Eustala ulecebrosa ( Keyserling, 1892 )

Poeta, Maria Rita Muniz, 2014, The orb-weaving spider genus Eustala Simon, 1895 (Araneae, Araneidae): eight new species, redescriptions, and new records, Zootaxa 3872 (5), pp. 440-466 : 455

Eustala ulecebrosa ( Keyserling, 1892)

Figs 69–74 , 87

Epeira ulecebrosa Keyserling 1892: 104 , est. 5, figures 77 and 77a, female holotype from Taquara, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, H. von Ihering, deposited in The Natural History Museum, London (NHM). Examined by H.W. Levi in 1973 ( Levi 2007, figures).

Araneus ulecebrosus; Petrunkevitch 1911: 321 .

Eustala ulecebrosa; Mello-Leitão 1919: 470 ; Roewer 1942: 766; Mello-Leitão 1943: 179; 1947: 243; Bonnet 1956: 1842; Levi 2007; Buckup et al. 2010: 489; Platnick 2014.

Note. The holotype was not found in The Natural History Museum (Mrs Janet Beccaloni, Curator of Arachnida and Myriapoda, NHM, personal communication). The female was determined as Eustala ulecebrosa based on the type-species illustrated by Levi (2007, figures).

Additional material examined. BRAZIL, Paraná: Piraquara ( Volta Grande ), 25°26’S, 49°04’W, ♀, II.1945, R. Hertel ( MHNCI 2450 ); Bituruna, 26°09’S, 21°33’W, 2♀, 1935, V. Staviarski ( MNRJ 6492 ). Rio Grande do Sul: Caxias do Sul, 28°53’S, 51°06’W, ♀, 19.–20.XI.1993, L.A. Moura ( MCN 24592 ).

Diagnosis. The epigynum of Eustala ulecebrosa ( Figs 69–74 ) resembles those of E. taquara (see Poeta et al. 2010a: 157, figures 25–29) by the long-annulated scape but differs by having the median plate funnel-like with the anterior portion elevated and heart-shaped (posterior view, Fig. 70 ).

Description. Male: Unknown.

Female ( MNRJ 6492 ) : Carapace dark orange, many dark brown setae throughout the cephalothorax, and white setae around the lateral eyes. Posterior median eyes and lateral eyes with dark borders. Sternum orange with white pigment and brown border. Abdomen subtriangular, with two terminal humps ( Fig. 74 ). Dorsum white with dark brown folium and dark brown marks. Venter light brown, with a brown band from the epigastric furrow to the spinnerets and with an almost losangular central white patch. Legs orange with some brown bands (slightly). Total length 10.9. Carapace length 4.2, width 3.6. Leg formula 1243. Length leg I: femur 5.3; patella+tibia 6.2; metatarsus 4.8; tarsus 1.3; total 17.6. Patella+tibia II 5.8; III 2.9; IV 5.1.

Variation. Female(n=3): total 10.0–10.9; carapace lenght 3.7–4.1; carapace width 3.4–3.6. The median plate of the epigynum without a well-demarcated projection (ventral view) as illustrated in this study ( Figs 69–71 ) and by Levi (2007). Yellow legs with brown bands. Some specimens have an abdomen color pattern greenish-gray with a folium and a wide white region.

Distribution. Brazil: Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul ( Fig. 87 ).

Figures

FIGURES 65 – 74. Eustala eldorado n. sp. 65, 66, Palp (65, mesal; 66, ventral). 67, Male habitus, dorsal. 68, Male abdomen, lateral. Eustala ulecebrosa (Keyserling, 1892). 69 – 73, Epigynum (69, ventral; 70, posterior; 71, lateral; 72, posterior, cleared; 73, lateral, cleared). 74, Female habitus, dorsal. Abbreviations: A, terminal apophysis; E, embolus; Tp, tegular projection. Scale bars, 65, 66, 69 – 73, 0.25 mm; 67, 68, 1 mm; 74, 2 mm.

FIGURE 85 – 87. Records of the Eustala species. 85, Eustala guarani n. sp., E. catarina n. sp., E. ericae n. sp., and E. cidae n. sp. 86, Eustala lisei n. sp., E. cuia n. sp., E. farroupilha n. sp., and E. eldorado n. sp. 87, Eustala ulecebrosa (Keyserling, 1892), E. itapocuensis Strand, 1916, E. photographica Mello-Leitão, 1944, and E. mourei Mello-Leitão, 1947. Scale bars, 500 km.