Tapsatella Rubio & Stolar, 2020

Rubio, Gonzalo D., Stolar, Cristian E., Nadal, María F. & Baigorria, Julián E., 2020, The jumping spider Tapsatella albocastanea, a new genus and species from Argentina (Araneae: Salticidae: Freyina), Peckhamia 203 (1), pp. 1-9 : 3

Tapsatella Rubio & Stolar , gen. nov.

Type species. Tapsatella albocastanea sp. nov., by monotypy.

Etymology. The “tapsat” noun means “quebracho forest” (quebracho: Schinopsis balansae Engl. 1885 ) in the language of the Qom people (one of the largest indigenous groups in Argentina that historically inhabited the region known as the Pampas of the Central Chaco) and the diminutive Latin suffix “-ella”. Gender feminine.

Remarks. Spiders of the this new genus share many characteristics with Wedoquella species and, secondarily, with Phiale species. However, these characteristics are not uniformly present in all species of both genera. For example, the new species of Tapsatella gen. nov. resembles W. denticulata Galiano, 1984 and W. punctata (Tullgren, 1905) in the presence of a striped dorsal pattern ( Figures 1-2 ), W. denticulata by the thickness of the embolus, and W. punctata in with respect to structure of the tegulum and the presence of a less oblique border between the TBD and TDD than in the other Wedoquella species ( Figures 3A , 4 A-B). The females of Tapsatella gen. nov. and these Wedoquella species are similar with respect to the presence of small spherical spermathecae ( Figures 3 I-J, 4D-E). The small spherical spermathecae and the general structure of the epigyne are also shared with some species of the Phiale mimica group, including P. mimica (C. L. Koch, 1846) and P. ortrudae Galiano, 1981 .

Differential diagnosis. Tapsatella gen. nov. is distinguished from Wedoquella by its much longer and sclerotized embolus, the square shape of its tegulum, and the transverse (not oblique) border between the TBD and TDD, a feature shared with most Phiale . Tapsatella can be distinguished from both Wedoquella and Phiale by the greater distance of COs from the epigastrium, the structure and arrangement of CDs (anterior half with very wide lumen, conspicuously narrowing in the posterior half near the spermathecae), their more elongate and depressed carapace, and the position of the ALE (almost contiguous to the AME) in their much narrower carapace.

Description. Medium sized salticids (total length 5.44-7.10). Females larger than males. Both sexes with a similar coloration, except that the cephalothorax and forelegs of the male are slightly darker. Carapace longer than wide, dark brown, male cephalic region uniform with some scattered white setae (conspicuous in life), female with two darker thin longitudinal stripes (in life these stand out on a cover of white hairs), eyes on a wide blackish brown band; smooth thoracic slope, with a lighter longitudinal middle band with white hairs in life (continued throughout the carapace in female), wide white marginal bands continued from the clypeus. Clypeus covered with numerous long white hairs. Each paturon of the chelicerae dark mahogany brown, with one tooth on the promargin and one tooth on the retromargin, the prolateral closest to the joint with the fang. Sternum light brown, with abundant white translucent hairs. Legs hairy, brown the first pair blackish brown in the male. Abdomen pale, covered with white hairs and bearing two blackish or brown longitudinal bands on the dorsum, each with a conspicuous darker edge. Male with a small dorsal scutum. Freyine copulatory structures (see species description).

Composition. Only the type species, T. albocastanea sp. nov.

Figures

Figure 1. Habitus in nature of Tapsatella albocastanea sp. nov. from "quebrachal-ralera" in Chaco National Park, Argentina. A-B, Male (holotype). C–E, Female (paratype).

Figure 2. Preserved specimens of Tapsatella albocastanea sp. nov. A–C, Dorsal, lateral and frontal views of male (holotype). D–F, Dorsal, lateral and frontal views of female (paratype).

Figure 3. Sexual structures of Tapsatella albocastanea sp. nov. A–G, Male palp (holotype). A, Ventral view. B, Retrolateral view. C, Detail of RTA. D-E, Copulatory bulb. F-G, details of Spc (arrows) in ventral and dorsal views. H–J, Female epigyne (paratype). H, Ventral view. I, Cleared ventral view. J, Cleared dorsal view.

Figure 4. Sexual structures of Tapsatella albocastanea sp. nov., drawings. A–C, Male palp (holotype). A-B, Ventral views. C, Retrolateral view. D-E, Female epigyne (paratype). D, Cleared ventral view. E, Cleared dorsal view