as a narrow groove wrapping the tip of the embolus. Embolus (E) very long and filamentous, starting from the left side of the bulb and coiling around the cymbium, heading on the left side of the palp first backwards and then onwards with a U-shape ( Fig. 5E ). Terminal tip located in the frontal part of the palp. Conductor (C) long and wide, wrapped around the last part of the embolus and following its U-shape on the left side of the palp. Its basal part shows a laminar process (Cp-I) and its sharp lengthened apex (Ac) is bended prolaterally.

Female (one of the paratypes). Total length 2.04. Carapace length 0.95, width 0.78. Leg formula: I, IV, II, III . Leg measurements: I: 1.17, 0.37, 1.07, 0.98, 0.52 (4.11); II: 1.21, 0.36, 1.03, 0.77, 0.48 (3.85); III: 0.79, 0.35, 0.54, 0.57, 0.43 (2.68); IV: 1.25, 0.37, 1.02, 0.79, 0.51 (3.94). Habitus as in Figs 6E–F . Prosoma oval in dorsal view with two wide black stripes at the side borders and a dark elongated mark in the center. Palp with a long claw. Pattern and all the other characters as in the male.

Epigyne and vulva as in the Figs 6A–C . Epigynal plate (Ep) parallel to the abdomen, wide and flat with a roughly trapezoidal shape, the anterior edge wider than the posterior. The posterior edge can be considerably flat in some specimens. Insemination ducts (Id) with a screw-like shape, long and strongly coiled in several loops, extending from the copulatory openings to the spermathecae with a straight or approximately S-shaped route. Spermathecae (S) small and rounded, widely separated from each other.

Habitat. Litter of tropical seasonal rain forests.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality.

Funding This study was supported by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (3127228).

Acknowledgement Robert W. Murphy (University of Toronto) kindly checked the English. Yun-Chun Li, Zhi-Gang Chen and Qing-Yuan Zhao (IZCAS) kindly helped in the field work.

Figures

Fig. 5. Wraios longiembolus sp. nov., male palp. A. Dorsal view. B. Ventral view. C. Prolateral view. D. Retrolateral view. E. Schematic course of the embolus in ventral view. Scale bars=0.2mm.

Fig. 6. Wraios longiembolus sp. nov. A. Epigyne, ventral view. B. Vulva, dorsal view. C. Vulva, ventral view. D. Male habitus,

Fig. 7. Locality records of three new species of the family Nesticidae from China.