Paratropis esmeraldas Dupérré & Tapia, 2024, new species
Creators: name: Dupérré, Nadine
name: Tapia, Elicio
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Paratropididae
Paratropis
Paratropis esmeraldas

description: Paratropis esmeraldas new species
Figs 1–5, 29A, Map 1
Type material. Female holotype from Esmeraldas province, Muisne (00°37’10’’N 80°00’30’’W) [–00.607172° –79.995000°] 6 m, 20 Dec. 1998, J. Borja, ECFN 7231 (QCAZ). Paratype: 1 ♂, same data as holotype, ECFN 7230 (QCAZ).
Etymology. The specific epithet is a noun in apposition taken from the Province, Esmeraldas where the type specimen was collected.
Diagnosis. Females and males most resemble those of P. pukallucha sp. nov. and P. kapak sp. nov. but are distinguished from the latter by the female spermathecae heads not being constricted basally, stalks wider apically than basally (Fig. 2C) and third smaller carapace length (8.62); while in P. pukallucha sp. nov. the spermathecae heads are constricted, stalks wider basally than apically (Fig. 8C–E), and are larger in size (x 9.30, n = 3) and in P. kapak sp. nov. the spermathecae heads are constricted and stalks are wider medially (Fig. 13C–E). Males are distinguished by their deeply notched carapace margin (Fig. 4A), subtegulum without notch and, smoothly curving embolus tip (Fig. 5D) and smaller carapace size (5.59), while in P. pukallucha sp. nov. the carapace margin is straight (Fig. 10A), embolus tip straight (Fig. 11B, E), and males are of larger size (x 7.80, n = 3) and in P. kapak sp. nov. the carapace margin is straight (Fig. 14A), the embolus tip is bent and the subtegulum with deep notch rounded (Fig. 15B, E).
Description. (Female holotype): Total length: 17.74; carapace length: 6.16; carapace width: 5.56; abdomen length: 8.62. Coloration in ethanol. CEPHALOTHORAX: Carapace orange, caput arched; fovea, procurved (Fig. 2A). Chelicerae dark red-orange; promargin 12 teeth, retromargin 16 teeth. Labium sub-rectangular, 102 cuspules anteriorly (Fig. 2B). Maxillae longer than wide, anterior prolateral lobe elongated, conical; 72 cuspules; externally with 27 spinules (Fig. 2B). Sternum oval 2.4 length, 3.12 width; three pairs of oval (Fig. 2B).
EYES: Eight eyes on tubercle, height 0.7 (Fig. 3A); AME: 0.24, ALE: 0.29, PLE: 0.26; PME: 0.12, PME–PME: 0.52. ABDOMEN: Dorsally dark gray, with light beige patches, lightly encrusted with soil (Fig. 1A, B). LEGS: Uniformly orange, lightly encrusted with soil particles. Macrosetae ventrally on tibia, metatarsi and tarsi III–IV. Spinules on leg I ventrally, tibia: 1–2ap; metatarsus: 24; tarsus: 20; (Fig. 3B); tarsal scopula absent. Trichobothria: palpal tarsus: 8; tarsus I: 9, II: 9, III: 8, IV: 9; metatarsus I: 5, II: 4, III: 4, IV: 5. Legs measurements: I 14.16 (4.43/ 1.90/3.68/2.62/1.53); II 11.70 (3.55/1.48/2.61/2.53/1.56); III 9.87 (2.68/1.29/2.04/2.35/1.51); IV 16.20 (4.47/1.54/ 4.06/3.93/2.20); leg formula 4123. Tarsus I third claw present; tarsi II–IV without third claw; all paired claws with one tooth. GENITALIA. Two long spermathecae (3.2x longer than wide); spermathecal heads with inconspicuous constriction; spermathecal head rounded, wider than long; stalks straight wider apically than basally (Fig. 2C).
Male (paratype ECFN 7231): Total length: 10.68; carapace length: 5.59; carapace width: 5.45; abdomen length: 5.09. CEPHALOTHORAX: Carapace reddish, caput arched; fovea, almost straight (Fig. 4A). Chelicerae reddish; promargin 12 teeth, retromargin 14 teeth. Labium sub-rectangular, 95 cuspules anteriorly (Fig. 4B). Maxillae longer than wide, anterior prolateral lobe elongated, conical; 58 cuspules (Fig. 4B). Sternum oval; three pairs of oval (Fig. 4B).
EYES: Eight eyes on tubercle; height 0.6; AME: 0.21; ALE: 0.22; PLE: 0.27; PME: 0.12; PME–PME: 0.51. ABDOMEN: Dorsally dark gray, with light beige patches, lightly encrusted with soil; dorsally with 6 transversal rows of spatulate setae; laterally dark gray with smaller spatulate setae, ventrally light beige without spatulate setae (Fig. 4A, B). LEGS: Uniformly orange, soil particles absent. Macrosetae ventrally on tibia, metatarsi and tarsi II–IV. Spinules on leg I ventrally, metatarsus: 7; tarsus: 1; tibia with low conical process (Fig. 29A); apical scopula on tarsi I–III. Trichobothria: palpal tib: drl 3, dpl 4; tarsus I: 9, II: 9, III: 7, IV: 9; metatarsus I: 4, II: 4, III: 4, IV: 5. Legs measurements: I 16.93 (5.27/2.02/3.64/4.07/1.93); II 14.77 (4.50/1.71/3.18/3.46/1.92); III 12.22 (2.90/1.71/2.81/3.02/1.78); IV 18.11 (5.43/1.80/4.14/4.56/2.18); leg formula 4123. Tarsus I third claw present; tarsi II–IV without third claw; all paired claws with one tooth. GENITALIA: Palpal: tibia 2.1 length, 0.87 width; bulb + embolus length 2.17, bulb 0.64 width. Subtegulum without notch in ventral view (Fig. 5D, N.B., the subtegulum was broken); bulb rounded; embolus curving smoothly; embolus tip curving smoothly (Fig. 5C–E).
Distribution. Know only from the type locality (Map 1).
Natural History. The type specimen was collected at 6 m in a low evergreen forest of the Chocó region (BsTc 01) (Morales & Guevara 2013).
description: Published as part of Dupérré, Nadine & Tapia, Elicio, 2024, Seven new species of the enigmatic spider genus Paratropis Simon, 1889 (Mygalomorphae, Paratropididae) from Ecuador, pp. 451-486 in Zootaxa 5519 (4) on pages 452-456, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5519.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/13916138