Loxosceles guayota, Planas & Ribera, 2015

Planas, Enric & Ribera, Carles, 2015, Description of six new species of Loxosceles (Araneae: Sicariidae) endemic to the Canary Islands and the utility of DNA barcoding for their fast and accurate identification, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (Zool. J. Linn. Soc.) 174 (1), pp. 47-73 : 61-63

LOXOSCELES GUAYOTA SP. NOV. ( FIG. 10 )

Loxosceles cf. rufescens ( Arechavaleta et al., 1998) Loxosceles sp. TF-3 ( Planas & Ribera, 2014) Holotype

1♂, CRBA-LX1156 (MorphoBank: M326646−M326651) , small cave near Los Roques Cave , Tenerife, 28.23625 N, 16.64251 W, 2272 m a.s.l., 22.iv.2009, Espluga, R., Janowski, A. & Planas, E. leg.

Paratype

1♂, CRBA-LX1155 , same locality and data as holotype .

Etymology

The species epithet is a noun in apposition that refers to a malevolent mythological deity of the Guanches that was thought to live inside the Teide Volcano, and to be responsible for its eruptions.

Diagnosis

Differs from L. rufescens and L. mrazig by the same morphological combination as L. mahan sp. nov. (see above). Males of L. guayota sp. nov. can be distinguished from the remaining Canary Island species, including its sister species L. tibicena sp. nov., also endemic to Tenerife, by its wider embolus ( Fig. 10A–C, E ), relatively longer legs ( Fig. 13 ), and larger size. Loxosceles guayota sp. nov. also can be distinguished from the remaining Canary Island endemic species and from L. rufescens by 20 [9 (A); 141 (C); 192 (C); 208 (G): 211 (T); 213 (A); 220 (C); 240 (C); 454 (C); 465 (C); 487 (G); 588 (G); 621 (G); 753 (G); 777 (T); 795 (G); 807 (C); 810 (A); 882 (C); 939 (T)] COI diagnostic nucleotide

changes based on the alignment deposited in TreeBASE

(accession number 15746; Fig. S1 ).

Description

Male (holotype)

Specimen preparation and condition: specimen preserved in 70% ethanol. Left pedipalp removed and conserved in a vial with specimen. Coloration: carapace pale yellowish, clypeus, pars cephalica, and median groove slightly darkened. Conspicuous dark V-mark posteriorly on pars cephalica ( Fig. 10D ). Carapace with dispersed, short, black setae. Eye tubercles black. Chelicerae reddish brown, darkened in its distal part. Sternum bright yellowish, paler than carapace. Labium and gnathocoxae pale reddish brown. Legs pale yellowish with the apical segments slightly darkened. Sternum, labium, gnathocoxae, and legs covered by long setae interspersed with shorter, thicker setae. Abdomen pale yellowish to greyish, densely coated by short setae. Cephalothorax: carapace slightly longer (3.62) than wide (3.27), truncated behind, widely rounded on sides, narrowed in front. Carapace evenly convex, with median groove moderately deep, elongated, occupying roughly the posterior third. Pars cephalica elongated (2.2 long, 1.11 wide). Large setae or bristles in a single row on the side margin of the carapace pointing anteriorly. Similar setae forming seven parallel rows in the pars cephalica and six radial rows beginning at posterior part of pars cephalica, interspersed with shorter setae. Clypeus height 0.435. Eye sizes: ALE 0.23, ME 0.16, PLE 0.24. LE separated from ME by narrowest diameter of ME. Sternum longer (2.06) than wide (1.93). Abdomen: elongate oval (4.86 long, 2.84 wide) in dorsal view. Legs: leg formula 2 1 4 3; Leg 1 (34.78): femur 9.59/ patella 1.31/ tibia 10.86/ metatarsus 10.87/ tarsus 2.15; Leg 2 (42.95): 11.7/1.44/13.26/14.22/2.33; Leg 3 (29.18): 8.41/1.3/8.14/9.64/1.69; Leg 4 (32): 8.74/1.32/ 8.82/10.93/2.19. Male palp ( Figure 10A–C, E ): femur cylindrical (1.62 long, 0.35 wide). Patella subglobular, roughly as long as wide (0.43). Tibia elongated, flattened dorsally (1 long, 0.58 wide). Tarsus short, as large as bulb (0.62). Bulb globular, slightly compressed dorsally, wider than tarsus. Maximum bulb width roughly three times wider than embolus base. Embolus long, approximately 1.5 times longer than bulb width. Medial part of embolus thick and nearly straight. Distal part clearly thinner, curved, and slightly sinuous. Long, curved setae facing apically, distributed sparsely in femur, tibia, and tarsus, denser on retrolateral side. Variation (Table 1): CRBA-LX1155: Leg 1: −; Leg 2: 42.92; Leg 3: 29.31; Leg 4: 31.94; CL: 3.37; CW: 3.36.

Female

Unknown.

Distribution and natural history

Endemic to Tenerife. Collected from a single, subaerial volcanic tube. Direct sampling effort was conducted in the same and nearby cavities without finding further specimens.

Figures

Figure 1. A, geographical position of the Canary Islands, indicated by the inset box. B, phylogenetic relationships amongst the Canary Islands endemic Loxosceles species; lineages with more than one individual are collapsed (see Planas and Ribera, 2014 for further information). C, sampling localities of the Canary Islands endemic Loxosceles; colours correspond to B.

Figure 10. ♂ Loxosceles guayota sp. nov. A, palp, prolateral view; B, palp, retrolateral view; C, bulb and embolus; D, palp, dorsal view; E, cephalothorax, dorsal view. Scale bars: A, B, C, E = 0.5 mm; D = 1 mm.

Figure 13. Graphical representation of the leg length/carapace length ratio variation for Leg 1 to Leg 4 in Loxosceles. Females are coloured in green and males in red. Continuous line corresponds to the linear regression for each sex and leg, with the 95% confidence interval in grey. (Colour version of figure available online.)