Luzonacera francescoballarini Li & Li

Chang, Wan-Jin, Li, Fengyuan & Li, Shuqiang, 2019, Three new species of the spider genus Luzonacera Li & Li, 2017 from Philippines (Araneae, Psilodercidae), ZooKeys 822, pp. 17-31 : 21

Luzonacera francescoballarini Li & Li sp. n. Figs 3, 4, 9, 10

Types.

Holotype: ♂ (IZCAS), Philippines, Luzon Island, Bulacan Province, San Miguel City, near Biak-Na-Bato National Park, Bayukbok Cave, 15°10'5.4"N, 121°5'4.3"E, 125 m, 21.V.2015, F. Ballarin and Y. Li. Paratypes: 1♂, 1♀ (IZCAS), same data as holotype.

Etymology.

The species is named after Francesco Ballarin, who collected the type series; name in genitive case.

Diagnosis.

Luzonacera francescoballarini sp. n. resembles L. lattuensis sp. n. in having a short embolus, and two pairs of twisted spermathecae globose at distal parts. Males can be distinguished from the latter species by the smooth dorsal surface of the bulb (Figure 3B); females can be distinguished by having longer spermathecae (Figure 4A; versus shorter in L. lattuensis sp. n. in Figure 4A).

Description.

Male (Holotype). Total length 4.81; carapace 1.60 long, 1.28 wide; abdomen 3.20 long, 0.96 wide. Colour faded. Carapace round, pale yellow, with ovoid brown patch medially and rounded brown patch posterior to ocular area. Fovea shallow. Anterior margin of thoracic region distinctly elevated. Chelicerae light brown with lamina, promargin with a single tooth and retromargin with two small teeth (Figure 9A). Clypeus slanting, light brown. Labium slanting, pale brown. Sternum pale brown with large patch of brown spots medially. Abdomen elongated with complex patterns dorsally and ventrally. Legs light brown; measurements: I 22.44 (6.73, 0.64, 6.41, 3.21, 5.45), II 17.63 (5.13, 0.64, 5.13, 5.45, 1.28), III 12.05 (3.53, 0.32, 3.40, 3.20, 1.60), IV 23.07 (7.05, 0.64, 7.05, 6.41, 1.92). Palp (Figure 3 A–E): tibia swollen at the base, length/width = 2.40; cymbium swollen with distal protrusion and numerous long setae; length/width = 2.33; bulb light brown, pyriform; embolus forms a slender spiral extending from tip of bulb.

Female (paratype). Similar to male in coloration and general features but slightly larger (Figure 4D, E). Measurements: total length 3.59; carapace 1.20 long, 1.40 wide; abdomen 2.20 long, 0.80 wide. Leg measurements: I 14.11(4.17, 0.32, 4.17, 4.17, 1.28), II 10.88 (3.50, 0.32, 3.53, 3.21, 0.32), III 9.26 (2.56, 0.50, 2.60, 2.60, 1.00), IV 14.06 (4.49, 0.40, 4.17, 4.00, 1.00). Internal genitalia: two pairs of slender spermathecae with long stalks (ca. 6 times longer than distal globular parts), spermathecae distal parts not wider than basal width of stalks, both pairs equal in width (Figure 4A).

Distribution.

Type locality only (Figure 10).

Natural history.

Collected in a dark and rather humid cave, close to the ground, along the wall of the cave with huge rocks.

Comments.

Based on the 651 bp aligned sequences, the COI uncorrected K2P-distance between L. francescoballarini sp. n. and L. chang is 13.5%, between L. francescoballarini sp. n. and L. duan is 15.0%, between L. francescoballarini sp. n. and L. lattuensis sp. n. is 14.9%, and between L. francescoballarini sp. n. and L. peterjaegeri sp. n. is 13.9%.