Asiafroneta, a new genus of the spider subfamily Mynogleninae, with two new species from Borneo, East Malaysia (Araneae: Linyphiidae)
Author
Tanasevitch, Andrei V.
Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospekt 33, Moscow 119071, Russia
tanasevitch@gmail.com
text
Raffles Bulletin of Zoology
2020
2020-03-24
68
56
61
journal article
55743
10.26107/RBZ-2020-0006
573bc19e-c523-4a62-9dc1-795691003c68
2345-7600
4577373
98054AEB-2E9C-4158-96C8-A05BAD42740A
Asiafroneta
,
new genus
Type
species.
Asiafroneta pallida
,
new species
.
Etymology.
The generic name is a combination of two words: “Asia”, the “terra typica”, and part of the generic name
Afroneta
. The gender is feminine.
Diagnosis.
The new genus clearly belongs to the subfamily
Mynogleninae
which is mainly characterised by the presence of sub-ocular sulci, and a primitive structure of the genitalia in both sexes.
Asiafroneta
,
new genus
, is diagnosed by the following combination of somatic and genitalic characters:
1) small-sized spiders (compared to most
Mynogleninae
), with a total length of 1.85–2.12;
2) sub-ocular sulci present in both sexes as a narrow elongated groove under each anterior lateral eye (
Figs. 4, 5, 9, 10
);
3) carapace unmodified, distinct dorsal abdominal pattern absent in both sexes;
4) leg chaetotaxy formula: FeI: 0-1(0)-0-0, II–IV: 0-0- 0-0; TiI: 2-1-1(0)-0, II: 2-0-1(0)-0, III: 2-0-0-0, IV: 1-1(0)-0-0; metatarsi unarmed; apical spines on leg tibiae absent;
5) metatarsi IV without trichobothrium;
6) a strong spine on palpal patella present (
Figs. 11, 13
);
7) two retrolateral trichobothria on palpal tibia (
Figs. 11, 13
);
8) palpal tibia unmodified, almost as long as cymbium;
9) cymbium with three macrosetae (M1, M2, M
3 in
Figs. 11, 13, 14
);
10) distal suprategular apophysis a narrow spit;
11) median membrane (= “conductor”, auct.) strongly reduced;
12) embolic division extremely simple: radix continuous with embolus (
Fig. 15
);
13) epigyne with a small notch anteriorly, parmula (= scapus, auct.) rudimentary, median ducts (sensu
Merrett, 2004
) broadly expanded distally, receptacles more or less spherical (
Figs. 17, 19, 20
).
Species included.
Asiafroneta pallida
,
new species
, and
A. atrata
,
new species
.
Taxonomic remarks.
Asiafroneta
,
new genus
, resembles many genera of
Mynogleninae
because of a limited diversity of somatic characters and a primitive/simple structure of the genitalia in the group. Nevertheless, the new genus seems to be particularly similar to
Parafroneta
Blest, 1979
, a speciose genus from
New Zealand
. Both representatives of
Asiafroneta
,
new genus
, differ from other known mynoglenines by by a significantly smaller size, the chaetotaxy (absence of ventral spines on legs; leg segments without apical spines), the presence of only two prolateral trichobothria on the palpal tibia vs. three in the majority of the subfamily’s members, and by structural details of the genitalia in both sexes (see below in the Taxonomic Remarks under
A. pallida
,
new species
).
Distribution.
Known from
Sabah
and
Sarawak
(East
Malaysia
) on Borneo Island.