Aeolocoelotes cornutus ( Nishikawa, 2009 ) Abdin & Kondo & Böhm & Jhund & Claggett & Vaduganathan & Hernandez & Lam & Inzucchi & Martinez & de Boer & Desai & Køber & Sabatine & Petersson & Bachus & Solomon & McMurray, 2021

Abdin, Amr, Kondo, Toru, Böhm, Michael, Jhund, Pardeep S, Claggett, Brian L, Vaduganathan, Muthiah, Hernandez, Adrian F, Lam, Carolyn S P, Inzucchi, Silvio E, Martinez, Felipe A, de Boer, Rudolf A, Desai, Akshay S, Køber, Lars, Sabatine, Marc S, Petersson, Magnus, Bachus, Erasmus, Solomon, Scott D & McMurray, John J V, 2021, First Description of the Male of Aeolocoelotes cornutus (Nishikawa, 2009) n. comb. (Araneae, Agelenidae) from Japan, Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science. Series A, Zoology (Zoology) 47 (3), pp. 117-122 : 118-121

Aeolocoelotes cornutus ( Nishikawa, 2009) n. comb.

[Japanese name: Odo-yachigumo] ( Figs. 1–2 , 3A, 3C, 3E )

Coelotes cornutus Nishikawa, 2009, p. 66 , fig. 96; Okumura et al., 2009, p. 197, fig. 2-2-33-355. Type locality: Odo-misaki, Otsuki-cho, Hata-gun, Kochi Prefecture, Shikoku, Japan, female holotype not examined.

Material examined. 1 male ( KUZ Z3933 ) and 1 female ( KUZ Z3932 ), Mt. Ohora-yama, Otsuki-cho, Hata-gun , Kochi Prefecture, N 32°49′14.0″, E132°40′29.6″, 18 November 2010, Takafumi Nakano leg.

Diagnosis. The shape of the male palp of Aeolocoelotes cornutus is unique, and resembles that of Aeolocoelotes mohrii ( Nishikawa, 2009) , the only species having this strange structure among the coelotine spiders so far ( Figs. 2 , 3A–D ). The male of A. cornutus can be distinguished from that of the latter species by having a developed process situated in the base of embolus and absence of a patellar apophysis. There are also slight differences in curving con- dition on the lateral portion of the genital bulb and a form of median apophysis. The female of A. cornutus can be distinguished from that of the latter species by the length and the position of epigynal teeth, which are long and situated distantly from each other ( Fig. 3E ), while those of A. mohrii are short and close to each other ( Fig. 3F ).

The shape of genital organs of this species is similar to that of A. mohrii , although there are some major differences. In addition, it became clear that the obtained genetic data of this species are the closest to that of A. mohrii among Japanese coelotine species based on the search results using the DDBJ server. The above facts are the reason for the change of genus.

Description of male ( KUZ Z3933). Total length 9.0, carapace 4.6 long, 3.0 wide; abdomen 4.4 long, 2.5 wide; sternum 2.4 long, 1.8 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances AME 0.10, ALE 0.16, PME 0.18, PLE 0.20; AME-AME 0.06, AME-ALE 0.05, PME-PME 0.09, PME-PLE 0.15, AME-PME 0.13, ALE-PLE 0.08. MOA; anterior width 0.26, posterior width 0.45, length 0.41. Leg measurements: I: 15.4 (3.9, 5.1, 4.3, 2.1); II: 13.3 (3.6, 4.4, 3.4, 1.9); III: 11.9 (3.2, 3.7, 3.3, 1.7); IV: 17.0 (4.4, 5.4, 5.1, 2.1).

Palp ( Figs. 2 , 3A, 3C ): patellar apophysis absent, but minute protuberance on the dorsal surface; lateral tibial apophysis short and broad, retrolateral tibial apophysis tabular and broad; cymbium slender, and cymbial furrow indistinct; conductor small located on the lateral side of tegulum, large spatula-shaped protrusion on the dorsal side of the base of embolus, median apophysis small and spoon-shaped situated in the retrolateral portion of genital bulb, embolus fla- gelliform and extends in a counterclockwise direction (in the left palp) from the anterior portion of the genital bulb.

Chericera: promargin of fang furrow with three teeth and retromargin with two teeth.

Colouration: carapace yellowish brown with indistinct radial flecks, sternum brown, chelic- erae and maxillae blackish brown, labium brown, dorsum of abdomen grayish brown with indistinct chevrons, and venter yellowish brown without any flecks, legs yellowish brown with no ring flecks.

Distribution: Otsuki-cho, Hata-gun, Kochi Prefecture, Japan ( Fig. 4 )

Remark. The habitat of A. cornutus currently known is very narrow. This species shows the parapatric distribution with A. mohrii . Interestingly, Aeolocoelotes unicatus (Yaginuma, 1977) also related to both species inhabits the blank area between A. cornutus and A. mohrii ( Okumura, 2020b) .

Figures

Fig. 1. Aeolocoelotes cornutus (Nishikawa, 2009) n. comb. Male, dorsal view. Scale bar: 2.0mm.

Fig. 2. Aeolocoelotes cornutus (Nishikawa, 2009) n. comb. Male palp (left), ventral view (A); same retrolateral view (B). Abbreviations: CO, conductor; EM, embolus; LSP, large spatula-shaped protrusion; MA, median apophysis; RTA, reterolateral tibial apophysis. Scale bar: 1.0mm.

Fig. 3. Comparison of the copulatory organs of Aeolocoelotes cornutus (Nishikawa, 2009) n. comb. (A, C, E) and Aeolocoelotes mohrii (Nishikawa, 2009) (B, D, F). Male palp (left), ventral view (A–B); same, retrolateral view (C–D); epigyne, ventral view (E–F).Abbreviations: ET, epigynal tooth; PA, patellar apophysis.

Fig. 4. Distribution of Aeolocoelotes cornutus (Nishikawa, 2009) n. comb. and closely related species, Aeolocoelotes mohrii (Nishikawa, 2009) in Shikoku district, Japan. Closed circles denote A. cornutus; open circles, A. mohrii.