The first pararchaeid spider (Araneae: Pararchaeidae) from New Caledonia, with a discussion on spinneret spigots and egg sac morphology in Ozarchaea
Author
Rix, Michael G.
Author
Harvey, Mark S.
text
Zootaxa
2010
2414
27
40
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.194372
a725ca38-d204-4efc-a328-b0ea06e27492
1175-5326
194372
Flavarchaea humboldti
n. sp.
Figs 1–11
Type
material. NOUVELLE CALÉDONIE:
Province Sud
:
holotype
female, Mont Humboldt,
21º53’S
,
166º24’E
,
1400 m
, pyrethrum fogging trees and logs in moss forest,
6–7 November 2002
, G. Monteith, C. Burwell (
MNHN
).
Paratypes
:
2 females
, same data as
holotype
(
QMB
S88155
);
1 female
, same data as
holotype
(
WAM
T99064).
Etymology.
The specific epithet is a patronym in honour of the
German
naturalist, geologist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt (
1769–1859
) – one of the founding figures of modern geography – after whom the
type
locality of ‘Mont Humboldt’ is named.
Phylogenetic affinities.
Although male specimens are required to definitively diagnose the pararchaeid genera (
Rix 2006
), this species is extremely similar to Australian species of
Flavarchaea
(e.g.
F. anzac
Rix, 2006
) in possessing numerous rows of setae on the dorsal pars cephalica (
Figs 1, 3
), receptacula with ‘noselike’ inner lobes (
Figs 9–10
), a row of curved, peg-like setae on femur I (e.g. see
Fig. 31
), and a uniformly pale body colouration (
Figs 1–8
).
FIGURES 1–4.
Holotype female
Flavarchaea humboldti
n. sp.
from Mont Humboldt, New Caledonia: 1, habitus, dorsal view; 2, habitus, ventral view; 3, carapace, dorsal view; 4, sternum, ventral view, showing strongly reticulate cuticle.
FIGURES 5–8.
Holotype female
Flavarchaea humboldti
n. sp.
from Mont Humboldt, New Caledonia: 5, habitus, antero-lateral view; 6, cephalothorax, frontal view; 7, abdomen, ventral view; 8, epigyne, ventral view.
FIGURES 9–10.
Cleared, dissected epigyne of paratype female
Flavarchaea humboldti
n. sp.
from Mont Humboldt, New Caledonia: 9, receptacula, dorsal view; 10, detail of receptacula, showing ducts. Arrows denote the trajectory of insemination ducts. cR, internal chamber of receptaculum; EF, epigastric furrow; FD, fertilisation duct; ID, insemination duct; ilR, ‘nose-like’ inner lobe of receptaculum.
Diagnosis.
Females of
Flavarchaea humboldti
n. sp.
can be distinguished from all described Australian species of
Flavarchaea
by the profile of the external epigyne (
Fig. 8
) and the shape of the receptacula, which are strongly arched and bear oval, anteriorly-directed, ‘nose-like’ inner lobes (
Figs 9–10
) (see also
Rix 2006
, figs 58–64, for a comparison with other described species). Males are unknown.
Description.
Female (
holotype
):
Dimensions
: total length 2.11; carapace 0.85 long, 0.52 wide; abdomen 1.31 long, 1.07 wide; leg I femur 0.52 long.
Colour
: carapace, chelicerae, sternum dark tan-yellow; legs dark tan-yellow with lighter cream patellae and distal tibiae; abdomen cream with light brown sigillae and setal sclerotic spots.
Carapace
: rhomboidal in lateral profile, with pars cephalica steeply elevated anterior to coxa III; dorsal surface of pars cephalica convex, sloping down to anterior median eyes from posterior margin (
Fig. 5
); numerous curved setae present on dorsal pars cephalica and around eyes and clypeus (
Fig. 3
).
Eyes
: eight present on antero-dorsal aspect of pars cephalica; AME, lateral eyes paired; PME separated by slightly more than twice their own diameter (
Figs 1, 3
).
Sternum
: longer than wide, posteriorly obtuse (
Fig. 4
); fused to lateral margins of carapace around petiole and anterior to coxa III, IV.
Labium
: wider than long, fused to anterior margin of sternum; not rebordered.
Maxillae
: directed across labium, distally convergent; serrula a single row of teeth.
Chelicerae
: rectangular,
2x
longer than wide, constricted proximally (
Fig. 6
), protruding from oval foramen in cephalothorax, with pronounced keel extending along pro-ventral margin; peg tooth group A (PTA) with five peg teeth adjacent to fang; peg tooth group B (PTB) with three peg teeth near tip of fang; peg tooth group C (PTC) with three larger peg teeth on pro-dorsal margin adjacent to PTB; paturon also with numerous moveable setae on ventral surface.
Abdomen
: globose, broadly oval in dorsal profile, with two pairs of sigillae dorsally and ventrally (
Figs 1–2
); two, small, square post-epigastric sclerites situated slightly posterior to epigastric furrow (
Figs 7–8
).
Spinnerets
: six, posterior to colulus; surrounded dorsally and ventrally by separate, weakly sclerotised strips; posterior tracheal spiracle surrounded by small, oval sclerite.
Legs
: leg formula IV, I, II, III; short (leg I femur-carapace ratio 0.61), three-clawed, covered in short setae; retrolateral femur I with proximal, dorsally-curved row of five stout, peg-like setae; tibiae each with two long trichobothria; metatarsi each with single trichobothrium; tarsal organ capsulate.
Pedipalp
: five-segmented, without claw; tibia with single trichobothrium.
Epigyne
: entelegyne, relatively small, only slightly broader than petiole (
Figs 8–10
); receptacula ‘comma-shaped’, strongly arched, with complex internal chambers; each receptaculum with bulbous distal portion bearing oval, anteriorly-directed, ‘nose-like’ inner lobe (
Figs 9–10
); fertilisation ducts short, strongly-curved (
Fig. 10
).
Male: Unknown.
Distribution and habitat.
This species is known only from montane rainforest near the summit of Mont Humboldt,
46 km
north of Nouméa,
New Caledonia
(
Fig. 11
). The
type
specimens were collected by pyrethrum fogging trees and logs in a moss forest at
1400 m
altitude.