Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 September 2020 | 12(13): 16775–16794
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5434.12.13.16775-16794
#5434 | Received 28 September 2019 | Final
received 22 July 2020 | Finally accepted 04 September 2020
Five new species of trap-door
spiders (Araneae: Mygalomorphae:
Idiopidae) from India
Manju Siliwal 1, Rajshekhar
Hippargi 2, Archana Yadav 3 &
Dolly Kumar 4
1 Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248001, India.
1 Wildlife Information Liaison
Development, 12 Thiruvannamalai Nagar, Saravanampatti – Kalapatti Road, Saravanamapatti, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641035, India.
2 Department of Zoology, Walchand College of Arts & Science, Solapur,
Maharashtra 413003, India.
3,4 Department of Zoology, Faculty of
Science, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat 390001,
India.
1 manjusiliwal@gmail.com (corresponding
author), 2 appuratna@rediffmail.com, 3 archanayadav035@gmail.com,
4 dollymsu@gmail.com
ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8BAA9463-0CFF-44A8-939A-45393F14611E
Editor: John Caleb, Zoological Survey of
India, Kolkata, India. Date of publication: 26
September 2020 (online & print)
Citation: Siliwal, M., R. Hippargi,
A. Yadav & D. Kumar (2020). Five new
species of trap-door spiders (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Idiopidae) from
India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(13): 16775–16794. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5434.12.13.16775-16794
Copyright: © Siliwal
et al. 2020. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: Gujarat Biodiversity
Board, Gujarat; Department
of Science and Technology, Women Scientist Scheme - A, Government of India,
project no. SR/WOS-A/LS-604/2016.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Author details: M. Siliwal is an arachnologist, have more than 17 years of experience in taxonomy. R. Hippargi is
faculty at the Department of Zoology, Walchand
College of Arts & Science, Solapur and have been studying spiders for more
than a decade. A. Yadav have
carried out her PhD on spiders and is currently carrying out independent
research on spiders. Prof. D. Kumar
is the faculty at the Department of Zoology, M.S. University of Baroda and have
guided several students for their PhD on spiders.
Author contribution: All the authors have contributed
equally in the preparation of the manuscript; MS, RH & AY were responsible
for the collection of specimens and taxonomic description of the species. DK
and MS brought fundings for the project.
Acknowledgements: Authors (DK, AY, MS) are grateful to the following institutes and
personnel: Gujarat Biodiversity Board for providing funds and all necessary
facilities to carry out work in Gujarat; head of the Department of Zoology, Prof. P.C. Mankodi for the
support and encouragement during the project in Gujarat; Dr.
Peter J. Schwendinger, Museum of Natural History, Geneva,
Switzerland for providing his valuable notes on type specimens of Indian Idiops species.
RH is thankful to following institute and personnel: Head of the Zoology
Department, Walchand College of Arts & Science,
Solapur, Maharashtra; Late (Dr.) Ganesh Vankhede for encouraging and supporting spider projects in
Maharashtra; Dr. Ninad V.
Shah for the guidance and encouragement; Mr. Shripad Manthen
for his help during surveys and collection of Idiops
from Maharashtra. MS is thankful to the
Department of Science and Technology, Women Scientist Scheme-A, Government of
India for the financial support vide reference no. SR/WOS-A/LS-604/2016 under
the Women Scientist Scheme to carry out the morphological and molecular work of
the above described spiders.
Abstract: The family Idiopidae
is dominated by the subfamily Idiopinae with 106
species recorded from the world; 20 species (five species of Helgimomerus, 12 species of Idiops, and three species of Scalidognathus)
are reported from India. In this paper,
we describe a new species of Heligmomerus wii from Dehradun, Uttarakhand and four new species of Idiops: Idiops bonny, Idiops
reshma, & Idiops
sally from Dangs, Gujarat and Idiops
vankhede from Maharashtra.
Keywords: Description, Gujarat, Idiopidae, Maharashtra, taxonomy, Uttarakhand.
Introduction
The trap-door spider family Idiopidae Simon, 1889 is represented by 407 species under
22 genera in the world (WSC 2020). The
subfamily Idiopinae Simon, 1889 (Heligmomerus
Simon, 1892 and Idiops Perty, 1833) is the largest with 106 species and is
predominantly found in the Old World (Africa, Asia, Middle-East), except for
the genus Idiops which has widespread
geographic distribution (South America, Southern Africa, northern Africa,
Middle-East, India, southeastern Asia) (WSC
2020). Therefore, Idiopinae
forms an important model for biogeographic study especially to test the
Gondwana hypothesis.
Members of the subfamily Idiopinae can be easily distinguished from the rest of the
subfamilies by the anterior lateral eyes being situated close to the clypeal
edge, well advanced from the rest of the eye group. Further, Heligmomerus
can be distinguished by the presence of a dorsal depression on tibia III,
whereas in Idiops, it is normal (Raven
1985; Siliwal et al. 2010).
In India, Idiopidae
is represented by three genera and 24 species, of which 17 species belong to Idiopinae: 12 species of Idiops
and five species of Heligmomerus (WSC
2020). The diversity of Idiopinae is expected to be high in India and it is poorly
reported due to the specialized burrowing habit. The burrows are short but thickly lined with
silk and have thick lid or door at the entrance of the burrow, which remains
closed when the spider is inside. The
outer surface of the burrow is covered with dust, soil, and moss or dry
vegetation, which makes the burrow highly challenging to notice even when a few
centimeters away.
A trained paired of eyes are required to spot these highly camouflaged
burrows.
Females of the Indian Idiopinae morphologically look alike with distinct size
variations (Sanap & Mirza 2015; also see
below). Till date, only two types of
spermathecae structure are reported from India.
In Type I, the receptacle ends in a lobe which resembles a halogen bulb
whereas, in Type II, the receptacle ends in a lobe that has a constriction
anteriorly and appears like a teat. In
this paper we report additional spermathecae structure and term it as Type
III. In Type III, receptacles are
doll-like with or without lateral lobes, however, males show distinct
morphological variations in the first leg especially, the shape of the
metatarsi and the tibial apophysis.
Therefore, identification of the species is largely based on the males
and it is more reliable.
Since 2009, interest in trapdoor
spiders has gained momentum amongst aspiring arachnologists and a number of
species have been described or redescribed (Sanap & Mirza 2011, 2015; Mirza & Sanap 2012; Mirza et al. 2012; Sen et
al. 2012; Gupta et al. 2013). Due
to lack of detailed descriptive literature and comparative materials, however,
many species have been either misidentified or have undergone taxonomic changes
(Siliwal 2009; Siliwal et
al. 2010; Siliwal & Raven 2010).
In this paper, we describe five
new species, Heligmomerus wii sp. nov. from Dehradun,
Uttarakhand, Idiops bonny sp. nov., I. reshma sp. nov. and I. sally
sp. nov. from Dangs,
Gujarat, and I. vankhede sp. nov. from Solapur, Maharashtra. I. vankhede
sp. nov. is described based on both males and
females; H. wii sp. nov.
is described based on the male, whereas, the other species are described based
solely on females.
MethodS
All specimens are deposited at the
Wildlife Information Liaison Development Society (WILD) Museum at Dehra Dun,
Uttarakhand, India. Measurements of body
parts except for the eyes were taken with a MitutoyoTM
Vernier Caliper.
Eye measurements were done with calibrated ocular micrometer. All measurements are in millimeters. Spermathecae were dissected and cleared in
concentrated lactic acid. Total length
excludes chelicerae. All illustrations
were prepared with the help of a camera lucida
attached to a MOTICTM stereomicroscopes by MS. The taxonomic description style follows Siliwal et al. (2014).
Abbreviations: ALE = anterior
lateral eye, AME = anterior median eye, HT = Holotype, MOA = median ocular area, PLE = posterior lateral
eye, PME = posterior median eye, PLS = posterior later spinnerets, PMS =
posterior median spinnerets, PT = Paratype, WILD = Wildlife Information Liaison
Development Society. Abbreviations used
for hair and spines count are d = dorsal, fe = femur,
mt = metatarsus, p = prolateral pa = patella, pc =
preening comb, r = retrolateral, ta = tarsus, ti = tibia, v = ventral.
Results
Taxonomy
Class Arachnida Cuvier, 1812
Order Araneae
Clerck, 1757
Family Idiopidae
Simon, 1899
Genus Heligmomerus
Simon, 1892
Heligmomerus wii sp. nov.
(Image 1, Figs. 1–11, Table 1)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:2825E2C9-9EED-4BFB-8040-97BF3ED0A43E
Material examined
Holotype: WILD-16-ARA-1302, 23.vii.2016,
male, Wildlife Institute of India main campus (30.2840N & 77.9740E,
591m), Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India,
coll. M. Siliwal & G. Mathur.
Paratypes: WILD-16-ARA-1304, 31.vii.2016,
one male, same data as holotype; WILD-15-ARA-1294, 22.viii.2015, one male, same
locality as holotype, coll. M.V. Nair.
Description
Holotype (male): Total length 11.82,
carapace 6.05 long, 5.38 wide; chelicerae 3.34 long; abdomen 5.77 long, 4.18
wide. Spinnerets: PMS, 0.55 long, 0.19
wide, 0.30 apart; PLS, 0.54 basal, 0.31 middle, 0.24 distal; midwidths 0.74, 0.48, 0.32 respectively; 1.09 total
length. Morphometry of legs and palp are
given in Table 1.
Colour in alcohol: Carapace,
chelicerae reddish-brown; sternum pale yellow; maxillae, labium
yellowish-brown; legs greenish-brown except for tarsi of all legs and palp, mt I distal ½ mt II-IV complete
and tibia of palp greenish-yellow. Abdomen dorsally grayish-brown
with pale spots radiating in curved lines; ventrally and ventro-laterally
yellowish-gray.
Spinnerets pale creamish.
Carapace (Fig. 1): Oval,
wart-like tubercles except for striae and very few
tubercles on caput. Broad black patch
covering anterior half of caput, narrowing down to two parallel lines in
posterior half reaching fovea. Unusual
gentle recurved depression on caput just before fovea (resembles like
depression made by pressing caput by fovea but it is present on all speciemens), it coincides with foveal depression margin to
form round rim around fovea. Fovea procurved, deep. Bristles absent.
Eyes (Figs 1–2): Eight in three
rows, ALE situated far from AME on clypeal edge; posterior row procurved.
Ocular group 1.27 long, 1.39 wide; MOA square, 0.87 wide and 0.71 long. Diameter AME 0.31, PME 0.21, ALE 0.27, PLE
0.33; distance between ALE-AME 0.20, PME-PME 0.25, ALE-PLE 0.37, AME-AME 0.04,
PLE-PME, 0.04, ALE-ALE adjacent.
Maxillae
(Fig. 3): 1.71 long anteriorly, 2.12 long posteriorly, 1.18 wide; no cuspules;
anterior lobe distinct, posterior edge obscured, anterior edge straight.
Labium
(Fig. 3): 0.81 long, 0.99 wide, labiosternal groove
shallow, slightly procurved, cuspules absent.
Chelicerae
(Fig. 3): Eight teeth on promargin and 5 teeth on retromargin; rastellum strong,
raised on high triangular mound, with 24 thick, short spines, surrounded with
many normal spines; two glabrous bands for length of
dorsal surface of chelicerae.
Sternum
(Fig. 3): 3.33 long, 2.98 wide, broader between coxae II-III; yellowish-brown,
elevated in centre, sloping laterally, covered with short and long black
bristles; posterior angle acute.
Sigilla (Fig. 3): Posterior sigilla
absent; median pair marginal, 0.16 diameter, 2.06 apart, marginal and anterior
pair 0.06 diameter, 1.47 apart, marginal.
Legs (Figs
4–7): All legs cylindrical, not flattened; leg I slightly thicker than rest;
femora III clearly wider than rest; metatarsi of all legs longer than tarsi. Tibia I inflated with two prolateral tibial
apophysis; distal apophysis possess stout spur with broad base, narrowing
abruptly into pointed tip, facing up.
Lower apophysis with blunt, smooth surface facing distal spur (Figs
6–7); mt I gently excavated in basal one-third but
prolateral process absent (Fig. 5). Ti III slightly excavated dorsally (Fig. 5). Ta I-II slightly swollen. Legs covered with few scattered hairs,
bristles and normal pointed spines. Two
conspicuous glabrous bands through the length of
femora, patellae and tibiae. Leg formula
4123 (Table 1).
Scopulae: Ta I distinct, in distal two-third, ta II
distinct, distal three-fourth, ta III, distinct, in distal one-third, ta IV,
very few scopuliform hairs in distal one-fourth. On all ta, scopuliform
hairs sparse, restricted to only ventral side.
Spines: More on promarginal
and retromarginal sides of legs
and palp; normal long spines on
all leg parts
except for pa III-IV and ti palp, ti III, mt III with thorn-like
thick spines. I: ti, p=1+2 tubercles, one with megaspine,
r=9; mt, p=3, r=11, ta p=3, r=4. II: ti, r=1; mt, p=3, r=7, v=1; ta,
p=2, r=4. III: pa, p=7,d=2; ti, p=7, v=3, r=9, d=50; mt, p=7, d=37, r=3, v=8; ta, p=4, r=3, v=2. IV: pa, p=72,
d=23; mt, v=7; ta, p=v=6, r=1. Palp: ti, r=43; ta, d=2.
Trichobothria:
Clavate absent; ta I, 15 long filiform; ta II 14 long and short filiform; ta
III, 12 long filiform; ta IV, 12 long filiform and six long filiform on palp in
centre, ta I-IV trichobothria in triangular area in distal three fourth. Mt
I-III, 7–8 long filiform in distal one thirds; mt IV,
seven long filiform in distal one-fourth.
Leg coxae:
Greenish-yellow, covered with sparse short and long black bristles.
Claws: All
legs with paired and unpaired claws. Both (paired as well as unpaired) claws on
IV prominent and distinctly larger than rest.
Paired claws on leg I-III with unequal bifid tooth, on leg IV single
tooth.
Abdomen
(Fig. 1): Covered with short black hairs with few long bristle-like hairs
posteriorly, cuticle appears leathery and slightly rough. Ventral region uniformly covered with short
and few long black hairs.
Spinnerets:
PMS digitiform covered with brown hairs; PLS covered with brown hairs, apical
segment domed.
Palp (Figs
8–11): Tibia incrassate, ventral 1/3rd excavated into cavity; with
band of spines in crecent shape on retrolateral side of cavity, anterior and posterior spines
longer than rest. Cymbium
truncated dorsally with two lateral processes, two long spines dorsally. Median haematodocha fused with bulb, embolus,
long, gently curves retrolaterally, gradually
tapering till mid-way and then continues of almost same width and slightly
flatten towards tip; embolus distally with two teeth like dentition on retrolateral keel.
Variation male
(WILD-16-ARA-1304)
Total
length 10.59, carapace: 5.29 long, 4.51 wide, labium: 0.73 long, 1.08 wide,
maxillae: 1.24 long in front, 1.78 long in back, 0.94 wide, sternum: 2.97 long,
2.70 wide, abdomen: 5.30 long, 3.47 wide, spinnerets: PLS, 0.57 basal, 0.24
middle, 0.16 apical; midwidths, 0.64, 0.57, 0.36
respectively; 0.97 total length; PMS,
0.47 long, 0.17 wide; distance between PMS–PMS, 0.32. Morphometry of legs and palp are given in
Table 1.
Diagnosis
Male of
Heligmomerus wii
sp. nov. closely resembles H. barkudensis Gravely,
1921 in the absence of metatarsal process and spines; and it resembles H. biharicus (Gravely, 1921) by the presence of a shallow
excavation on tibia III. The new species
differs from H. barkudensis and H. biharicus by distal tibial apophysis with spur, broader
at base narrowing distally to pointed tip, (see Figs. 6–7) (in H. barkudensis spur broader but abruptly narrows in
distal half with pointed blunt tip; in H. biharicus
spur is short, triangular); lower tibial apophysis with blunt, rounded tip,
(see figs. 6–7) (same in H. barkudensis; in H.
biharicus it is short and pointed; palp embolus
distally with two teeth like dentition on retrolateral
keel, (see Fig. 11) (such dentition either absent or unknown on embolus of H.
biharicus and H. barkudensis).
Etymology
The species epithet is an acronym
for the Wildlife Institute of India, the type locality of the species.
Remarks
We could not provide more robust
characters for diagnosis for the new species in the absence of comparative type
material of the male sex of both H. biharicus
and H. barkudensis. Apart from all the diagnostic characters
mentioned above, the new species is from the Doon Valley, which is
geographically about 1,200–2,000 km apart from the type localities of both H.
biharicus (Sahebganj,
Bihar) and H. barkudaensis (Barkuda Island, Chilika lake,
Odisha). Also, the habitat in
Dehradun is Sal dominant and subtemperate with 600–700 m elevation, whereas, Sahebganj is in the Terai region
with predominant grassland habitat & Sal forests with elevation ranging
from 15–100m and Barkuda Island with a mix shurby vegetation with an elevation lower than 20m and lies
in subtropical region. Taking into
account the geographical separation and barriers between these three type
localities, the species therefore, can be considered a distinct and separate
species. More diagnostic characters will
be added after examining or procuring fresh male specimens of H. biharicus and H. barkudensis
Morphometry for the paratype male
(WILD-15-ARA-1294) is not provided as some deformities in eyes and sternum were
observed. We, however, have used SEM
pictures of this specimen to show tibial apophysis on leg I and palp embolus
tip as they were identical and intact as in the holotype.
Natural history
All the spiders were found
wandering on the road during the night or early morning. The Wildlife Institute of India campus
consists of Sal Shorea robusta
forest patches in different areas.
Though we have not been successful in locating an active burrow of this
spider, we assume these spiders make burrows in Sal patches. Sal patches have heavy undergrowth during
monsoon and post monsoon, whereas, during dry phases of winter and summer a
thick layer of leaf litter is present.
Therefore, it is difficult to locate these highly camouflaged burrows in
the Sal patches. Males were found during the monsoon (July–August).
Genus Idiops
Perty, 1833
Idiops bonny sp. nov.
(Image 2, Figs. 12–17,
Table 2)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:670B72D3-F567-4589-A67C-104614DBD8F6
Material examined
Holotype: WILD-15-ARA-1285, 12.iii.2015,
female, Vansda National Park, (20.7520N
& 73.4830E, elev. 131m), Dangs,
Gujarat, India, coll. R. Solanki, A. Yadav and M. Siliwal.
Paratype: WILD-15-ARA-1286, 12.iii.2015,
one female, same data as holotype.
Description
Holotype (female): Total length
29.81, carapace 13.30 long, 11.59 wide; 6.94 long chelicerae; abdomen 16.51
long, 10.69 wide. Spinnerets: PMS, 1.13 long, 0.63 wide, 0.46 apart; PLS, 2.08
basal, 0.90 middle, 0.73 distal; midwidths 1.94,
1.53, 1.03 respectively; 3.71 total length.
Morphometry of legs and palp given in Table 2.
Colour in life: Complete spider
black.
Colour in alcohol: Carapace,
chelicerae, legs reddish-brown; carapace with reticulate marking on thoracic
region, along striae and towards margin, darker patch
on caput, thoracic area lighter than cephalic area; legs lighter below. Legs
and palp yellowish-brown, lighter below.
Abdomen dorsally grayish-brown mottled with
radiating yellow spots, ventrally yellowish-grey. Spinnerets yellowish-brown.
Carapace (Fig. 12): Glabrous, broader anteriorly (widest between legs III) and
gradually narrowing posteriorly, striae
prominent. Fovea, procurved, deep; caput
raised. Anterior ocular area at level of caput and not raised. Bristles: 4 long and 32 short on caput; one
long between AME-AME; two long between PME-PME; one long, two short between
ALE-ALE, three long and five short on clypeal edge. Clypeus absent. Few short hairs on posterior and anterior
margins.
Eyes (Figs 12–13): Eight in three
rows, ALE situated far from AME on clypeal edge; posterior row procurved. Ocular group 2.97 long, 2.95 wide; MOA
rectangle, 1.59 wide, 1.27 long.
Diameter AME 0.48, PME 0.30, ALE 0.63, PLE 0.74; distance between
ALE-AME 0.54, AME-AME 0.36, PLE-PME 0.24, PME-PME 0.68, ALE-PLE 1.11, ALE-ALE
adjacent.
Maxillae (Fig. 14): 4.05
long anteriorly, 4.68 long posteriorly, 3.14 wide; 167 cuspules of unequal
size; anterior lobe distinct, anterior margin straight, posterior margin
obscure.
Labium (Fig. 14): 2.19 long, 2.39
wide, labiosternal groove shallow, slightly procurved
with seven cuspules anteriorly in two curved rows.
Chelicerae (Figs 15): 10 large,
two small teeth on promargin and eight large, two
small teeth on retromargin; depression on retrolateral face where fang touches chelicerae; rastellum strong, raised on high triangular mound, with 42
thick, short spines, surrounded by many normal long spines; two glabrous bands for length of dorsal surface of chelicerae.
Sternum (Fig. 14): 7.89 long,
6.67 wide, broader between coxae III; yellowish-brown, elevated in centre, sloping laterally, covered with long black
bristles; row of long bristles on margins, posterior angle blunt.
Sigilla (Fig. 14): Posterior sigilla absent; median pair 0.50 diameter, 3.79 apart, 0.42
from margin and anterior pair round, marginal.
Legs: Posterior legs slightly
thicker than anterior ones. Femora III
and tibiae I and III wider than others.
Patellae I-III and palp longer than tarsi. Tibiae to tarsi of legs I-II and palp
slightly dorsoventrally flattened, other legs normal. Legs covered with few scattered hairs,
bristles and few curved thick thorn-like spines restricted to anterior legs and
palp. Two conspicuous glabrous bands for length of
femora, patellae and tibiae. Scopulae absent on tarsi of all legs and palp. Leg formula 4132 (Table 2).
Spines: More on
promarginal and retromarginal sides of legs and
palp. I: ti, p=20, r=26; mt,
p=33, r=27; ta, p=11, r=10, v=1. II: ti, p=10, v=1; mt, p=21, r=8; ta, p=12, r=5, v=4. III: pa, p=35, d=3, r=1;
ti, p=15, r=6; mt, p=23,
r=14, v=4; ta, p=5, r=6, v=3. IV: pa, p=28; ti, v=1; mt, p=6, v=1; ta, p=19, v=3, r=4. Palp: fe,
p=3; pa, p=1; ti, p=24, r=31; ta, p=29, r=28, v=4.
Trichobothria.
Clavate absent; ta I, 20 long filiform; ta II, 16 long filiform; ta III,
16 long filiform; ta IV, 16 long filiform in two irregular rows almost for
length and 24 long filiform in two rows in distal two-third on palp ta. Ta I-III filiform in two inverted V-shape
rows basal three-fourth. Mt I, seven
long filiform in distal fourth; mt II–IV, 10 long
filiform in distal one-fourth.
Leg coxae: Covered with short and
long black bristles, spinules absent. Coxa III with glabrous
patch in basal three-fourth, rest area sparsely covered with long bristles;
coxa IV clearly broader than others, anterior edge curved, ventrally.
Claws: All legs with
paired and unpaired claws. Paired claws
on legs I-II with unequal bifid tooth, on legs III-IV with equal length bifid
tooth; bifid tooth on palp claw. False
claw tufts on each side of paired claws.
Abdomen (Fig. 12): Oval, uniformly covered with short and long
black hairs. Dorsum with few yellow
spots in radiating pattern, cuticle appears leathery and slightly rough;
ventrally grayish-brown with few pale spots covered
with short black hairs. Epigastric plate
sclerotized and glabrous in anterior area.
Spinnerets (Fig. 16): PMS digitiform covered with brown hair; PLS
covered with brown hair, apical segment domed.
Spermathecae (Fig. 17): Type I spermathecae. Two receptacles, each facing away from each
other; each receptacle posteriorly opens into wide sclerotized slit-like
opening, receptacles and slit-opening covered with transparent triangular
(inverted) membrane, attached posteriorly with epigastral
sclerotized region; each receptacle with slightly wider base, immediately
sclerotized leading to large-szied sclerotized
cup-shape lobes. Each receptacle covered
with spermathecal pores except for the basal 1/4th part.
Variation female (WILD-15-ARA-1286)
Total length 30.88; carapace:
11.46 long, 10.22 wide; labium: 2.00 long, 2.50 wide; cuspules 7. Maxillae: 3.57 long in front, 4.47 long in
back, 2.80 wide; cuspules 110. Sternum: 6.85 long, 6.17 wide. Abdomen: 19.42
long, 14.53 wide. Spinnerets: PLS, 1.54 basal, 0.86 middle, 0.70 apical; midwidths, 1.36, 1.19, 0.87 respectively; 3.10 total
length; PMS, 1.17 long, 0.60 wide;
distance between PMS–PMS, 0.61. Morphometry of legs and palp in Table 2.
Diagnosis
Females of Idiops
bonny sp. nov. are 40–60% larger in size than
other described congeners from India except for I. fortis
(total length is 32 and carapace length 14).
This species differs from females of I. vankhede
sp. nov., I. joida, I.
constructor, I. fortis and I. oriya by the absence of spinules
on coxae IV; additionally it differs from I. constructor, I. fortis and I. oriya by
the leg formula 4132 (whereas it is 4123 in I. constructor, I.
fortis and I. oriya)
and differs from I. vankhede sp. nov. and I. joida by
ocular area as wide as long (see Fig. 13; distinctly longer than wide in I. vankhede sp. nov. and I. joida).
Etymology
The species epithet is treated as
a noun in apposition, named in honour of Prof. Bonny Pilo, retired dean and head of Zoology Department, The M.S.
University of Baroda for being a pioneer in initiating wildlife studies in the
department and providing motivation and support to arachnological studies in
the department.
Remarks
Basic structure of spermathecal respectale resembles ‘Type-I’ except for the lobes which
are not inflated like a bulb as typically seen in Type-I, this perhaps could be
due to the lack of sperms in the spermathecae.
It is likely that the female had just nested or didn’t mate in the
previous season. Cup-shaped depression
is relatively less in the paratype specimen.
Natural history
Idiops fortis is the largest Idiops recorded so far from India and Idiops bonny sp. nov.
is the second largest species. It is
almost double the size of previously recorded species from India. Interestingly, I. sally sp. nov. and I. bonny sp. nov.
were found in the same area within a radius of 100m, both sharing same habitat
and elevation.
The spiders were found inside
their trap-door burrows made on mud-bunds inside the forest of Vansda National Park. Burrow entrances had D-shaped
lid/door attached on the upper side of burrow, canopy cover ranged from 5–8%,
with almost bare ground (maximum 1% ground cover), 70% leaf litter, all burrows
were facing east. Burrow diameters
ranged from 27–29 mm and depth of the burrows ranged from 106–127 mm and lid
thickness was 2mm.
Idiops reshma sp. nov.
(Image 3, Figs. 18–21, Table 3)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:63DC5021-6F11-4F46-86DF-594EB545C4DB
Material examined
Holotype: WILD-15-ARA-1288, 12.iii.2015,
female, Saputara Botanical Garden (20.5760N
& 73.7400E, 898m), Saputara, Gujarat,
India, coll. R. Solanki, M. Siliwal & A. Yadav.
Paratype: WILD-15-ARA-1289, one female,
same data as holotype.
Description
Holotype (female): Total length 14.48;
carapace 5.31 long, 4.33 wide; long chelicerae; abdomen 9.17 long, 5.88
wide. Spinnerets: PMS, 0.38 long, 0.19
wide, 1.10 apart; PLS, 0.58 basal, 0.34 middle, 0.19 distal; midwidths 0.74, 0.64, 0.42 respectively; 1.11 total
length. Morphometry of legs and palp
given in Table 3.
Colour in alcohol: Carapace,
chelicerae, labium, maxillae, sternum reddish-brown, caput and striae darker. Legs
and palp greenish-brown, striae darker, anterior legs
darker than posterior ones and lighter ventrally. Abdomen dorsally grayish-brown
mottled with faint yellow spots in a curved pattern. Spinnerets yellowish-brown.
Carapace (Fig. 18): Glabrous, broader anteriorly (widest between legs II) and
gradually narrowing posteriorly, striae prominent.
Fovea, procurved, deep; caput raised.
Bristles: Two long and several short hairs on caput; one long between
AME-AME; three long, two short between PME-PME; two long, five short between
ALE-ALE and carapace edge. Few short
hairs on along striae, posterior and anterior
margins. Three black patches, one
starting between ALE-ALE and going down towards fovea, two on either side of
ocular area ending mid-way on caput.
Eyes (Figs 18–19): Eight in three
rows, ALE situated far from AME on clypeal edge; posterior row straight. Ocular group 1.30 long, 1.34 wide; MOA
square, 0.48 wide anteriorly, 0.69 posteriorly wide, 0.45 long. Diameter AME
0.22, PME 0.18, ALE 0.24, PLE 0.27; distance between ALE-AME 0.30, AME-AME
0.16, PLE-PME 0.12, PME-PME 0.36, ALE-PLE 0.54, ALE-ALE adjacent.
Maxillae (Fig. 20): 1.44
long anteriorly, 1.86 long posteriorly, 1.17 wide; 32–35 cuspules; anterior
lobe distinct, anterior margin straight, posterior margin obscure.
Labium (Fig. 20): 0.79 long, 1.16
wide, labiosternal groove shallow, slightly procurved
with two cuspules anteriorly.
Chelicerae (Figs 20): Five large, four small teeth on promargin, and four large, two small teeth on retromargin; depression on retrolateral
face where fang touches chelicerae; rastellum strong,
raised on high triangular mound, with 12 thick, short spines, surrounded by
many normal long spines; two glabrous bands for
length of dorsal surface of chelicerae.
Sternum (Fig. 20): 2.77 long,
2.74 wide, broader between coxae II-III; yellowish-brown, elevated in centre,
sloping laterally, covered with long black bristles; row of long bristles on
margins, posterior angle acute.
Sigilla (Fig. 20): Posterior sigilla absent; median pair 0.12 diameter, 1.70 apart, 0.13
from margin and anterior pair round, marginal.
Legs: Femora and tibiae III wider
than others; all metatarsi longer than respective tarsi. Tarsi of palp and mt
and ta of leg II dorsoventrally flattened, other legs normal. Legs covered with few scattered hair,
bristles and few curved thick thorn-like spines. Two conspicuous glabrous
bands for length of femora, patellae and tibiae. Scopulae absent on
tarsi of all legs and palp. Leg formula
4132 (Table 3).
Spines: More on
promarginal and retromarginal sides of legs and
palp. I: ti,
p= r=9; mt, p=14, r=12; ta, p=7, r=6, v=4. II: ti, p=5, r=3; mt, p=13, r=5; ta, p=5, r=6, v=4. III: pa, p=8, r=2; ti, p=3, r=7; mt, p=r=7, v=4; ta,
p=1, v=5. IV: pa, p=6; mt, v=7; ta, p=1, v=6, r=2.
Palp: ti, p=r=14; ta, p=17, r=19, v=8.
Trichobothria: Clavate absent; ta
I, 12-14 long filiform in each of four rows for length in triangular area; ta
II-III, 16 long filiform in two rows for length; ta IV, 12 long filiform and
16–20 long filiform in two rows in distal half on palp ta. Mt I, eight long filiform in distal fourth; mt II–IV, 10 long filiform in distal fourth.
Leg coxae: Yellowish-brown,
covered with short and long black bristles.
Coxa III with glabrous patch in distal three
fourth, rest coxae on with small glabrous patch at
base; coxa IV clearly broader than others, anterior edge curved.
Claws: All legs with
paired and unpaired claws. Both (paired
as well as unpaired) claws on leg IV prominent and larger than on other
legs. Paired claws with two unequal
bifid tooth on legs I–IV; unequal bifid tooth on palp. False claw tufts on each side of paired
claws.
Abdomen (Fig. 18): Oval,
uniformly covered with short and long black hairs. Dorsum with few mottled with yellow spots in
radiating pattern, cuticle appears leathery and slightly rough. The skin is now loosened up because it was in
the process of moulting at the time of collection.
Spinnerets: PMS digitiform
covered with brown hair; PLS covered with brown hair, apical segment domed.
Spermathecae (Fig. 21): Type III
spermathecae. Two receptacles, each
receptacle posteriorly opening into wide sclerotized slit-like opening,
receptacles and slit opening covered with transparent membrane, attached
posteriorly with epigastral screotized
region; each receptable wider at base, transparent
(except lobes), gradually narrowing down midway leading to screotized
lobes, primary lobe divided into two unequal halves with constriction in middle
(upper half round resembling head and lower half oval). Overall lobe appear like a doll; densely
covered with pores.
Remarks
Upon dissecting the spermathecae
of the holotype, two identical sets of spermathecae were found inside the
spider. On detailed observation, it was clear that the spider had just moulted
a few hours before the collection. It is
probable that the spermathecae did not get removed with the exuvia
while moulting. The older spermathecae
was slightly lighter in colour than the new pair of spermathecae and both pairs
fitted well in each other like a pair of hand gloves that fit inside each
other.
Variation female (WILD-15-ARA-1289)
Total length 12.07; carapace:
4.72 long, 3.52 wide; labium: 0.95 long, 0.99 wide; cuspules 25. Maxillae: 0.56
long in front, 0.90 long in back, 1.60 wide; cuspules 40. Sternum: 2.74 long, 2.17 wide. Abdomen: 7.35 long, 5.58 wide. Spinnerets:
PLS, 0.44 basal, 0.38 middle, 0.24 apical; midwidths,
0.65, 0.59, 0.40 respectively; 1.06 total length; PMS, 0.27 long, 0.10 wide; distance between
PMS–PMS, 0.09. Morphometry of legs and palp given in Table 3.
Diagnosis
Females of Idiops
reshma sp. nov.
resemble those of I. sally sp. nov. in primary
lobe of receptacle with constriction and divided in two unequal halves but
differ from the latter species by the absence of the lateral lobe (Fig.
21).
Etymology
The species epithet is treated as
a noun in apposition, named in the honour of late (Dr.)
Reshma Solanki, who had contributed in the collection of the species. She was a doctorate student of Dr. Dolly Kumar and worked on the spiders of Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat.
Natural history
This species was found in a
degraded and highly disturbed botanical garden, which was under
renovation. A cluster of 7–8 burrows
were found at the base of an ornamental plant.
Soil was hard and rocky, therefore, the burrows were shallow (less than
50mm deep). All burrows were vertical to
the ground, with a ‘D’-shaped lid at the entrance and with burrow entrances
facing south. Burrows were in an open
area with 2% canopy cover, 5% ground cover, and 50% leaf litter. Burrow diameters ranged from 9–11 mm.
Idiops sally sp. nov.
(Image 4,
Figs. 22-–25, Table 4)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:026CEB00-564C-41F2-95AB-DF234C534D07
Material
examined
Holotype:
WILD-15-ARA-1287, 12.iii.2015, female, Vansda
National Park (20.7520N & 73.4830E, elev. 131m), Dangs, Gujarat, India, coll. R. Solanki, A. Yadav & M. Siliwal.
Description
Holotype (female):
Total length 16.57; carapace 7.65 long, 6.18 wide; 3.92 long chelicerae;
abdomen 8.92 long, 5.87 wide.
Spinnerets: PMS, 0.66 long, 0.28 wide, 0.14 apart; PLS, 0.94 basal, 0.53
middle, 0.47 distal; midwidths 1.11, 0.89, 0.59
respectively; 1.94 total length.
Morphometry of legs and palp given in Table 4.
Colour in
life: Complete spider is black.
Colour in
alcohol: Carapace greenish-brown; chelicerae reddish-brown. Reticulate marking on anterior carapace, two
prominent light blackish patch on caput.
Legs and palp greenish-brown, lighter below. Abdomen dorsally grayish-brown,
ventrally yellowish. Spinnerets
yellowish-brown.
Carapace
(Fig. 22): Glabrous, broader anteriorly
(widest between legs II) and gradually narrowing posteriorly, striae prominent.
Fovea, procurved, deep; caput raised.
Bristles: one long and two short on caput; one long between AME-AME; one
long, five short between PME-PME; one long between AME-ALE; one long, five
short between ALE-ALE. Few short hairs
on posterior and anterior margins.
Eyes (Figs
23): Eight in three rows, ALE situated far from AME on clypeal edge; posterior
row straight. Ocular group 1.79 long,
1.82 wide; MOA rectangular, 0.82 wide, 0.77 long. Diameter AME 0.30, PME 0.18, ALE 0.32, PLE
0.38; distance between ALE-AME 0.45, AME-AME 0.05, PLE-PME 0.03, PME-PME 0.48,
ALE-PLE 0.99, ALE-ALE adjacent.
Maxillae
(Fig. 24): 2.20 long anteriorly, 2.77 long posteriorly, 1.67 wide; 36
cuspules spread over anterior1/3rd maxillae width; anterior lobe
distinct, anterior margin straight, posterior margin obscure.
Labium
(Fig. 24): 1.21 long, 1.64 wide, labiosternal groove
shallow, slightly procurved with two large and one small cuspules anteriorly in
two rows.
Chelicerae
(Figs 24): Eight large, three very small teeth on promargin
and five teeth on retromargin; rastellum
strong, raised on high triangular mound, with 14 thick, short spines,
surrounded by many normal long and short stiff bristles; two glabrous bands for length of dorsal surface of chelicerae.
Sternum
(Fig. 24): 4.79 long, 3.88 wide, broader between coxae III; yellowish-brown,
elevated in centre, sloping laterally, covered with long black bristles; row of
long bristles on margins, posterior angle acute.
Sigilla (Fig. 24): Posterior sigilla absent; median pair 0.17 diameter, 2.34 apart, 0.19
from margin and anterior pair round, marginal.
Legs:
Posterior legs slightly thicker than anterior pairs. Femora and tibiae III wider than others; all
metatarsi longer than respective tarsi.
Tarsi of palp and mt-ta I slightly
dorsoventrally flattened, other legs normal.
Legs covered with few scattered hair, bristles; curved thick thorn-like
spines only on legs I-II and palp. Two
conspicuous glabrous bands for length of femora,
patellae and tibiae. Scopulae
absent on tarsi of all legs and palp.
Leg formula 4132 (Table 4).
Spines: More on
promarginal and retromarginal sides of legs and
palp. I: ti, p=12, r=14,
v=2; mt, p=19, r=18, v=2; ta, p=6, r=8, v=4. II: ti, p=10, r=1, v=3;
mt, p=12, v=2, r=8; ta, p=5, r=3, v=6. III: pa, p=11,
r=5; ti, p=7, r=9; mt,
p=14, r=12, v=5; ta, r=4, v=5. IV: pa, p=16; ti, v=3;
mt, r=2, v=8; ta, p=1, v=5, r=9. Palp: fe, p=2; pa, p=1; ti, p=17, r=16;
ta, p=21, r=18, v=4.
Trichobothria:
Clavate absent; ta I, 15 long filiform; ta II, 14 long filiform; ta III, 16
long filiform; ta IV, 14 long filiform in two irregular rows for almost length
and 16–20 long filiform in two rows in distal half on palp ta. Ta I-III
filiform in inverted ‘V’ shape in basal three-fourth. Mt I, 12 long filiform in
distal third; mt II–IV, 10 long filiform in distal
fourth to half length.
Leg coxae:
Yellowish-brown, covered with short and long black bristles, spinules absent.
Coxa III with glabrous patch in basal one
third, rest area sparsely covered with long bristles; coxa IV clearly broader
than others, anterior edge curved.
Claws: All
legs with paired and unpaired claws. Paired
claws with equal length bifid tooth on legs I-II, single tooth on leg III,
unequal bifid tooth on leg IV; single tooth on palp. False claw tufts on each side of paired
claws.
Abdomen
(Fig. 22): Oval, uniformly covered with short and long black hairs. Dorsum with few mottled yellow spots in
radiating pattern, cuticle appears leathery, slightly wringled
and rough. Epigastric plate posteriorly
sclerotized and glabrous.
Spinnerets:
PMS digitiform covered with brown hairs; PLS covered with brown hairs, apical
segment domed.
Spermathecae (Fig.
25). Type III spermathecae. Two receptacles, each opening into wide
sclerotized slit-like opening, receptacles and slit opening covered with
transparent membrane, attached posteriorly with epigastral
sclerotized region; each receptacle wider at base, transparent (except lobes),
gradually narrowing down midway leading to sclerotized lobes, primary lobe
divided into two unequal halves with constriction in middle (upper half round
resembling head and lower half oval) and short hand-like lobe emerging prolaterally at base of main lobe. Overall, lobes appear like lateral view of a
praying doll; lobes densely covered with pores.
Remarks
As stated
above, previously only two types of lobes of spermathecal reseptacles
were reported. This species possesses
the third type of lobe having a lateral lobe, which is observed for the first
time in this genus.
Diagnosis
The female
of Idiops sally sp. nov. is distinctly different from all known Idiops species from India in the structure of the
spermathecae, the bilobed receptacles resemble a praying doll: the main lobe is
divided into two unequal halves with a constriction in the middle (upper half
round and lower half oval) and short hand-like lobe emerging prolaterally at the base of main lobe (Fig. 25).
Etymology
The species
epithet is treated as a noun in apposition, named in honour of the founder of
Zoo Outreach Organisation, late Ms. Sally Walker (1944–2019), who dedicated her
whole life to the conservation of Indian biodiversity. It is a tribute to her efforts and support to
the spider project.
Natural
history
Idiops sally sp. nov. was found in the same as habitat as that of I.
bonny sp. nov.
Likein the latter, the burrow entrance had
D-shaped lid/door attached on the upper side of the burrow. Burrow diameter was 14mm and depth of the
burrow was 70–80 mm. Lid thickness was
12mm. Female was found with egg sac in
month of March, which was oval, cup-shape bottom with a flat top, with the
female sitting on the top of egg sac along the length to protect it. Dimensions of egg sac was 22.47mm long x
13.68mm wide x 12.12mm high, slightly longer than the female body length.
Idiops vankhede sp. nov.
(Image 5,
Figs 26–44, Table 5)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:8FED5FA4-83DF-4724-ACED-73A0A0739B2C
Material
examined
Holotype:
WILD-10-ARA-821, 24.xii.2010, male,
(17.6320N & 75.8780E, 470m), Siddheshwar Van Vihar, Solapur,
Maharashtra, India, coll. R. Hippargi.
Paratypes:
WILD-10-ARA-871, WILD-10-ARA-859, two females, same data as holotype.
Description
Holotype (male):
Total length 10.22. Carapace 5.66 long, 4.70 wide; chelicerae 2.82 long;
abdomen 4.56 long, 3.49 wide. Abdomen
and spinnerets shrunken because of storage in 100% ethanol. Morphometry of legs and palp given in Table
5.
Colour in
alcohol: Carapace, chelicerae reddish-brown. Legs greenish-brown except for tarsi of all
legs and palp, mt I distal ½ mt
II distal 3/4th, mt III-IV distal ¼ and
tibia of palp yellow.
Abdomen dorsally grayish-brown with faint pale
spots radiating in curved lines; ventrally and ventro-laterally
yellowish-gray.
Spinnerets yellowish-brown.
Carapace
(Fig. 26): Oval, wart-like tubercles
except for anterior striae and anterior caput. Fovea procurved, deep. Bristles absent.
Eyes (Figs
26–27): Eight in three rows, ALE situated far from AME on clypeal edge;
posterior row straight. Ocular group 1.10
long, 1.18 wide; MOA square, 0.67 wide and 0.60 long. Diameter AME 0.29, PME 0.17, ALE 0.35, PLE
0.25; distance between ALE-AME 0.24, PME-PME 0.21, ALE-PLE 0.49, AME-AME,
PLE-PME, ALE-ALE adjacent.
Maxillae
(Fig. 28): 1.64 long anteriorly, 1.97
long posteriorly, 1.10 wide; no cuspules; anterior lobe distinct, posterior
edge obscured, anterior edge straight.
Labium
(Fig. 28): 0.81 long, 0.84 wide, labiosternal groove
shallow, slightly procurved, cuspules absent.
Chelicerae
(Figs 29–30): Eight teeth on promargin and seven
teeth on retromargin; rastellum
strong, raised on high triangular mound, with 25 thick, short spines,
surrounded with many normal spines; two glabrous
bands for length of dorsal surface of chelicerae.
Sternum
(Fig. 28): 2.80 long, 1.90 wide, broader between posterior coxae;
yellowish-brown, elevated in centre, sloping laterally, covered with short and
long black bristles; posterior angle acute.
Sigilla (Fig. 28): Posterior sigilla
absent; median pair marginal, 0.60 diameter, 1.69 apart, marginal and anterior
pair indistinct.
Legs (Figs
31–34): All legs cylindrical, not flattened, similar in thickness; femora III
clearly wider than rest. Tibia I
inflated with two distal, prolateral tibial apophyses, distal apophysis facing
upward with curved, stout triangular spine narrowing abruptly into lancet-like
pointed tip; lower apophysis with wide wedge-like spine, facing opposite
direction of the distal spur (Figs 31-34); mt I
cylindrical, slightly bent at base, rest straight but not incrassate or
excavated (Fig. 31). Legs covered with
few scattered hair, bristles and normal pointed spines. Two conspicuous glabrous
bands for length of femora, patellae and tibiae. Leg formula 1423 (Table 5).
Scopula: Ta II–IV distinct, hairs sparse, restricted
to only ventral side, for most length.
Ta I with few scopuliform hairs.
Spines: More on
promarginal and retromarginal sides of legs and
palp; normal long spines on all
leg parts except for ti palp and pa III-IV with
thorn-like thick spines. I: ti, p=2 tubercles,
one with megaspine, v=7; mt,
p=1, r=3. II: pa v=2; ti, v=10; mt,
p=1, r=1. III: pa, p=11, r=2; ti, p=5, r=2; mt, p=v=4, r=3. IV:
pa, p=10; ti, v=10; mt,
v=6; ta, p=1. Palp: ti, r=25-26; ta, d=2-3.
Trichobothria:
Clavate absent; ta I, 18 long filiform; ta II 20 long and short filiform; ta
III, 20 long filiform; ta IV, 13 long filiform and seven long filiform on palp
in centre, ta I-IV trichobothria in two zig-zag rows in distal three
fourth. Mt I-II, 10 long filiform in
distal one thirds; mt III, nine long filiform in
distal one thirds; mt IV, seven long filiform in
distal one-fourth.
Leg coxae:
Greenish-yellow, covered with short and long black bristles. Coxae IV with short spinules
in triangular area in distal three fourth, rest sparsely covered with long
bristles.
Claws: All
legs with paired and unpaired claws.
Both (paired as well as unpaired) claws on IV prominent and distinctly
larger than rest. Paired claws with 7–8
teeth on leg I, 6–7 teeth on leg II, one unequal bifid tooth on leg III-IV.
Abdomen (Fig. 26).
Covered with short black hairs with few long bristle-like hairs posteriorly,
cuticle appears leathery and slightly rough.
Ventrally uniformly covered with short and few long black hairs.
Spinnerets:
PMS digitiform covered with brown hair; PLS covered with brown hair, apical
segment domed.
Palp (Figs
35–38): Tibia incrassate, ventral 1/3rd excavated into cavity; with
band of spines in crescent shape on retrolateral side
of cavity. Cymbium
truncated dorsally with two lateral processes.
Median haematodocha fused with bulb, embolus gradually tapering and bend
45o midway, slightly flattened just before tip.
Paratype female
(WILD-10-ARA-871): Total length 16.20; carapace 5.78 long, 5.18 wide; 3.37 long
chelicerae; abdomen 10.42 long, 6.43 wide.
Spinnerets: PMS, 0.49 long, 0.18 wide, 0.22 apart; PLS, 0.73 basal, 0.39
middle, 0.24 distal; midwidths 0.98, 0.75, 0.54 respectively;
0.89 total length. Morphometry of legs
and palp given in Table 5.
Colour in
alcohol: Carapace, chelicerae, reddish-brown.
Legs and palp yellowish-brown, lighter below. Abdomen dorsally grayish-brown,
ventrally yellowish. Spinnerets
yellowish-brown.
Carapace
(Fig. 39): Glabrous, broader anteriorly
(widest between legs II) and gradually narrowing posteriorly, striae prominent.
Fovea, procurved, deep; caput raised.
Bristles: two long and two short on caput; one long between AME-AME; one
long, four short between PME-PME; one long between ALE-ALE. Few short hairs on posterior and anterior
margins.
Eyes (Figs
39–40): Eight in three rows, ALE situated far from AME on clypeal edge;
posterior row procurved. Ocular group
1.41 long, 1.26 wide; MOA square, 0.64 wide, 0.64 long. Diameter AME 0.25, PME 0.13, ALE 0.30, PLE
0.38; distance between ALE-AME 0.30, AME-AME 0.05, PLE-PME 0.04, PME-PME 0.16,
ALE-PLE 0.40, ALE-ALE adjacent.
Maxillae
(Fig. 41): 1.77 long anteriorly, 2.19 long posteriorly, 1.27 wide; 56
cuspules; anterior lobe distinct, anterior margin straight, posterior margin
obscure.
Labium
(Fig. 41): 0.87 long, 1.09 wide, labiosternal groove
shallow, slightly procurved with six cuspules anteriorly in two rows.
Chelicerae
(Fig. 42): Five large, two small teeth on promargin
and six teeth on retromargin; depression on retrolateral face where fang touches chelicerae; rastellum strong, raised on high triangular mound, with 16
thick, short spines, surrounded by many normal long spines; two glabrous bands for length of dorsal surface of chelicerae.
Sternum
(Fig. 41): 3.92 long, 2.84 wide, broader between posterior coxae;
yellowish-brown, elevated in centre, sloping laterally, covered with long black
bristles; row of long bristles on margins, posterior angle acute.
Sigilla (Fig. 41): Posterior sigilla absent; median pair 0.11 diameter, 1.96 apart, 0.10
from margin and anterior pair round, marginal.
Legs:
Femora and tibiae III wider than others; all metatarsi longer than respective
tarsi. Tarsi of palp and mt-ta I-II dorsoventrally flattened, other legs
normal. Legs covered with few scattered
hair, bristles; curved thick thorn-like spines only on palp and legs I-II. Two conspicuous glabrous
bands for length of femora, patellae and tibiae. Scopula
absent on tarsi of all legs and palp.
Leg formula 4132 (Table 5).
Spines: More on promarginal
and retromarginal sides of legs
and palp. I: ti, p=19, d=8, r=26; mt, p=17,
r=20; ta, p=8, r=7. II: ti, p=12, r=14, d=11; mt, p=16, r=13; ta, p=7, r=5, v=1. III: pa, p=11, r=3; ti, p=r=6; mt, p=r=7, v=6; ta,
p=5, r=6. IV: pa, p=17; mt, p=2, v=6; ta, p=8, v=4,
r=1. Palp: fe, p=1; pa, p=1; ti,
p=24, r=25; ta, p=23, r=26, v=2.
Trichobothria: Clavate absent; ta I, 16 long filiform; ta
II, 16 long filiform; ta III, 20 long filiform; ta IV, 12 long filiform and
16-20 long filiform in two rows in distal half on palp ta. Ta I-III filiform in inverted ‘V’ shape two
rows in basal three fourth. Mt I, 8 long
filiform in distal fourth; mt II–IV, 10 long filiform
in distal fourth.
Leg coxae:
Yellowish-brown, covered with short and long black bristles. Coxa III with glabrous
patch in distal three fourth, rest area sparsely covered with long bristles;
coxa IV clearly broader than others, anterior edge curved, ventrally, broad patch
of thorn-like spinules in distal 3/4th, others covered with long bristles.
Claws: All
legs with paired and unpaired claws.
Both (paired as well as unpaired) claws on leg IV prominent and larger
than on other legs. Paired claws with
two unequal size teeth on legs I– IV; bifid tooth on palp. False claw tufts on each side of paired
claws.
Abdomen
(Fig. 39): Oval, uniformly covered with short and long black hairs. Dorsum with few mottled with yellow spots in
radiating pattern, cuticle appears leathery and slightly rough.
Spinnerets
(Fig. 43): PMS digitiform covered with brown hair; PLS covered with brown hair,
apical segment domed.
Spermathecae
(Fig. 44): Type I spermathecae. Two
receptacles, each receptacles posteriorly opening into wide sclerotized
slit-like opening, receptacles and slit opening covered with partially
sclerotized membrane, attached posteriorly with epigastral
screotized region; each receptable
wider at base, transparent (except lobes), gradually narrowing down, midway screotized and leading to lobes. Each receptacle covered
with pores in distal half.
Variation female
(WILD-10-ARA-859)
Total
length 14.62; carapace: 5.87 long, 5.10 wide; Labium: 0.99 long, 1.07 wide;
cuspules 7. Maxillae: 1.72 long in
front, 2.21 long in back, 1.31 wide; cuspules 60. Sternum: 3.59 long, 2.98
wide. Abdomen: 8.75 long, 6.07 wide.
Spinnerets: PLS, 0.72 basal, 0.33 middle, 0.22 apical; midwidths,
0.72, 0.33, 0.22 respectively; 1.27 total length; PMS, 0.48 long, 0.22 wide; distance between
PMS–PMS, 0.19. Morphometry of legs and
palp given in Table 5.
Diagnosis
The male
of Idiops vankhede
sp. nov. closely resemble those of I. bombayensis Siliwal et al.,
2005, I. constructor (Pocock, 1900), and I. mettupalayam Ganeshkumar
& Siliwal, 2013 in having a triangular spine on
tibial spur of leg I but can be distinguished from those of other Idiops species by having prolateral metatarsi I
normal without any excavation, see Fig. 31 (like I. joida
Gupta et al., 2013 and I. pylorus Schwendinger,
1991) and slightly bent at base, see Fig. 31 (in I. joida
slender; in I. pylorus bent in basal 1/3rd); the male
differs from that of I. joida by
leg formula 1423 (leg formula in I. joida
is 4123). Females of Idiops
vankhede sp. nov.
resemble those of I. joida, I. constructor,
I. fortis, and I. oriya in having a band of spinules
on coxae IV and with I. joida by having
tibia III distinctly longer than wide but differing from the rest of the
species by the subequal legs II and III (in I. joida
leg III longer than leg II; I. constructor and I. fortis, leg I and leg IV subsequal
in length and tibia III is as long as wide; I. oriya,
tibia III slightly longer than wide and leg II is longer than leg III).
Etymology
The species
epithet is treated as a noun in apposition, named in honour of the Indian
arachnologist, Dr. Ganesh Vankhede
for his efforts to popularize Indian arachnology.
Natural
history
The Siddheshwar Van Vihar, Solapur
consists of grassland mixed with thorn forest (Type 6, subgroup 6A/C1)
(Champion & Seth 1968). Both sexes
were collected from their trap-door burrows made verticle
on ground consisting of soft, dark brown laterite soil covered with a fine
layer of humus under shrubs and trees.
Burrows were like typical Indian idiopid group: burrow’s entrance had
D-shaped lid/door attached on the side of burrow. Burrow diameters ranged from 16 to 18 mm and
depth of the burrows ranged from 105 to 110 mm.
The lids of the trap-door burrows were thick (2mm), cork-like and, as
spiders were found during the dry season, they had extra silk lining extensions
below the lid inside the burrow.
Table 1. Morphometry of legs and palp of Heligmomerus wii
sp. nov. from Dehradun, Uttarakhand, holotype (HT;
WILD-16-ARA-1302) and paratype (PT; WILD-16-ARA-1304).
|
|
LEG I |
LEG II |
LEG III |
LEG IV |
PALP |
|||||
|
|
HT |
PT |
HT |
PT |
HT |
PT |
HT |
PT |
HT |
PT |
|
Femur |
5.74 |
5.15 |
4.54 |
4.08 |
3.56 |
3.14 |
5.32 |
4.56 |
3.6 |
3.05 |
|
Patella |
2.98 |
2.54 |
2.34 |
2.08 |
2.29 |
2.08 |
2.72 |
2.33 |
1.69 |
1.65 |
|
Tibia |
3.89 |
3.32 |
3.18 |
2.62 |
1.77 |
1.81 |
4.22 |
3.69 |
3.19 |
2.96 |
|
Metatarsus |
4.11 |
3.67 |
3.5 |
3.02 |
3.57 |
3.18 |
4.74 |
4.05 |
|
|
|
Tarsus |
1.54 |
1.49 |
1.6 |
1.52 |
1.8 |
1.93 |
2.77 |
2.21 |
1.46 |
1.21 |
|
Total |
18.26 |
16.17 |
15.16 |
13.32 |
12.99 |
12.14 |
19.77 |
16.84 |
9.94 |
8.87 |
|
Midwidth |
||||||||||
|
Femur |
1.06 |
0.95 |
1.04 |
0.84 |
1.48 |
1.14 |
1.1 |
0.97 |
0.67 |
0.54 |
|
Tibia |
1.27 |
1.19 |
0.86 |
0.79 |
0.97 |
0.88 |
0.97 |
0.85 |
1.29 |
1.22 |
Table 2. Morphometry of legs and palp of Idiops bonny sp. nov.
from Vansda NP, Gujarat, holotype (HT;
WILD-15-ARA-1285) and paratype (PT; WILD-15-ARA-1286).
|
|
LEG I |
LEG II |
LEG III |
LEG IV |
PALP |
|||||
|
|
HT |
PT |
HT |
PT |
HT |
PT |
HT |
PT |
HT |
PT |
|
Femur |
8.04 |
8.19 |
7.09 |
7.65 |
6.17 |
5.78 |
8.58 |
8.55 |
6.81 |
6.84 |
|
Patella |
4.99 |
5.09 |
4.78 |
4.66 |
4.99 |
5.1 |
5.72 |
5.87 |
4.46 |
4.37 |
|
Tibia |
4.73 |
4.85 |
4.19 |
4.28 |
3.26 |
3.44 |
6.11 |
6.13 |
4.41 |
4.43 |
|
Metatarsus |
3.95 |
3.76 |
3.64 |
3.41 |
4.39 |
4.65 |
5.81 |
5.79 |
|
|
|
Tarsus |
2.26 |
2.27 |
2.12 |
2.29 |
3.21 |
3.48 |
3.25 |
3.49 |
4.86 |
4.83 |
|
Total |
23.97 |
24.16 |
21.82 |
22.29 |
22.02 |
22.45 |
29.47 |
29.83 |
20.54 |
20.47 |
|
Midwidth |
||||||||||
|
Femur |
2.04 |
2.03 |
1.93 |
2.05 |
2.67 |
2.71 |
2.28 |
2.21 |
1.53 |
1.68 |
|
Tibia |
2.34 |
2.33 |
2.16 |
2.11 |
2.32 |
2.39 |
2.12 |
2.21 |
2.08 |
2.15 |
Table 3. Morphometry of legs and
palp of Idiops reshma
sp. nov. from Dangs
Gujarat, holotype (HT; WILD-15-ARA-1288) and paratype (PT; WILD-15-ARA-1289).
|
|
LEG I |
LEG II |
LEG III |
LEG IV |
PALP |
|||||
|
|
HT |
PT |
HT |
PT |
HT |
PT |
HT |
PT |
HT |
PT |
|
Femur |
3 |
2.15 |
2.6 |
2.3 |
2.42 |
2.15 |
3.27 |
2.36 |
2.88 |
2.3 |
|
Patella |
2.08 |
1.44 |
1.61 |
1.06 |
1.77 |
1.26 |
2.43 |
2.03 |
1.91 |
1.63 |
|
Tibia |
2.19 |
1.76 |
1.58 |
1.45 |
1.25 |
1.07 |
2.48 |
2.26 |
2.05 |
1.7 |
|
Metatarsus |
1.51 |
1.06 |
1.3 |
1.18 |
1.63 |
1.47 |
2.65 |
1.96 |
- |
- |
|
Tarsus |
1.25 |
0.82 |
1.07 |
0.76 |
1.24 |
0.94 |
1.67 |
1.07 |
2.24 |
1.78 |
|
Total |
10.03 |
7.23 |
8.16 |
6.75 |
8.31 |
6.89 |
12.5 |
9.68 |
9.08 |
7.41 |
|
Midwidth |
||||||||||
|
Femur |
0.77 |
0.87 |
0.74 |
0.75 |
1.22 |
1.25 |
0.98 |
1.35 |
0.64 |
0.80 |
|
Tibia |
0.94 |
0.9 |
0.79 |
0.72 |
0.98 |
0.96 |
0.84 |
0.88 |
0.87 |
0.98 |
Table 4. Morphometry of legs and
palp of Idiops sally sp. nov. from Dangs, Gujarat,
holotype (WILD-15-ARA-1287).
|
|
LEG I |
LEG II |
LEG III |
LEG IV |
PALP |
|
Femur |
4.78 |
3.66 |
3.25 |
4.39 |
3.84 |
|
Patella |
3.17 |
2.59 |
2.74 |
3.36 |
2.88 |
|
Tibia |
2.99 |
2.31 |
1.97 |
3.59 |
3.01 |
|
Metatarsus |
2.1 |
1.9 |
2.22 |
3.71 |
|
|
Tarsus |
1.39 |
1.29 |
1.7 |
2.01 |
3 |
|
Total |
14.43 |
11.75 |
11.88 |
17.06 |
12.73 |
|
Midwidth |
|||||
|
Femur |
1.1 |
1.15 |
1.73 |
1.42 |
0.91 |
|
Tibia |
1.49 |
1.12 |
1.49 |
1.37 |
1.44 |
Table 5. Morphometry of legs and
palp of Idiops vankhede
sp. nov. from Solapur, Maharashtra, holotype (HT;
WILD-10-ARA-821) and paratypes (PT*; WILD-10-ARA-871*, PT; WILD-10-ARA-859).
|
|
LEG I |
LEG II |
LEG III |
LEG IV |
PALP |
||||||||||
|
|
HT |
PT* |
PT |
HT |
PT* |
PT |
HT |
PT* |
PT |
HT |
PT* |
PT |
HT |
PT* |
PT |
|
Femur |
6.53 |
3.43 |
3.72 |
5.39 |
3 |
3.25 |
3.74 |
2.67 |
2.83 |
5.56 |
3.67 |
3.79 |
2.8 |
2.9 |
3.25 |
|
Patella |
3.09 |
2.36 |
2.35 |
2.31 |
2.04 |
2.03 |
2.18 |
2.09 |
2.36 |
2.47 |
2.69 |
2.7 |
1.6 |
2.06 |
2.05 |
|
Tibia |
4.41 |
2.2 |
2.18 |
3.68 |
1.66 |
1.84 |
2.18 |
1.44 |
1.32 |
4.5 |
2.82 |
2.79 |
3 |
2.19 |
2.24 |
|
Metatarsus |
5.23 |
1.94 |
1.81 |
4.56 |
1.66 |
1.67 |
4.55 |
2.01 |
1.95 |
5.28 |
2.83 |
2.71 |
|
|
|
|
Tarsus |
2.79 |
0.73 |
1.1 |
2.12 |
0.73 |
1.1 |
2.04 |
0.94 |
1.36 |
2.54 |
1.2 |
1.79 |
1.37 |
1.98 |
2.45 |
|
Total |
22.05 |
10.66 |
11.16 |
18.06 |
9.09 |
9.89 |
14.69 |
9.15 |
9.82 |
20.35 |
13.21 |
13.78 |
8.77 |
9.13 |
9.99 |
|
Midwidth |
|||||||||||||||
|
Femur |
0.98 |
0.89 |
0.85 |
0.77 |
0.81 |
0.9 |
1.26 |
1.53 |
1.57 |
1.12 |
1.33 |
1.07 |
0.55 |
0.63 |
0.81 |
|
Tibia |
0.9 |
1 |
1.11 |
0.56 |
0.95 |
0.88 |
0.74 |
1.1 |
1.06 |
0.7 |
1.01 |
1.05 |
1.43 |
1.03 |
1.06 |
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