Stormtropis, Perafan, Carlos, Galvis, William & Perez-Miles, Fernando, 2019

Perafan, Carlos, Galvis, William & Perez-Miles, Fernando, 2019, The first Paratropididae (Araneae, Mygalomorphae) from Colombia: new genus, species and records, ZooKeys 830, pp. 1-32 : 1

Stormtropis gen. n. Figs 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Type species.

Stormtropis parvum Perafán, Galvis & Pérez-Miles, sp. n.

Diagnosis.

Stormtropis gen. n. males differ from those of all other paratropidids by the combination of the following characteristics: absence of spines on all segments of legs, lack third claw (ITC) on all tarsi and by the morphology of palpal bulb; pyriform, elongated, with embolus slightly curved tapering to the apex and a subapical triangular tooth (Figs 5 F–G, 6 D–E, 7 F–G, 9 F–G). Excepting S. muisca sp. n. the other species have a tibial prolateral apophysis, constituted by a single spur and a group of about 15 spines in two parallel rows (Figs 5 D–E, 7 D–E, 9 D–E); it differs from Melloina males by the absence of claw tufts and the different morphology of tibial apophysis (two branches and few megaspines in Melloina : Schenkel 1953: fig. 4C, D; Raven 1999: fig. 2F; Bertani 2013: figs 12, 13). Females differ from all other paratropidids by the morphology of the spermathecal receptacles with a tubular neck and a wide globose fundus (mushroom shaped) (Figure 8D), and few spines on all legs. Additionally, Stormtropis gen. n. has few labial and maxillary elongated cuspules (less than 70), four spinnerets (PMS and PLS), and fewer tricobothriae on each article.

Included species.

Stormtropis colima Perafán, Galvis and Pérez-Miles sp. n., Stormtropis muisca Perafán, Galvis and Pérez-Miles sp. n., Stormtropis paisa Perafán, Galvis and Pérez-Miles sp. n. and Stormtropis parvum Perafán, Galvis and Pérez-Miles sp. n.

Description.

Carapace round, almost glabrous, light to dark brown. Caput arched. Fovea shallow, transverse, straight to slightly procurved. Eye group subquadrate, wider than long, tubercle well defined, elevated. Clypeus absent. Chelicerae without rastellum, cheliceral furrow narrow with teeth on both margins: promargin 7-13, retromargin 6-13, fangs long. Labium subquadrate with 20-70 cuspules restricted to anterior edge. Maxillae longer than wide with the anterior prolateral lobe very elongated, conical; few cuspules (24-77) throughout the prolateral diagonal half of the maxillae. Labio-sternal groove narrow in the middle and wider laterally. Sternum heart shaped, slightly wider than long, sigillae oval, submarginal. Legs, thin and long, pair I slightly stouter than II-IV; clubbed setae present. Few filiform tricobothria on tarsus, metatarsus, and tibia in males. Long paired claws (STC) with one medial long tooth ventrally; third unpaired claw (ITS) absent on all legs of males; ITS present on leg I of females. Claw tufts absent, tarsal scopula absent, pseudoscopula setae generally present on the distal third of anterior tarsi. Males with spinose apophysis (similar to Aviculariinae) on prolateral distal tibiae I (except S. muisca ). Abdomen oval, glabrous, with clubbed setae present on dorsum. Four spinnerets; PLS well developed, PMS small (half of the basal segment of PLS). All body encrusted by soil particles. Males without spines, and females with few spines on all legs. Males with cymbium with two unequal lobes separated by a sclerotized groove; palpal tibia with shallow distoventral groove; and palpal bulb pyriform elongated, with embolus slightly curved tapering to the apex, and a subapical triangular tooth. Females with spermathecal receptacles with a tubular neck and globose fundus.

Distribution.

Stormtropis gen. n. is distributed in the central and eastern Cordilleras of Colombia, on the montane forests of the Magdalena Valley and Cauca Valley, between 1400-3400 m altitudes, in the Departments of Antioquia (Santa Elena), Boyacá ( Sotaquirá and Santuario de Fauna y Flora Iguaque), Caldas (Pensilvania) and Cundinamarca ( Topaipí) (Figure 10).

Etymology.

The name Stormtropis is a Latin declension (neuter) of the noun Stormtrooper from the fictional universe of the Star Wars films. The stormtroopers are the soldiers of the main ground force of the Galactic Empire. These soldiers are very similar to each other, with some capacity for camouflage but with unskillful movements, like this group of spiders.