Rachid Ababou

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Publication Date

March 2014

Abstract

Authors: Yucheng Lin 1,†, Shuqiang Li 2,‡1 Key Laboratory of Bio-resources and Eco-environment (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, China 2 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China † http://zoobank.org/A514B4E7-2F9F-42B5-82E9-60713ACE9943 ‡ http://zoobank.org/0968F85E-881F-43FD-8E6A-BE570F9E334F AbstractA new genus and five new species belonging to the family Tetrablemmidae are described from caves in Southwest China, i.e., Sinammaoxycera gen. sp. n., Singaporemma banxiaoensis sp. n., Singaporemma wulongensis sp. n., Tetrablemma ziyaoensis sp. n. andTetrablemma menglaensis sp. n. The following new combination is proposed: Sinamma sanya (Lin Li, 2010), comb. n. ex. Shearella Lehtinen, 1981. The relationships of the Sinamma gen. n. with other genera are discussed. Diagnoses and illustrations for all new taxa are given. KeywordsTaxonomy, haplogyne spiders, new species, diagnosis, distribution IntroductionTetrablemmids are medium-sized (Pacullinae) to small (Tetrablemminae) haplogyne spiders, characterized by a complex pattern of abdominal scuta (Shear 1978; Lehtinen 1981; Jocqué and Dippenaar-Schoeman 2006). They are mainly distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions where they are found in leaf litter, soil, and in caves (Burger et al. 2010). This family has been revised by Lehtinen (1981). Burger et al. (2006) and Burger (2008) studied the functional morphology of the genitalia of the family Tetrablemmidae. A total of 144 species belonging to 30 genera of the family Tetrablemmidae have been described (Platnick 2014). Chinese tetrablemmids have been studied recently. Five species belonging to four genera from Hainan Province were reported by Tong and Li (2008). Lian (2009) reported one species of the genus Perania Thorell, 1890 from Yunnan Province. Lin and Li (2010) described five more species (two from rainforest habitats in Hainan and three from caves in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau). In total, 11 species belonging to eight genera have been reported from China (cf. Platnick 2014). In the period of October 2010 to August 2011 we found several new and interesting species of the family Tetrablemmidae from Southwest China and in this paper we now describe five new tetrablemmid taxa. Material and methodsSpecimens were examined and measured under an Olympus SZX7 stereomicroscope. Further details were studied under an Olympus BX43 compound microscope. All drawings were made using a drawing tube attached to an Olympus BX43 compound microscope, and then hand inked on ink jet plotter paper. Photographs were taken with a Canon EOS 60D wide zoom digital camera (8.5 megapixels). The images were combined using Helicon Focus 3.10 software. Male palp and female genitalia were examined and illustrated after they were dissected and detached from the spiders' bodies. Vulvae were removed and treated in KOH solution before examination and illustration. To reveal the course of the sperm duct, the bulbs were treated in lactic acid and mounted in Hoyer's Solution before examination and illustration. Left palp is illustrated unless missing, in which case the right palp is illustrated. All measurements are provided in millimeters. Height of carapace is measured with tubercle. Leg measurements are given as total length (femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus). The terminology mostly follows Lehtinen (1981) and Burger (2008). The abbreviations used in figures as follows: CP - central process; EP - epigynal pit; EF - epigynal fold; IVP - inner vulval plate; LH - lateral horn; PA - preanal scutum; PEG - perigenital scutum; POG - postepigastral scutum; SR - seminal receptaculum; VD - vulval duct; VS - vulval stem. All specimens are acquired from caves by manual collection and preserved in 85% ethanol solution. All specimens are deposited in the Sichuan University Museum (SCUM) in Chengdu and in the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IZCAS) in Beijing. TaxonomySinamma Lin Li, gen. n. http://zoobank.org/01376E2E-D204-4B55-8597-BD18F5AF0223 http://species-id.net/wiki/Sinamma Type speciesSinamma oxycera sp. n. from cave of Guangxi, China. EtymologyThe generic name derives from the Latin word "sina" and "-mma" as a suffix of the genus Tetrablemma. The gender is feminine, with sina meaning China. DiagnosisSinamma gen. n. differs from all known genera of Tetrablemminae by the presence of a tubercle on the male carapace (Figs 1G, 1E; Lin and Li 2010: 24, figs 19, 20) and sometimes in females (Figs 1H, 1F; Lin and Li 2010: 25, figs 25, 26), the strongly modified male leg I (Figs 2C-E; Lin and Li 2010: 24, fig. 22), and by the exceptionally narrow postepigastral scutum in the both sexes (Figs 1B, 1D, 3A-C, 19B; Lin and Li 2010: 25, figs 27-28). DescriptionSmall (1.2-1.6), six eyes compact in a group, male carapace usually with cephalic tubercle (present or absent in female). Male leg I robust, with tubercles at tibia and metatarsus. Cheliceral horn present (absent in female), much longer than in Brignoliella Shear, 1978 or Shearella Lehtinen, 1981, but shorter than in Tetrablemma O. P.-Cambridge, 1873 and Gunasekara Lehtinen, 1981. Abdomen oval, lateral scuta II-IV wide in both sexes. Bulb long pyriform, embolus simple, needle-shaped; epigynal fold narrow; postepigastral scutum exceptionally narrow; central process absent, inner vulval plate well developed, vulval stem transverse. RemarksThe new genus Sinamma gen. n. contains two species and belongs to the subfamily Tetrablemminae. Sinamma gen. n. is similar to Shearella by the conical cheliceral horn and the pyriform bulb in the males, and is also similar to Gunasekara in having strongly modified leg I in the males. However, it can be distinguished from both Shearella and Gunasekara by the carapace having cephalic tubercle in male (sometimes in female also, e.g. Sinamma oxycera sp. n. and Shearella sanya Lin Li, 2010), the presence of a distinct inner vulval plate in the female, and by the exceptionally narrow postepigastral scutum. The only oriental genus, Singalangia Lehtinen, 1981, for which the male is not yet known, has entirely different ocular pattern and vulval structures compared with those of Sinamma gen. n. In summary, Sinamma oxycera sp. n. and Shearella sanya Lin Li share the following synapomorphies: an obvious cephalic tubercle, a strongly modified leg I in the male, and an exceptionally narrow postepigastral scutum in the female. These features distinguish them from other tetrablemmids. The new genus Sinamma is therefore proposed to accommodate these two oriental species, Sinamma oxycera sp. n. and Sinamma sanya (Lin Li, 2010), comb. n., previously considered in Shearella. CompositionSinamma oxycera sp. n. and Sinamma sanya (Lin Li, 2010). DistributionChina (Guangxi, Hainan). Sinamma oxycera sp. n. http://zoobank.org/104113CB-D708-415B-BD6F-1BBE847F6AFA http://species-id.net/wiki/Sinamma_oxycera Figs 1-3, 16A-B, 19B, 22 MaterialHolotype ♂ and paratypes 2♀ (IZCAS), CHINA, Guangxi: Chongzuo City, Longzhou County, Shanglong Town, Xinlian Village, Gengyitun, Longmolai Cave, 22°29.809'N, 106°54.103'E, elevation ca. 224 m, 24 July 2011, Xiaoxiao Wang leg. See attached pdf or Additional digital versions link for full details. Open Access See Extended description for more information.

Keywords

Banxiao Cave (Guangxi, China), Longmolai Cave (Guangxi, China), Xiaodong Cave (Guangxi, China), Yeniu #2 (Yunnan, China), Yinhe Cave (Guangxi, China), China, Cave Ecology

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Text

Language

English

Identifier

K26-02236

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