Mysmenopsis otonga Dupérré & Tapia, 2015, new species
Creators: name: Dupérré, Nadine
name: Tapia, Elicio
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Mysmenidae
Mysmenopsis
Mysmenopsis otonga

description: Mysmenopsis otonga new species
Figs. 8–12
Material examined. Male holotype from Ecuador, Cotopaxi Province, Otonga Biological Reserve (00.42261°S 79.5107°W), 2225m, hand collected in Linothele pukachumpi web, 04–09.ix.2014, N. Dupérré & E. Tapia (QCAZ). Female paratype, same data.
Additional material examined. Ecuador: Cotopaxi Province: Otonga Biological Reserve (00.42261°S 79.5107°W), 2225m, hand collected in diplurid webs, 04–09. ix.2014, 1 ♂1♀, N. Dupérré & E. Tapia (MECN); night collecting 24–30. v.2014, 1 ♂1♀, N. Dupérré & E. Tapia (QCAZ); Otonga Biological Reserve (00.41994°S 79.00623°W) hand collecting in diplurids webs, 13.x.2014, 2♂ 2♀, N. Dupérré & E. Tapia (AMNH); 6♂ 11♀, N. Dupérré & E. Tapia (DTC).
Etymology. The specific name is a noun in apposition taken from the type locality, Otonga Biological Reserve.
Diagnosis. Males are distinguished from all species, by their wide retrolateral palpal tibia projection bearing fifteen cusps (Fig. 9). Females are diagnosed by the rounded dorsal plate of the epigynum (Fig. 12).
Description. Male: Total length: 1.6; carapace length: 0.7; carapace width: 0.8; abdomen length: 0.9. Cephalothorax: Carapace dark brown, pear-shaped; suffused with black along pars cephalica and radiating lines. Sternum dark brown, suffused with black; as long as wide; densely covered with long setae. Clypeus dark brown; high (4x AME). Chelicerae dark brown; promargin with three teeth and ~10 denticles; retromargin with one tooth. Eyes: eight, rounded, all approximately equal in size; ocular region on protuberance; AME separated by half their diameter, AME-LE slightly separated; ALE-PLE contiguous, LE-PME separated by their diameter; PME separated by half their diameter. Abdomen: Rounded, dark gray, with dark gray pattern and white patches (Fig. 8). Legs: Yellow-brown with black markings; coxae I–III yellow-brown, coxae IV yellow-brown with black spot. Leg I: Femur brown, enlarged, tibia yellow-brown, tarsus light yellow. Leg II–IV: femora with proximal, median and distal black rings, tibiae with medial and distal black ring, metatarsi with distal black ring; tarsi light yellow. Legs spination: Patellae I–IV with macroseta dorso-distally; tibia I with two prolateral clasping spurs and one macroseta; metatarsus I curved, row of eight large macrosetae prolateral-ventral and two spurs apically; tibiae I–IV with one macroseta dorso-proximally; tibia II with four macrosetae ventrally. Genitalia: Palpal tibia globular; retrolateral ledge with wide projection bearing fifteen cusps; ventral projection with two cusps; two retrolateral trichobothria (Fig. 9). Cymbium pointed apically, tip rounded, with bilobed paracymbium (Fig. 10). Tegulum globular (Fig. 9). Embolus L-shaped, wider at base; embolic base apophysis lamelliform, large and twisted (Fig. 9).
Female: Total length: 1.9; carapace length: 0.8; carapace width: 0.8; abdomen length: 1.1. Cephalothorax: Carapace and sternum as in male. Clypeus dark brown; high (3x AME). Chelicerae dark brown, promargin with three teeth and ~10 denticles; retromargin without teeth. Eyes: As in male; ocular region on lower protuberance. Abdomen: As in male. Legs: Coloration as in male; femur I enlarged with ventral distal tubercle. Legs spination: As in male. Genitalia: Epigynum protruding, anterior epigynal margin rounded, posterior epigynal margin lobed (Fig. 11). Dorsal epigynal plate with rounded ventral margin (Fig. 12). Internal genitalia with large oval spermathecae; copulatory ducts not observed; fertilization ducts small, situated medio-apically (Fig. 12).
Distribution. Ecuador, Cotopaxi Province.
Natural history. Specimens of M. otonga were only collected in the web of Linothele pukachumpi in a virgin cloud forest at 2225m. Notably, a large number of individuals were found together; up to 17 specimens were collected in a single web.
description: Published as part of Dupérré, Nadine & Tapia, Elicio, 2015, Descriptions of four kleptoparasitic spiders of the genus Mysmenopsis (Araneae, Mysmenidae) and their potential host spider species in the genus Linothele (Araneae, Dipluridae) from Ecuador, pp. 343-368 in Zootaxa 3972 (3) on page 348, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3972.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/234934