Almafuerte vigorosa, Grismado & Carrión, 2017

Grismado, Cristian J. & Carrión, Nicolás López, 2017, Description of Almafuerte, a new genus of ground spiders from South America (Araneae, Gnaphosidae), Zootaxa 4338 (2), pp. 263-291 : 285-287

Almafuerte vigorosa sp. nov.

( Figs. 19 f–j ; 20 g –h; 22b)

Type. Holotype male from Argentina: Corrientes Province: Departamento Mburucuyá: Mburucuyá National Park: Sendero Che Roga , hygrophilous forest, S 28.00493º W 58.03653º (GPS +/- 200 m.) elev. 85 m. (GPS), 27– 30.V.2011, G. Rubio, M. Izquierdo & L. Piacentini coll., hand collecting (MACN-Ar 30446, prep. CJG 1520).

Etymology. The specific name is a Spanish adjective that means “vigorous”, “powerful”, and refers to the robust aspect of the male palp.

Diagnosis. This species is very distinct to all other congeners; the male of A. vigorosa is easily recognized by the retrolateral tegular projection apically directed, by the different shape of the RTA (short, hooked dorsal branch, and rounded, very reduced ventral one), by the distally projected palpal patella, with a patch of short setae on their apex ( Fig. 20h ), and by the ventrodistal tubercle on the palpal femur ( Fig. 19 h ).

Description. Male holotype: Measurements: Total length 7.38, carapace 3.37 long, 2.62 wide; sternum 1.74 long, 1.38 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.162, ALE 0.154, PME 0.174, PLE 0.138; AME-AME 0.113, AME-ALE 0.0272, PME-PME 0.0678, PME-PLE 0.166, ALE-PLE 0.0942. Legs (femur/patella/tibia/metatarsus/ tarsus); I 2.42/1.51/2.04/1.58/1.04, II 2.12/1.35/1.72/1.37/0.923, III 1.89/1.03/1.32/1.36/0.885, IV 2.43/1.28/1.97/ 1.92/0.996. Leg spination: femora: I d1-1-0, p0-0-1; II d1-0-1-0, dr 0-1-0-1; III d1-0-1-0, dp 0-1-0-1, dr 0-1-0-1; IV d1-0-1-0, dp 1; patellae: III r1, IV r1; tibiae: I p0-1-0-1, v2-2 -2ap; II p0-1-0-1, v2-2 -2ap; III d1-0-0, p1-1-1, v2 -0-2- 0-2ap, r0/1-1-1; IV p1-1-1, v2 -0-2-0-2ap, r0-1-1; metatarsi I v2 -0-2-0, II v2 -0-2-0, III p1-2-0-2, v2 -0-2-0-2ap, r1- 2-0-2, IV p1-2-0-2, v2 -0-2-0-2ap, r1-2-0-2. Palp ( Figs. 19 h–j ; 20 g –h): femur with a small, rounded protrusion on ventral side; the conductor has a very wide base and is very short, and the embolus describes a conspicuous curve. All other characters are common for the genus.

Female: Unknown.

Natural history and habitat preferences. The type locality is placed in a hygrophilous forest with palms and diverse species of trees, belonging to the eco-region of the Iberá wetlands.

Material examined. Only the holotype.

Distribution. Only known from the type locality, in Corrientes, Argentina.

Note. Mello-Leitão (1943) in his catalog of spiders of Rio Grande do Sul, presented an illustration (fig. 42) of a male specimen very similar to A. vigorosa as Zelotes brasilianus (at that time known only by females). This species is one of the many synonyms of the widespread species Trachyzelotes lyonneti (Audouin 1826) , a species very different from A. vigorosa . Although the illustrated specimen is unfortunately untraceable, since no additional data was provided, it suggests that the genus Almafuerte is present in southern Brazil, probably represented by A. vigorosa or another similar species.

Figures

FIGURE 19. Almafuerte spp. a – e, Almafuerte facon, sp. nov., male holotype; f – j, Almafuerte vigorosa, sp. nov., male holotype. a, f, habitus dorsal; b, g, same, ventral; c, h, left palp, retrolateral view; d, i, same, ventral; e, j, detail of RTA.

FIGURE 20. Almafuerte spp. genitalia, a – d, Almafuerte goloboffi, sp. nov.; a − b, male holotype; c, female from Termas del Palmar (paratype MACN-Ar 35565); d, female from El Hongo (paratype MACN-Ar 10771); e − f, Almafuerte facon, sp. nov., male holotype; g − h, Almafuerte vigorosa, sp. nov., male holotype. a, e, g, left palp, ventral view; b, f, h, same, retrolateral view; c, d, vulvae, cleared, dorsal view. Scale bars = 0.2.