Aposphragisma rimba Thoma, 2014

THOMA, MARCO, KRANZ-BALTENSPERGER, YVONNE, KROPF, CHRISTIAN, GRABER, WERNER, NENTWIG, WOLFGANG & FRICK, HOLGER, 2014, <strong> The new Southeast Asian goblin spider genus <em> Aposphragisma </ em> (Araneae, Oonopidae): diversity and phylogeny </ strong>, Zootaxa 3798 (1) : 59-64

Aposphragisma rimba Thoma , sp. nov.

( Figs. 38–41)

Type material. HOLOTYPE: male (PBI_OON 00031408), Sarawak ( MALAYSIA), Mulu N.P., 100 km SEE of Miri , 200 m [04°00′N 114°49′E; prov.], 19.–24.VIII.2003 (Winkler extraction), leg. A. Schulz, deposited at MHNG . PARATYPES: 2 males (PBI_OON 00012526), collected together with holotype, deposited at NMBE ; 1 female (PBI_OON 00031406; abdomen used for examination of internal genitalia), collected together with holotype, deposited at MHNG ; 4 males & 1 female (PBI_OON 00031407), collected together with holotype, deposited at MHNG .

Non-type material. 2 males (PBI_OON 00031404; used for SEM), collected together with holotype, deposited at MHNG ; 2 aberrant females (PBI_OON0 0031405), collected together with holotype, deposited at MHNG .

Etymology. The species epithet is a noun in apposition meaning ‘pristine forest’ or ‘jungle’ in the Malay language.

Diagnosis. A. rimba sp. nov. does not belong to the stripe clade and thus shows a completely ornamented sternum. It can be distinguished from congeners with a completely ornamented sternum by the combination of the following traits: entire carapace surface smooth ( Fig. 38D); carapace margin with blunt denticles, sluice reaching from posterior margin to level of coxa I ( Fig. 38D); epigastric scutum dorsally without a widely oval subterminal ridge ( Fig. 40C); booklung covers (bc) small ( Figs. 40 C–E).

Description. Description based on 9 males and 4 females.

MALE. With the characters of the genus except as noted. Body length 1.18–1.45 mm (n=9), carapace length 0.59–0.66 mm (n=9). Sclerotized parts uniformly coloured orange-brown close to colour 36 ‘amber’; legs paler than body, yellowish. Males show several remarkable modifications compared to congeners. Habitus: Figs. 38 A–C.

CEPHALOTHORAX. Carapace: entire surface smooth, pars thoracica with 3 pairs of pronounced narrow depressions along margin ( Fig. 38D); posterolateral surface without spikes; posterior edge of pars cephalica with slightly stronger modified hair bases, appearing as small denticles; carapace margin with narrow sluice reaching from posterior margin to level of coxa I, with blunt denticles ( Fig. 38D). Eyes: posterior eye-row straight from above, procurved from front; ALE largest, separated by their radius to diameter; ALE-PLE separated by less than ALE radius; PME touching throughout most of their length; PLE-PME separated by less than PME radius. Sternum completely coarsely ornamented ( Figs. 38 E–G); infracoxal grooves (icg) at both ends with depressions (presence or absence of openings can not be verified on available SEM images) ( Fig. 39C); posterior margin with broad single extension, covered with blunt denticles ( Fig. 38F); setae darkish, appearing slightly plumose at SEM level ( Fig. 39C). Pleura (pl): surface smooth with cluster of openings (cpo) ( Figs. 39 C–D). Mouthparts: chelicerae posterior margin of inner surface proximally modified to a ridge with median slit (sli), covering about 1/2 of margin length ( Fig. 39G); promargin with row of flattened setae (rfs) in combination with plumose setae ( Fig. 39G), distally extending into a long tooth-like projection (tlp) ( Figs. 38H, 39G); anterior face with few thickened and darkish needle-like setae ( Figs. 38H, 39A, G; cf female, fig. 39B); posterior face with two spatulate setae (sps), about as long as fang ( Fig. 39G). Labium longitudinally slightly compressed and not as long as in females ( Fig. 39E). Endites distally with brush of special wing-like setae (ws) on inner margin ( Fig. 39F), outer margin subdistally with a pair of remarkably modified, darkish and thick setae (ebs) which resemble the blossom of a bird of paradise flower ( Strelitziaceae : Strelitzia sp.; Fig. 39F): a rather long and flat distal part covered with little spines and filaments is subbasally attached in a 90 degree bend to an unmodified but rather thick basal part ( Figs. 39 E–F).

ABDOMEN. Book lung covers (bc) small, ovoid ( Figs. 40C, E). Epigastric scutum dorsally without subterminal ridge ( Fig. 40C). Postepigastric scutum almost semicircular, with long posteriorly directed lateral apodemes (lap) ( Fig. 40A). Setae appearing slightly plumose at SEM level ( Fig. 40D).

GENITALIA. Epigastric region: sperm pore (sp) situated between anterior and posterior spiracles ( Fig. 40A, D). Palp: basal segments as well as bulb and cymbium lighter in colour than rest of body; bulb slender with a faint conical bulge (cb) posterior of embolus-conductor-complex (compared to congeners shifted towards prolateral surface; Figs. 41 D–E). On stereo-microscope level embolus-conductor-complex pincer-like in lateral view, dark ( Figs. 41 A–B). Embolus (em) basally broad, subbasally with an angular dent on ventral part (thus proximal part apearing rhomboid in lateral view), medially abruptly narrowed, without dorsal comb ( Fig. 41C); embolus (em) tip flattened, elongated spatulate, basally with hook ( Fig. 41C); conductor (con) slender, attached basally to ventral part of embolus ( Figs. 41C, E).

FEMALE. As in males except as noted. Body length 1.38–1.44 mm (n=3), carapace length 0.65–0.66 mm (n=4). Chelicerae anterior face with scattered needle-like (and not thickend) setae ( Fig. 39B). Labium elongated triangular, not compressed. Anterolateral margin of outer surface of endites subdistally with a pair of unmodified long, needle-like setae with tips bent inwards.

GENITALIA. Dorsal view ( Figs. 41 F–G): area containing small circular structures laterally framed by short rectangular sclerites (apodemes, lap); receptaculum (re) small, elongated; a transverse sclerite (ts) lies anteriorly to the receptaculum, medially bearing a nail-like structure (na).

Intraspecific variation. Body size variable (see above); colour shows only very slight variation, one female pale; number of denticles on carapace margin variable. Two females (PBI_OON 00031405) show a pair of tubercles (tub) at the ventral base of the pedicel tube and faint ridges on book lung covers (bc) ( Fig. 40E).

Distribution. NE-Sarawak, MALAYSIA; all specimens collected at type locality ( Fig. 49).