Steriphopus wangala Kadam, Tripathi & Sankaran 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Sankaran, Pradeep M.
name: Tripathi, Rishikesh
name: Kadam, Gautam
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Palpimanidae
Steriphopus
Steriphopus wangala

description: Steriphopus wangala Kadam, Tripathi & Sankaran sp. nov.
Figs 1–2
Type material. Holotype ♀ (ZSI / WGRC /I. R.INV.26757) from INDIA: Meghalaya: Baladinggre, West Garo Hills (25°30’28.0”N 90°17’55.5”E; 1056 m a.s.l.), from ground, by hand, 13.IV.2022, leg. G. Kadam.
Etymology. The specific epithet is a noun in apposition, referring to the harvest festival known as ‘the 100 drums festival’ among the Garo community of Meghalaya. This festival is held in honour of Saljong, the Sun-God of fertility, marking the end of a period of toil, and indicating the beginning of the winter season.
Diagnosis. The female of S. wangala sp. nov. is most similar to those of S. benjamini Zonstein & Marusik, 2023, the only known Indian congener, as both have well developed median, unpaired scutum, and long connective stalks of grape-shaped glands with single loop, but it can be distinguished by closely spaced dot-like scuta (vs. widely spaced), presence of stripe-like lateral scuta (vs. absent), and medially placed and closely spaced anterior globular parts of receptacles (vs. basolaterally placed and widely spaced) (cf. Figs 1F–H, 2A–B and Zonstein & Marusik, 2023: figs 17, 21).
Description. Female (holotype). Habitus and somatic structures as in Fig. 1A–E. Carapace, clypeus, sternum, mouthparts and legs scarlet red, with orange shades on legs II–IV and spinnerets; opisthosoma creamy white. Cheliceral furrow with 8–10 peg teeth; promargin lacks true tooth, retromargin with two (Fig. 1E, arrows). Opisthosoma ovate (Fig. 1A, C); epigastric scutum nearly circular (Fig. 1B); venter with seven thin scuta lying near epigastric scutum, one pair of lateral, one pair of stripe-like and one pair of dot-like lateral, and one patch-like median, unpaired and posteriorly with pair of dot-like scuta on both sides of tracheal spiracle (Fig. 1B). Body length 7.36. Carapace 2.66 long, 2.09 wide. Opisthosoma 4.69 long, 3.08 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: ALE 0.07, AME 0.13, PLE 0.08, PME 0.08; AME–ALE 0.14, AME–AME 0.12, AME–PME 0.10, PME–PLE 0.19, PME–PME 0.18. Clypeus height at ALEs 0.48, at AMEs 0.47. Chelicerae 1.06 long. Measurements of palp and legs: palp 1.61 [0.50, 0.19, 0.38, 0.54], I 6.42 [2.02, 1.63, 1.31, 0.70, 0.76], II 5.88 [1.75, 0.89, 1.62, 0.93, 0.69], III 5.00 [1.63, 0.69, 1.15, 1.05, 0.48], IV 8.38 [2.24, 0.94, 1.73, 1.78, 1.69].
Copulatory organs as in Figs 1F–H, 2A–B. Epigastric scutum moderately sclerotised, with internally thick posterior edge having median concavity (Figs 1F–G, 2A). Median transverse plate (MTP) of epigastric scutum sclerotised, remained internal to epigastric scutum (Fig. 2B). Receptacles (Re) long, sclerotised, spiralled remained contiguous posteriorly, whereas medially placed blunt anterior parts lying close to each other, but not contiguous (Figs 1H, 2B). Grape-shaped glands (GG) lying adjacent to anterior parts, with long thread-like twisted connective stalks (Figs 1H, 2B).
Male. Unknown.
Distribution. Known only from the type locality.
Note. With the description of this species, the known palpimanid fauna in India is increased from seven to eight species belonging to four genera (Tripathi et al. 2023; Zonstein & Marusik 2023).
description: Published as part of Sankaran, Pradeep M., Tripathi, Rishikesh & Kadam, Gautam, 2024, A new species of Steriphopus Simon, 1887 from India (Araneae: Palpimanidae, Chediminae), with the proposal of a new combination, pp. 97-100 in Zootaxa 5474 (1) on pages 97-98, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5474.1.10, http://zenodo.org/record/12526826