Leptopholcus kiskeya Huber and Wunderlich, 2006

Huber, Bernhard A. & Wunderlich, Jörg, 2006, Fossil and extant species of the genus Leptopholcus in the Dominican Republic, with the first cases of egg-parasitism in pholcid spiders (Araneae: Pholcidae), Journal of Natural History 40 (41 - 43), pp. 2341-2360 : 2355-2357

Leptopholcus kiskeya Huber and Wunderlich , new species

( Figures 1c, d , 11 )

Type

Male holotype in Dominican amber, ‘‘F1554/DB/AR/CJW’’, no further data, in SMF .

Etymology

Kiskeya (or Quisqueya) was the name of Hispaniola used by the Taínos, an Arawakspeaking people originally occupying the island. It is here used as a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis

Distinguished from extant Caribbean Leptopholcus species by the long and slender procursus that is widened distally on the ventral side ( Figure 11c ; not widened on the dorsal side like L. hispaniola and L. toma ), and by the shapes of uncus and appendix; from L. hispaniola also by the longer trochanter apophysis and the presence of distinct AME lenses; from L. baoruco and L. toma apparently also by the abdomen tip that barely projects beyond the spinnerets.

Male (holotype)

Total length, 3.4, carapace width 0.65. Leg 1: 7.0+0.3+7.8, metatarsus broken; leg 2: 20.0 (5.1+0.3+5.0+8.7+0.9); leg 3: 10.9 (3.2+0.3+2.8+3.9+0.7); leg 4: only broken right femur. Entire animal pale reddish to ochre-yellow. Carapace slightly deformed, without thoracic groove. Eight eyes, lateral triads only slightly elevated, distance PME–PME, 240 Mm; diameter PME, 80 Mm, AME with distinct lenses, diameter, 20 Mm. Chelicerae with two pairs of frontal apophyses, presence of modified hairs on distal apophyses could not be verified. Palps as in Figure 11c ; trochanter with small retrolateral and long ventral apophyses, femur with three distinctive apophyses, procursus long and slender, strongly curved, distally widened on the ventral side, genital bulb egg-shaped, with curved uncus and triangular appendix. Tarsal organ not seen. Legs densely covered with regular mechanoreceptive hairs, apparently without spines and curved hairs, vertical hairs not seen; pseudosegments barely visible.

Female

Unknown

Distribution

Dominican Republic; mine not identified.

Material examined

Only type above.

Other inclusions

The amber piece contains four additional specimens: one ‘acalyptrate’ fly and one ceratopogonid (Diptera, kindly identified by B. Sinclair), one Hymenoptera , and one unidentified neopterous insect.

Figures

Figure 1. (a, b) Leptopholcus baoruco, male (a) and female with egg sac (b) on banana leaves, in the typical position flat against the leaf; (c) the piece of amber containing the holotype of L. kiskeya and four unidentified insects; the length of the piece is 23 mm; (d) ventral view of L. kiskeya; (e) unparasitized egg sacs of L. baoruco; (f) parasitized egg sacs of L. baoruco (arrows point to two unparasitized eggs).

Figure 11. Leptopholcus kiskeya, holotype. (a) Entire specimen in ventral view; (b) body without legs, dorsal view; (c) prosoma with chelicerae and palps (grey), frontal to ventral view. l1, 3, left legs 1 and 3; ps, proximal bulbal sclerite; r1–4, right legs 1–4; tr, trochanter.