Himalayana Grismado, 2014

Grismado, Cristian J., Deeleman, Christa, Piacentini, Luis N., Izquierdo, Matías A. & Ramírez, Martín J., 2014, Taxonomic Review Of The Goblin Spiders Of The Genus Dysderoides Fage And Their Himalayan Relatives Of The Genera Trilacuna Tong And Li And Himalayana, New Genus (Araneae: Oonopidae), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2014 (387), pp. 1-108 : 71-73

Himalayana Grismado , new genus

TYPE SPECIES: Himalayana kathmandu Grismado , new species.

ETYMOLOGY: The generic name refers to the Himalayan range, the region where members of this genus lives, and is feminine in gender.

DIAGNOSIS: This genus resembles Trilacuna and Dysderoides by the cheliceral, labial, and the genitalic morphology; it differs from Dysderoides by having well-developed eyes and by lacking macrosetae on legs III and IV and from Trilacuna by the short postepigastric scutum in females, found only around the epigastric furrow (fig. 63H), by having a furrow connecting the posterior tracheal spiracles in males (figs. 59G, 65B), and by the acute projection in the prolateral dorsal part of the male copulatory bulb (fig. 62 D–H).

DESCRIPTION: Male. Cephalothorax: Pars cephalica slightly to strongly elevated (fig. 58B). Carapace orange, without any pattern, piriform in dorsal view, with rounded posterolateral corners, posterolateral edge without pits, posterior margin not bulging below posterior rim, anterolateral corners without extension or projections, posterolateral surface without spikes, surface of elevated portion of pars cephalica smooth, thorax without depressions, fovea absent, without radiating rows of pits; lateral margin straight, without denticles, lateral margin rebordered; plumose setae near posterior margin of pars thoracica absent. Nonmarginal pars cephalica setae needlelike, in U-shaped row; nonmarginal pars thoracica setae needlelike; marginal setae needlelike. Clypeus margin unmodified, sinuous in front view (fig. 58C), vertical in lateral view, high, ALE separated from edge of carapace by their radius or more, median projection absent; setae light, needlelike. Chilum absent. Eyes six, well developed (fig. 58F–H), ALE circular; PLE– PME separated by less than PME radius. Sternum (fig. 58D) uniform, not fused to carapace, median concavity absent, without radial furrows between coxae, radial furrow opposite coxae III absent, surface finely reticulate, without pits, microsculpture covering entire surface, sickle-shaped structures absent, anterior margin unmodified, posterior margin not extending posteriorly of coxae IV, anterior corner unmodified, lateral margin without infracoxal grooves, distance between coxae approximately equal, without posterior hump; setae sparse, dark, needlelike, originating from surface, without hair tufts. Mouthparts: chelicerae straight, anterior face unmodified (fig. 58E); promargin without teeth; fangs without toothlike projections, shape normal, without prominent basal process, tip unmodified; setae light, needlelike, evenly scattered; paturon inner margin with pairs of enlarged setae, distal region abruptly narrowed, posterior surface unmodified, promargin unmodified, inner margin with small denticles (at least in H. kathmandu , see fig. 54D), laminate groove absent. Labium triangular, not fused to sternum, anterior margin deeply incised (fig. 59A), same as sternum in sclerotization; with six or more setae on anterior margin, subdistal portion with unmodified setae. Endites distally not excavated, serrula present in single row (fig. 59B), anteromedian tip unmodified, posteromedian part unmodified, same as sternum in sclerotization. Abdomen: Ovoid, without long posterior extension, rounded posteriorly, interscutal membrane rows of small sclerotized platelets absent. Book lung covers large, without setae, anterolateral edge unmodified. Posterior spiracles connected by groove (fig. 59D). Pedicel tube ribbed (fig. 59F), scutopedicel region unmodified, scutum extending far dorsal of pedicel, plumose hairs absent, matted setae on anterior ventral abdomen in pedicel area absent, cuticular outgrowths near pedicel absent. Dorsal scutum strongly sclerotized, without color pattern, covering full length of abdomen, no soft tissue visible from above, not fused to epigastric scutum, middle surface smooth, sides smooth, anterior half without projecting denticles. Epigastric scutum strongly sclerotized, surrounding pedicel, small lateral sclerites absent. Postepigastric scutum strongly sclerotized, long, semicircular, covering nearly full length of abdomen, fused to epigastric scutum, anterior margin unmodified, without posteriorly directed lateral apodemes. Spinneret scutum present, incomplete ring. Supraanal scutum absent. Dorsum setae needlelike. Epigastric area setae uniform, dark, needlelike. Postepigastric area setae needlelike. Dense patch of setae anterior to spinnerets absent. Interscutal membrane with setae. Legs: Without color pattern; femur IV not thickened, same size as femora I–III, patella plus tibia I shorter than carapace, tibia I unmodified, tibia IV specialized hairs on ventral apex absent, tibia IV ventral scopula absent, metatarsi I and II mesoapical comb absent, metatarsi III and IV weak, ventral scopula absent. Coxae (at least in H. kathmandu ) with oval platelets with pores (fig. 60A–C). Leg spines present in legs I and II (usually four ventral pairs on the tibiae and two ventral pairs on metatarsi); occasionally one ventral apical spine on tibiae IV. Tarsi I–IV without inferior claw. Genitalia: Epigastric region with sperm pore situated at level of anterior spiracles (fig. 59G); furrow without Ω- shaped insertions, without setae; males of some species with stout, long setae in the epigastric area (figs. 68B, 75B). Palp normal size, not strongly sclerotized, right and left palps symmetrical, proximal segments pale orange; embolus light, prolateral excavation absent; trochanter normal size, unmodified; femur two or more times as long as trochanter, conspicuously enlarged in some species, without posteriorly rounded lateral dilation (figs. 65C–E, 81C–E), attaching to patella basally; patella shorter than femur, not enlarged, without prolateral row of ridges, setae unmodified; tibia trichobothria of tibia not examined; cymbium pale orange, not fused with bulb, not extending beyond distal tip of bulb, plumose setae absent, without stout setae, without distal patch of setae; bulb 1 to 1.5 times as long as cymbium, slender, tapering apically. Distal part of bulb withprolateral dorsal pointed, acute projection, and a set of laminae with filiform projections accompanying the embolus (fig. 62A–H).

Female: As in male except as noted. Cephalothorax: Eyes PME circular, PLE circular; posterior eye row straight from above; ALE separated by their radius to diameter. Sternum longer than wide (fig. 54A), pale orange, lateral margins unmodified; setae evenly scattered. Palpal claw absent; spines absent; tarsus unmodified. Claws of legs IV with a notably enlarged distal tooth on the internal row, making them appear bifid (at least in H. kathmandu , fig. 57D–E), Abdomen: Dorsum soft portions pale white, without color pattern. Pedicel tube short. Dorsal scutum orange to pale orange, more than 1/2 to most of abdomen width. Epigastric scutum not protruding, without lateral joints. Postepigastric scutum short, only around epigastric furrow (fig. 63H). Dorsum setae dark. Postepigastric area setae dark. Spinneret scutum with fringe of needlelike setae. Colulus present. Genitalia: Copulatory opening (visible in H. kathmandu and H. martensi , figs. 63H, 66H) located between ventral transverse plates, leading to a rounded posterior receptacle, which presumably leads anteriorly to the final part of the uterus externus (inferred by its similarity with Trilacuna ). Anterior sclerite T-shaped, similar as in Trilacuna , apparently without lumen; it has conspicuous lateral bars with attached muscles leading to the ventral transverse plates. Laterally, below the transverse plates, two apodemes (shorter than in Trilacuna ) also have muscle connections (figs. 72A, C, E, 82A, C, E).

COMPOSITION: Six species, all new, here described.

DISTRIBUTION: Himalayan range in Nepal and northern India.

NOTE: The most useful characters for separating species are found in males, especially in the palp, and in the presence or absence of special setae on the epigastric area. This genus Himalayana seems to be very conservative in the female genitalic and somatic morphology, making it difficult to distinguish congeners and to match the females with males of the same species. In this paper we chose to match the sexes by geographical criteria, and with the aid of characters such as body size, eye size, and/or the degree of sclerotization of the scuta. We have no hypothesis about intrageneric relationships.