Diamonds in the rough: Ibotyporanga (Araneae, Pholcidae) spiders in semi-arid Neotropical environments Author Huber, Bernhard A. 33607F65-19BF-4DC9-94FD-4BB88CED455F Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, LIB, Bonn, Germany. b.huber@leibniz-lib.de Author Meng, Guanliang 7E8C41F8-77BB-468F-BE9A-D3F1DFCA1E4E Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, LIB, Bonn, Germany. G.Meng@leibniz-lib.de Author Král, Jiří E836F3B5-D704-4EEC-966A-0C4F1FAD324B Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. spider@natur.cuni.cz Author Ávila Herrera, Ivalú M. E3687584-7F64-450D-9492-BE0DD4864AD6 Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. avilai@natur.cuni.cz Author Carvalho, Leonardo S. 28AA7D67-3C9D-495E-8C17-33D35F1A0FAC Campus Amílcar Ferreira Sobral, Universidade Federal do Piauí, Floriano, Piauí, Brazil. carvalho@ufpi.edu.br text European Journal of Taxonomy 2024 2024-10-18 963 1 169 https://europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/download/2687/12427 journal article 10.5852/ejt.2024.963.2687 2118-9773 13963130 BA331360-A678-4233-A7CC-7308EF8B6D7E Ibotyporanga walekeru Huber sp. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 295920A0-330E-42FD-B2D0-9982066BDB0B Figs 25B–C , 26 , 31 , 32A–B , 33–35 , 36A–C ; SEM Figs 2D , 4B , 7A, E , 10B , 15D , 17C , 20E , 21A Diagnosis Males are easily distinguished from most known congeners by shape of procursus ( Fig. 33A–C ; short and wide, curved towards dorsal, without dorsal branch, distally with wide transparent membrane); from the very similar I. bariro Huber, 2020 by presence of only a few hair-like processes distally on procursus (many large fringes in I. bariro ; compare Fig. 32A–B with Fig. 32 C–D ); from the superficially similar I. itatim sp. nov. by much shorter legs (male tibia 1 <1.1; in I. itatim >1.5), and by absence of dorsal process on palpal tarsus. Females externally possibly indistinguishable from I. bariro but internal genitalia with pair of distinct tubes ( Fig. 36A–C ; very short and indistinct in I. bariro : Fig. 36D ); I. piojo sp. nov. also with distinct internal tubes but with more strongly curved epigynal pocket and shorter legs (tibia 1 <0.75); I. itatim with deeper triangular epigynal pocket, internal genitalia with distinct pair of lateral sacs, and longer legs (tibia 1>1.2). Etymology The species is named for Walekeru, a mythical spider that taught the Wayuu people of Northern Colombia the art of crocheting and weaving, eventually making Wayuu bags one of the most famous handicrafts of Colombia ; noun in apposition. Type material Holotype COLOMBIA – Cesar • ♂ ; 18 km ESE of Pueblo Bello ; 10.3449° N , 73.4349° W ; 240 m a.s.l. ; 21 Sep. 2022 ; B.A. Huber leg.; MUSENUV-Ar 2736 . Paratypes COLOMBIA – Cesar • 5 ♂♂ , 4 ♀♀ ; same collection data as for holotype; MUSENUV-Ar 2737 [1 ♂ used for SEM] • 2 ♂♂ , 2 ♀♀ ; same collection data as for holotype; ZFMK Ar 24350 . Other material examined COLOMBIA – Cesar • 2 ♀♀ , 6 juvs, in pure ethanol; same collection data as for holotype; ZFMK Col308 [1 ♀ used for SEM] . – La Guajira • 2 ♂♂ ; 5 km S of Riohacha ; 11.4848° N , 72.9051° W ; 30 m a.s.l. ; 19 Sep. 2022 ; B.A. Huber leg.; MUSENUV-Ar 2738 • 1 ♂ , 1 ♀ ; same collection data as for preceding; ZFMK Ar 24351 • 3 ♀♀ , in pure ethanol; same collection data as for preceding; ZFMK Col287 . Assigned tentatively (no males available) COLOMBIA – La Guajira • 1 ♀ ; near Papayal ; 11.0029° N , 72.7708° W ; 150 m a.s.l. ; 19 Sep. 2022 ; B.A. Huber leg.; ZFMK Ar 24352 • 1 ♀ , 3 juvs, in pure ethanol; same collection data as for preceding; ZFMK Col292 . Fig. 31. Ibotyporanga walekeru Huber sp. nov. , male from Colombia, Cesar, ESE of Pueblo Bello, ZFMK Ar 24350. Left palp, prolateral, dorsal, and retrolateral views. Scale line: 0.3 mm. Description Male ( holotype ) MEASUREMENTS . Total body length 1.5, carapace width 0.70. Distance PME–PME 55 µm; diameter PME 55 µm; distance PME–ALE 20 µm; distance AME–AME 15 µm; diameter AME 30 µm. Leg 1: 3.65 (1.00+0.25 +0.90 +1.07 + 0.43), tibia 2: 0.77, tibia 3: 0.73, tibia 4: 1.08; tibia 1 L/d: 10; diameters of leg femora 0.17, of leg tibiae 0.09. COLOUR (in ethanol). Prosoma and legs ochre-yellow, carapace medially with narrow brown mark widening posteriorly; legs without dark rings; abdomen gray with many dark internal marks dorsally and laterally; ventrally with indistinct light ochre plates in front of gonopore and in front of spinnerets. BODY . Habitus as in Fig. 25B . Ocular area slightly raised. Carapace with distinct but shallow thoracic groove ( Fig. 2D ). Clypeus with sclerotized rim with median notch. Sternum slightly wider than long Fig. 32. Ibotyporanga spp. , tips of left procursi, prolateral (A, C, E) and retrolateral (B, D, F) views A–B . I. walekeru Huber sp. nov. , from Colombia, Cesar, ESE of Pueblo Bello, ZFMK Ar 24350. C–D . I. bariro Huber, 2020 , holotype from Venezuela, Falcón, SE of Bariro, ZFMK Ar 21862. E–F . I. itatim Huber sp. nov. , from Brazil, Bahia, W of Itatim, ZFMK Ar 24354. Scale lines: 0.05 mm. (0.49/0.40), with very low and indistinct anterior processes near coxae 1. Abdomen globular; gonopore with four epiandrous spigots in two groups ( Fig. 4B ); spinnerets as in congeners ( Fig. 7E ). CHELICERAE . As in Fig. 34A–B ; width 0.27; with strong median frontal apophysis; stridulatory files ( Fig. 10B ) very fine and poorly visible in dissecting microscope. PALPS . As in Fig. 31 ; coxa unmodified; trochanter with short rounded ventral protrusion; femur proximally with short retrolateral process not directed toward distal, with prolateral stridulatory pick, distally widened but unmodified; femur-patella joints not shifted toward one side; patella dorsally only slightly longer than medially wide; tibia-tarsus joints shifted toward retrolateral side; tarsus without dorsal process; procursus ( Fig. 33A–C ) evenly curved, with light prolateral band, distally widened and semitransparent, with few (~6) pseudotrichia ( Fig. 32A–B ; barely visible in dissecting microscope); genital bulb ( Fig. 33D–F ) with distinct prolateral sclerite on bulbous part, with simple embolus with indistinct prolateral process. Fig. 33. Ibotyporanga walekeru Huber sp. nov. , male from Colombia, Cesar, ESE of Pueblo Bello, ZFMK Ar 24350. A–C . Left tarsus and procursus, prolateral, dorsal, and retrolateral views. D–F . Left genital bulb, prolateral, dorsal, and retrolateral views. Abbreviations: lb=light band; ps =prolateral sclerite. Scale lines: 0.2 mm. LEGS . Without spines but with longer hairs ventrally on femora; without curved hairs; with many short vertical hairs on tibia 1; retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at 54%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1; tarsus 1 with ~4 pseudosegments, distally fairly distinct. Variation (male) Tibia 1 in 11 males (incl. holotype ): 0.83–1.07 (mean 0.93). Males from S of Riohacha with slightly more pseudotrichia distally on procursus (~10). The species delimitation analysis ( Fig. S7 ) suggested that specimens from the three localities may in fact represent three distinct species. The K2P distances among them ranged from 11.0% to 13.9% ( Table S1 ). Female In general, similar to male ( Fig. 25C ) but with darker brown legs, dark median band on carapace extending to ocular area and clypeus, sometimes carapace also laterally with light brown bands; clypeus unmodified; tibiae with few short vertical hairs. Tibia 1 in 13 females : 0.78–1.00 (mean 0.90). Epigynum ( Fig. 35 ) anterior plate trapezoidal, posterior margin almost straight, with wide and shallow, weakly curved anterior pocket; posterior plate wide and short. Internal genitalia ( Figs 34C , 35 , 36A–C ) with pair of elongate pore plates, with dome-shaped membranous structure from which pair of membranous tubes originate, apparently leading into very thin-walled globular ‘receptacles’. Cleared female genitalia of female from near Papayal very similar to cleared females from other localities. Distribution Known from three localities in the Colombian departments of Cesar and La Guajira ( Fig. 26 ). Females from Papayal ( La Guajira ) are assigned tentatively. Fig. 34. Ibotyporanga walekeru Huber sp. nov. A–B . Male chelicerae, frontal and lateral views, from Colombia, Cesar, ESE of Pueblo Bello, ZFMK Ar 24350. C . Cleared female genitalia, dorsal view, female from Colombia, La Guajira, S of Riohacha, ZFMK Ar 24351. Scale lines: 0.2 mm. Natural history At the type locality, the spiders were found in a low, dry forest on a roadside hill. They were beaten from old dry branches lying on the ground and hollowed by termites. They shared this microhabitat with another species of Ninetinae , Galapa spiniphila Huber, 2020 . The specimens from near Riohacha were beaten out of dead cactus branches lying on the ground on a degraded roadside with bushes and a few small trees. They shared this microhabitat with Galapa spiniphila and with Modisimus culicinus (Simon, 1893) . Two egg sacs had diameters of 1.4–1.5, were slightly flattened, and contained about 12– 15 eggs each, with an egg diameter of 0.46–0.52.