Wanniyala hakgala, Huber & Benjamin, 2005

Huber, Bernhard A. & Benjamin, Suresh P., 2005, The pholcid spiders from Sri Lanka: redescription of Pholcus ceylonicus and description of a new genus (Araneae: Pholcidae), Journal of Natural History 39 (37), pp. 3305-3319 : 3317-3318

Wanniyala hakgala new species

( Figures 5 f–i, 7e–h, 8)

Type

Male holotype from Hakgala (6 ° 549N, 80 ° 489E), Nuwara Eliya district, Sri Lanka; in grass and litter along a mountain brook, 18 November 1972 (P. Lehtinen), in MZT (3631) .

Etymology

The specific name is a noun in apposition, taken from the type locality.

Diagnosis

Closely related to W. agrabopath ; easily distinguished by shape of dorsal sclerite on procursus (ds in Figure 7f ), by epigynum with pointed projection ( Figures 5i , 8d ); also by longer clypeus projections, longer cheliceral apophyses, and apparently by colour pattern ( Figure 5f, g ).

Male (holotype). Total length 2.2, carapace width 0.97. Leg 1: 17.1 (4.25+ 0.4+4.5+6.15+1.85), tibia 2: 3.0, tibia 3: 2.1, tibia 4: 2.85; tibia 1 L/d: 51. Habitus as in Figure 5f, g . Carapace ochre-yellow with darker median and lateral bands, clypeus also darkened; sternum light brown. Legs pale ochre-yellow, slightly darker rings on femora (subdistally), patellae, and tibiae (subdistally). Opisthosoma grey with black pattern, ventrally also with dark pattern. Ocular area slightly elevated but distinct, thoracic furrow very shallow; distance PME–PME 140 Mm; diameter PME 105 Mm; distance PME–ALE 25 Mm; AME absent. Clypeus with pair of short projections 90 Mm long and distinct median hump. Sternum wider than long (0.75/0.60). Chelicerae very similar to W. agrabopath (cf. Figure 6c, e ) with pair of long apophyses provided with two modified hairs on each tip (cf. Figure 6d ), tips 0.88 apart. Palps in general very similar to W. agrabopath but significantly larger; trochanter and femur projections identical to W. agrabopath , procursus very similar to W. agrabopath , but with very different dorsal sclerite ( Figure 7f ); bulb apparently identical to W. agrabopath (cf. Figure 6a ). Retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at 13%; legs without spines, without curved hairs, with several rows of vertical hairs on all metatarsi; tarsus 1 with.20 pseudosegments, only distally quite distinct. Anterior lateral spinnerets with only two spigots each ( Figure 8c ). Male gonopore with four epiandrous spigots ( Figure 8a ).

Variation. Tibia 1 in other male: 4.15.

Female. In general similar to male, but clypeus unmodified and metatarsi without rows of vertical hairs. Tibia 1 in female from Hakgala: 3.1–3.45; female from Gumbukena: 3.05; females from Kandy district: 2.7–3.0 (n 54). Epigynum very large, with distinctive median conical elevation ( Figure 8d ), pockets not seen. Dorsal view as in Figure 7h . Spinnerets as in male ( Figure 8b ).

Distribution

Known from three localities in Sri Lanka ( Figure 9 ).

Material examined Sri Lanka: Nuwara Eliya district : Hakgala: type above, together with 1 „, 5♀; Kandy

district: Kandy (7 ° 189N, 80 ° 389E), 1600 m a.s.l., forest and waterworks, in umbrella web under large tangle, 7–11 August 1981 (collector not given), 4♀ ( RMNH) ; ‘‘ Nonawatte’ ’, wet slope at waterfall, 16 November 1972 (P. Lehtinen), 1♀ ( MZT 3630 ) ; Moneragala district (6 ° 409N,, 81 ° 209E): ‘‘ Gumbukena’ ’ (5 Kumbukana?), in teak litter, 19 November 1972 (P. Lehtinen), 1♀ ( MZT 3632 ) .

Figures

Figure 5. (a–e) Wanniyala agrabopath; (f–i) W. hakgala. (a, b, f, g) Male habitus, dorsal and lateral views; (c, h) female abdomen, ventral views; (e) female, ventral view; (d, i) female habitus, lateral views.

Figure 6. Wanniyala agrabopath. (a, b) Left male palp, prolateral and retrolateral views; (c) male prosoma and chelicerae, dorsal view; (d) tip of male cheliceral apophysis; (e) male chelicerae, frontal view. b, genital bulb; ba, bulbal apophysis; e, embolus. Scale bars: 0.5 mm (a–c); 50 Mm (d); 0.2 mm (e).

Figure 7. (a–d) Wanniyala agrabopath; (e–h) W. hakgala. (a, b, e, f) Left procursus, prolateral and retrolateral views; (c, g) cleared epigyna, ventral views; (d, h) cleared epigyna, dorsal views. ds, dorsal sclerite; pp, proximal projection; t1–3, transparent projections. Scale bars: 0.3 mm (a, b, e, f: all to same scale).

Figure 8. Wanniyala hakgala. (a) Male gonopore with four epiandrous spigots; (b, c) female and male anterior lateral spinnerets with widened and pointed spigots; (d) female abdomen, ventral view. Scale bars: 20 Mm (a–c); 0.5 mm (d).

Figure 9. Known geographic distributions of Pholcus ceylonicus, Wanniyala agrabopath, W. hakgala, and an undescribed species of Wanniyala.