Karakumosa gen. nov., a new Central Asian genus of fossorial wolf spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae: Lycosinae) Author Logunov, Dmitri V. The Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M 13 9 PL, UK. Author Ponomarev, Alexander V. Southern Scientific Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chekhov street 41, Rostov-on-Don, 344006, Russia. E-mail: ponomarev 1952 @ mail. ru text Revue suisse de Zoologie 2020 127 2 275 313 journal article 118433 10.35929/RSZ.0021 0e9cc441-e337-4aca-bf79-d6335e798e0e 0035-418 5743710 Genus Karakumosa gen. nov. Type species: Karakumosa repetek sp. nov. from the Repetek Reserve , Karakumy Desert , Turkmenistan , Central Asia ( male holotype deposited in the ISEA ) . Diagnosis: The genus Karakumosa gen. nov. belongs to the subfamily Lycosinae ( sensu Zyuzin, 1993 ; see Dondale, 1986 ; Murphy et al. , 2006 ; Piacentini & Ramírez, 2019 ) and is most similar to Zyuzicosa Logunov, 2010 (see Logunov, 2010 , 2012 ). Both genera have a bipartite/biramous synembolus, the same SER/AER ratio (more than 1.3), tarsi of all legs with scopulae and spinules, and a prolatero-apical origin of the embolus. The new genus differs from all other Central Asian Lycosinae genera (see Logunov, 2010 : table 2), including Zyuzicosa , by the following combination of characters: black ventral colour pattern of abdomen absent ( Figs 25 , 52 , 91 , etc.); median apophysis consisting of two flat plates ( Figs 55 , 118 : OP, IP); synembolus with two acutely pointed lamellae ( Figs 57 , 98-99 , 116, 118 , 129 , 149 , 163 , 175 ); epigynal atrium at least twice longer than wide; and septal pedicel absent ( Figs 27 , 44 , 61 , 72 , 85 , 96 ). Etymology: The new generic name is composed of two parts: ‘Karakum’, referring to the regional name for the Karakumy Desert where the type species and some other species were discovered, combined with the ending of the generic name Lycosa (meaning ‘tear like a wolf’; see Cameron, 2005: 303 ), to which the majority of large burrowing Holarctic wolf spiders are currently assigned. The generic name is feminine in gender. Description: Large to very large fossorial wolf spiders, with body lengths 20.23±3.23 (n=8) in males, and 22.9±4.05 (n=7) in females. Carapace : In both sexes relatively low, with a clearly marked gradual descent from cephalic region towards abdomen ( Figs 26 , 35 , 54 , 78 , 138 , 158 ), densely clothed with white or yellowish white setae, and with prominent dense white or yellowish marginal pubescence; all three characters are typical of lycosid burrowers (see Zyuzin, 1990 ). Chelicerae : Large, vertical, their proximal halves/twothirds of frontal side densely clothed with white or yellowish setae ( Figs 32 , 53 , 79 , 136 ); cheliceral groove with three promarginal and three retromarginal teeth ( Figs 144 , 177 ). Eyes : AER procurved and distinctly (1.3-1.4 times) shorter than SER ( Figs 32 , 53 , 136 ); PME/AME ratio 1.7-2.5. Clypeus : Narrow, its height equal or 1.3-1.7 times shorter than AME diameter. Labium : Visibly wider than long (length/width ratio 0.6- 0.8). Sternum : Ovoid, densely covered with white setae in both sexes (e.g. Figs 23 , 49, 52 , 137 ). Abdomen : Venter in both sexes without black pattern (e.g. Figs 25 , 52 , 91 ), thus distinct from the majority of Palaearctic burrowing lycosine genera described to date (see Simon, 1876 ; Logunov, 2010 , 2012 ). Legs : leg formula IV,I,II,III in both sexes, rarely IV,II,I,III in some males; all segments densely covered with white setae; in both sexes, metatarsi and tarsi I-II ventrally with well-developed scopulae and longitudinal rows of spinules (sometimes poorly visible; Figs 36 , 63 , 140 ), tarsi III-IV only with ventral longitudinal rows of spinules (in some specimens a scopula could be developed on lateral sides of segments only; Fig. 141 ). Female pedipalp : With a single tarsal claw (e.g. Figs 26 , 35 , 138 ). Female copulatory organs : Epigyne with a well pronounced longitudinal atrium being at least two times longer than wide; edges at proximal end of atrium forming two round convergent lips, these usually markedly sclerotized and darker (brown or russet) than nearby cuticle (e.g. Figs 27 , 61 , 85 ); septal pedicel absent; median septum essentially reduced to posterior transverse, slightly convex plate of variable shape (e.g. Figs 27 , 96 ); spermathecae tube-shaped, only slightly wider than or of same width as narrow and short insemination ducts (e.g. Figs 28 , 43 , 62 , 121 ). Male pedipalp : Femur length equal to that of patella+tibia ( Figs 15-16 ); cymbium symmetrical, twice as long as wide, with almost round alveolus ( Fig. 65 ), its length about equal to that of palpal tibia; distal part of cymbium 1.1-1.3 times shorter than alveolus length ( Fig. 65 ); cymbium with a cluster of blunt, rigid and straight bristles on its tips ( Figs 45 , 69 ) as typical of lycosid burrowers ( Zyuzin, 1990 , 1993 ). Male copulatory organs : Subtegulum round and comparatively small, situated in proximal-mesal position ( Figs 9 , 46 , 56 , 98 : St); tegulum round and broad, in unexpanded palp clearly visible only on prolateralproximal side of bulbus ( Figs 55 , 98 , 118 : T); median apophysis wide (usually wider than long) and broad ( Figs 9 , 55 , 118 : OP, IP), folded along its proximal edge and consisting of two (outer and inner) flat plates, the outer plate bearing a proximal extension and a median tooth ( Figs 56 , 98 : MT, PE); median tooth rarely singular and finger-shaped ( Figs 30 , 42 ), usually consisting of a lateral claw and a median edge bearing micro-teeth (indicated by arrow in Figs 123 , 128 ) and in some species with a low serrate flange at its foot (indicated by arrow in Figs 125 , 134 , 152 ); synembolus biramous, with two acutely pointed lamellae ( Figs 57 , 98 , 118 : Se); a triangular hyaline conductor present, well-developed and pointed ventrad ( Figs 12 , 56 , 118 : C); embolus thin, with a rather wide and prominent pars pendula ( Figs 4 , 116 , 129 ), its origin in a prolatero-apical position, with only the embolic tip visible in between or beneath branches of the synembolus in unexpanded palp ( Fig. 57 ). Comments: Within the Lycosoidea the transverse median apophysis is considered a typical feature of the Lycosidae ( Griswold, 1993 ) and a synapomorphy of the Lycosinae ( Dondale, 1986 ) , although its shape varies. In Karakumosa gen. nov. the median apophysis is large and composite, consisting of two distinct plates that appear fused along their proximal edges: the outer and the inner plates (e.g. Figs 9 , 56 , 118 : OP, IP). Such a complex structure of the median apophysis is currently regarded as unique within the Lycosinae and within the entire family Lycosidae . Of the lycosid genera known to us, only two have a comparably complex structure of the median apophysis: Oculicosa Zyuzin, 1993 ( Logunov & Gromov, 2011 : figs 1-2) and Zyuzicosa ( Logunov, 2010 : figs 34-39). The outer plate of the median apophysis of Karakumosa gen. nov. , with its proximal extension and median tooth of MA, looks like an apomorphic modification of the prominent transverse chitinous ridge of the median apophysis in Oculicosa . Obviously, both structures are homologous. Another unique feature of Karakumosa gen. nov. is its biramous synembolus, consisting of two thin and very acutely pointed lamellae (e.g. Figs 4 , 57 , 67 , 116 ). The only other lycosid genus with a comparable conformation of the synembolus is Zyuzicosa ( Logunov, 2010 : figs 64, 66), but in the latter genus it consists of one acutely pointed lamella and a wide, strongly sclerotized base. In the absence of a phylogenetic analysis of the Palaearctic genera of Lycosidae (but see Murphy et al. , 2006 ; Piacentini & Ramírez, 2019 ), it is difficult to establish whether both unique features of Karakumosa gen. nov. are primitive or derived (they are likely to be derived). Yet, as a provisional hypothesis to be further tested, we consider both of them as the putative synapomorphies of Karakumosa gen. nov. We speculate that if the genus Karakumosa gen. nov. was included in one of the two latest phylogenetic analyses of the Lycosidae based on DNA data ( Murphy et al. , 2006 ; Piacentini & Ramírez, 2019 ), it would likely be placed either within the clade E ( sensu Murphy et al. , 2006 : figs 2-3), somewhere close to Lycosa tarantula ( Linnaeus, 1758 ) and the clade E1, or within the Lycosinae ( sensu Piacentini & Ramírez, 2019 : fig. 4), in the branch containing the Palaearctic Lycosa species. Composition: To date nine species are assigned to Karakumosa gen. nov. : K. alticeps (Kroneberg, 1875) , comb. nov. ( ♂ ♀ , Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan ), K. badkhyzica sp. nov. ( ♂ ♀ , Turkmenistan ), K. gromovi sp. nov. ( ♂ ♀ , southern Uzbekistan ), K. medica ( Pocock, 1889 ) , comb. nov. ( ♂ ♀ , north-western Afghanistan ), K. repetek sp. nov. ( ♂ ♀ , Turkmenistan ), K. shmatkoi sp. nov. ( ♂ ♀ , northern Ciscaspian region and Azerbaijan ), K. tashkumyr sp. nov. ( ♂ , Kyrgyzstan ), K. turanica sp. nov. ( ♂ ♀ , Turkmenistan ), K. zyuzini sp. nov. ( ♂ ♀ , Uzbekistan ). Distribution: Central Asia ( Fig. 1 ): (semi)desert regions of the northern Ciscaspian Region, eastern Azerbaijan , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Uzbekistan , Turkmenistan and north-western Afghanistan ; the occurrence of this genus in northern and north-eastern Iran and Tajikistan is very likely. The genus is essentially restricted to the so-called Turan zoogeographic province ( sensu Kryzhanovsky, 2002 ) ( Fig. 1 ). It is the third genus of fossorial wolf spiders within the currently known Lycosinae that is confined to Central Asia ( Table 1 ). The other two are Oculicosa (see Zyuzin, 1993 ; Logunov & Gromov, 2011 : fig. 6) and Zyuzicosa (see Logunov 2010 , 2012 : map), but their ranges are markedly smaller and of a different configuration. Karakumosa gen. nov. seems to be a typical Turan genus ( sensu Pravdin & Mishchenko, 1980 ) and an endemic to Central Asia; its geographical range lies within the Turan lowlands of the desert zone. We are unaware of any other Central Asian spider genus that has a distributional pattern similar to that of Karakumosa gen. nov. Fig. 1. Geographical range of the genus Karakumosa gen. nov. Key to the species of Karakumosa gen. nov. The female of K. tashkumyr sp. nov. remains unknown and thus is not included here. 1A Males ........................................................................................................................................................................ 2 1B Females ..................................................................................................................................................................10 2A Proximal extension of median apophysis clearly hook-shaped ( Figs 60 , 118 , 150 ) ................................................ 3 2B Proximal extension of median apophysis of a different shape ( Figs 2 , 46 , 83 , 98 ) ................................................. 5 3A Median tooth of median apophysis with a low serrate flange at its foot (indicated by arrow in Figs 125 , 134 , 152 ) .................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 3B Median tooth of median apophysis without such flange ( Figs 66 , 74-75 ) ...................................... gromovi sp. nov. 4A Inner plate of median apophysis as wide as outer plate, clearly visible in ventral view (indicated by arrow in Fig. 148 ); tips of both synembolic lamellae markedly bent downward ( Fig. 149 ) ............................. tashkumyr sp. nov. 4B Inner plate of median apophysis comparatively narrower and almost hidden beneath outer plate (indicated by arrow in Fig. 118 ); synembolic lamellae straight or with tips only slightly bent downward ( Fig. 116 ) ................... ........................................................................................................................................................ shmatkoi sp. nov. 5A Proximal extension of median apophysis prominent ( Figs 46 , 83 , 98 ) ................................................................... 6 5B Proximal extension of median apophysis not prominent ( Fig. 174 ) .................................................. zyuzini sp. nov. 6A Proximal extension of median apophysis spade/spatula-like, as wide as long ( Figs 46 , 98 ) .................................. 7 6B Proximal extension of median apophysis wider than long ( Figs 2 , 83 , 161 ) .......................................................... 8 7A Median tooth of median apophysis finger-shaped ( Figs 31 , 42 ) ................................................. badkhyzica sp. nov. 7B Median tooth of median apophysis bifurcated at its tip ( Fig. 100 ) ................................................... repetek sp. nov. 8A Median tooth of median apophysis flat, without a ventral bulge ( Figs 5 , 164 ) ....................................................... 9 8B Median tooth of median apophysis with a ventral bulge ( Fig. 87 ) ................................................................ medica 9A Proximal extension of median apophysis twice as wide as long, with a markedly pointed prolaterad-directed shoulder ( Fig. 161 ); median tooth quadrangular ( Fig. 164 ) ........................................................... turanica sp. nov. 9B Proximal extension of median apophysis triangular, with an obtuse prolaterad-directed shoulder ( Fig. 12 ); median tooth triangular, with a serrate prolateral edge ( Figs 5-8 ) ............................................................................ alticeps 10A Edges of epigynal atrium subparallel or slightly bent outward ( Figs 44 , 61 , 72 , 85 ) ........................................... 11 10B Edges of epigynal atrium slanted to each other; atrium anteriorly clearly narrower than posteriorly ( Figs 27 , 96 ).. ................................................................................................................................................................................ 13 11A Edges of epigynal atrium subparallel ( Figs 61 , 85 ), spermathecae as in Figs 62 , 86 ............................................ 12 11B Edges of epigynal atrium slightly bent outward (biconvex), atrium barrel-shaped ( Fig. 44 ), spermathecae as in Fig. 43 ................................................................................................................................................. badkhyzica sp. nov. 12A Posterior transverse plate of epigyne in the shape of an inverted triangle ( Figs 61 , 72 ), spermathecae markedly widened anteriorly ( Figs 62 , 73 ) ..................................................................................................... gromovi sp. nov. 12B Posterior transverse plate of epigyne anchor-shaped ( Fig. 85 ), spermathecae not widened anteriorly, worm-shaped ( Fig. 86 ) ......................................................................................................................................................... medica 13A Posterior transverse plate more or less anchor-shaped ( Figs 27 , 167-168 ), spermathecae curved anticlockwise or subparallel ( Figs 28 , 121 , 166 ) ..............................................................................................................................14 13B Posterior transverse plate dumbbell-shaped ( Fig. 96 ), spermathecae curved clockwise ( Fig. 95 ) ... repetek sp. nov. 14A Epigynal atrium markedly narrowed at its anterior end, pawn-shaped ( Figs 27 , 122 ) .......................................... 15 14B Epigynal atrium much less narrower at its anterior end, with almost subparallel lateral edges ( Figs 167 , 179 ) .. 16 15A Posterior transverse plate of epigyne in the shape of a low inverted triangle, epigynal edges strongly sigmoid ( Fig. 122 ); spermathecae markedly swollen in anterior portion ( Fig. 121 ) ........................................... shmatkoi sp. nov. 15B Posterior transverse plate of epigyne slightly procurved,epigynal edges indistinctly sigmoid ( Fig. 27 ); spermathecae not swollen anteriorly ( Figs 28-29 ) .............................................................................................................. alticeps 16A Posterior transverse plate of epigyne with straight posterior margin ( Fig. 179 ); spermathecae distinctly inclined towards each other ( Fig. 182 ) ............................................................................................................ zyuzini sp. nov. 16B Posterior transverse plate of epigyne anchor-shaped, with convex posterior margin ( Fig. 167 ); spermathecae more or less parallel to each other ( Fig. 166 ) .......................................................................................... turanica sp. nov.