Synaphosus iunctus, Sankaran & Sebastian, 2018

Sankaran, Pradeep M. & Sebastian, Pothalil A., 2018, New species of gnaphosid spiders (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) from the Western Ghats of India, Journal of Natural History 52 (27 - 28), pp. 1733-1744 : 1737-1738

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00222933.2018.1478998
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B0090C55-5C3A-4D8A-A543-EFE945F09332
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/CC493F2C-FFB8-EF05-FE53-FB3DC2D51BB1
treatment provided by	Carolina
scientific name	Synaphosus iunctus
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Synaphosus iunctus View in CoL sp. nov.

( Figures 1 View Figure 1 (b), 3(a, b) and 5)

Type material

Holotype, female, India, Kerala, Thrissur, Chimmony Wildlife Sanctuary , 10.41855N, 76.53534E, 709 m altitude, leg. M.S. Pradeep, from ground, by hand, 8 May 2013, ADSH38105 View Materials A GoogleMaps . Paratypes, 3 females, same data as holotype, ADSH 38105B.

Diagnosis

Females of Synaphosus iunctus sp. nov. are most similar to the females of Synaphosus daweiensis Yin, Bao & Peng, 2002 , but can be distinguished from the latter by the following combination of characters: laterally placed atria ( S. daweiensis with medially placed atria), obliquely oriented anterior pockets (anterior pockets of S. daweiensis parallel to each other) and copulatory ducts with narrow median part (copulatory ducts of S. daweiensis narrow along the entire length) (compare Figure 3 View Figure 3 (a, b) with Yin et al. 2012: figs 641h, i).

Etymology

The specific epithet is an adjective referring to the highly convoluted nature of the female genitalia of the new species. Latin iuncta = complex.

Description

Female (holotype, Figure 1 View Figure 1 (b)): Carapace, eyefield, clypeus, chelicerae, fangs, maxillae, labium brownish. Carapace weakly covered with fine black hairs. Fovea narrow, longitudinal, straight, reddish-brown. ALE and PLE contiguous. Sternum, spinnerets pale brown. Cheliceral promargin with three teeth, retromargin with three teeth and one bifurcated tooth. Leg and palp segments pale brown to brownish progressively. Opisthosoma elongated oval, uniformly greyish, covered with fine black hairs. Metatarsi III and IV possess distal preening brush, that on metarsus IV reduced; metatarsi lack scopulae; tarsi weakly scopulated. Body length 3.20. Prosoma length 1.39, width 0.88. Opisthosoma length 1.81, width 0.91. Eye diameters: ALE 0.06. AME 0.04. PLE 0.05. PME 0.04. Eye interdistances: AME–AME 0.01. AME–ALE 0.01. AME–PME 0.07. PME–PME 0.02. PME–PLE 0.03. Clypeus height at AMEs 0.02, at ALEs 0.02. Chelicerae length 0.40. Measurements of palp and legs. Palp 1.23 (0.47, 0.22, 0.19, 0.35), I 3.16 (0.91, 0.60, 0.70, 0.54, 0.41), II 2.61 (0.74, 0.50, 0.53, 0.46, 0.38), III 2.26 (0.64, 0.39, 0.39, 0.49, 0.35), IV 3.34 (0.94, 0.51, 0.70, 0.77, 0.42). Leg formula: 4123. Spination of palp: femur pld 1, patella pl 1 do 2, tibia pl 1 pld 1 rld 1, tarsus pl 2 pld 1 plv 1 do 1 rl 1 rlv 2; legs: femora I–II pld 1 do 2, III pld 2 do 2 rld 1, IV pld 1 do 2 rld 1; patellae I–II spineless, III rl 1, IV spineless; tibia I spineless, II plv 1, III pl 2 pld 1 plv 3 do 1 rl 2 rlv 2, IV pl 2 plv 3 rl 2 rld 1 rlv 3; metatarsus I plv 1, II plv 2 rlv 2, III pl 2 pld 2 plv 2 rl 2 rld 1 rlv 2, IV pl 3 pld 2 plv 3 rl 2 rld 3 rlv 2; tarsi I–IV spineless. Genitalia ( Figure 3 View Figure 3 (a, b)): Epigynum with paired disto-median sclerotized plates ( Figure 3 View Figure 3 (a)). Atria large, laterally placed with highly sclerotized retrolateral margin ( Figure 3 View Figure 3 (a)). Anterior pockets short with wide mouth ( Figure 3 View Figure 3 (a, b)). Copulatory openings anteriorly located, masked by the posterior rim of anterior pockets, hardly visible externally. Copulatory ducts very long, convoluted, medially contiguous; proximal and distal parts wide, median part narrow; proximal part disto-prolaterally with a globular projection ( Figure 3 View Figure 3 (b)). Spermathecae small ( Figure 3 View Figure 3 (b)). Fertilization ducts long, slender, diverging from each other ( Figure 3 View Figure 3 (b)).