Mallinella alticola, Dankittipakul & Jocqué & Singtripop, 2012

Dankittipakul, Pakawin, Jocqué, Rudy & Singtripop, Tippawan, 2012, Systematics and biogeography of the spider genus Mallinella Strand, 1906, with descriptions of new species and new genera from Southeast Asia (Araneae, Zodariidae) 3369, Zootaxa 3369 (1), pp. 1-327 : 276-279

Mallinella alticola sp. nov.

(Figs 1184, 1196, 1257–1261)

Material examined. Holotype: ♀, THAILAND, Chiang Mai Province: Doi Angkhang , 1,800 m, 24 August 1990, leg. P.J. Schwendinger ( MHNG) . Paratypes: THAILAND, Chiang Mai Province: 3♀, Doi Angkhang , 1,650 m, 22 April 1987, leg. P.J. Schwendinger ( TNHM, MHNG) .

Diagnosis. Mallinella alticola sp. nov. closely resembles M. cymbiforma Wang, Yin & Peng, 2009 , known from Hunan, China in having a V-shaped epigynal plate (Figs 1184 cf. 1181). It can be distinguished by the epigynal plate with narrower anterior lateral lobes, by the smaller, widely separated spermathecae, and by the elongated insemination ducts (Fig. 1259).

Etymology. The specific epithet, noun in apposition, is derived from a combination of Latin (altus = high) and (colere = inhabit), referring to the type locality.

Description. Female (holotype). Total length 8.90; prosoma 4.50 long, 3.50 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.28, ALE 0.22, PME 0.22, PLE 0.22, AME–AME 0.20, AME–ALE 0.50, PME–PME 0.24, PME–PLE 0.40; MOQ: 0.62 long, 0.62 anterior width, 0.60 posterior width. Leg measurements: I 17.10 (4.10, 5.36, 4.28, 3.32), II 14.18 (3.58, 4.46, 3.56, 2.56), III 14.26 (3.74, 4.28, 3.82, 2.38), IV 19.70 (4.76, 5.80, 6.14, 2.96).

Coloration (Fig. 1196). Carapace orange-brown. Sternum and chelicerae brown. dorsum of opisthosoma sepia, mottled with numerous minute pale spots. Coxae and trochanters yellowish white; other leg segments yellowish. Dorsal pattern: first pair represented by round pale spots; second and third pairs by broad, disconnected transverse bands; fourth pair connected medially.

Genitalia (Figs 1184, 1257–1261). Epigynal plate V-shaped, anteriorly with deep median incision, anterior lateral margin slightly enlarged. Lateral borders triangular, bluntly pointed. Spermathecae subtriangular in dorsal view, small and compact, widely separated, apex curved posteriorly.

Male. Unknown

Natural history. Mallinella alticola sp. nov. was collected in high altitude forests on Doi Angkhang.

Distribution. Known only from the type locality in northern Thailand.

The following Mallinella species listed below were described from Africa, Nepal, China, Vietnam and Japan. They possess a very similar TA on the male palp in which the bifid apical process is rather small, the apico-retrolateral fold is triangular, and the baso-prolateral modification is represented by a sharp tooth or ridge. The bifurcated embolus is diagnostic for these species. Females can be distinguished by the relatively simple internal genitalia curving backwards, internally with broad ducts.