Martensopoda transversa Jager 2006
Creators: name: Sankaran, Pradeep M.
name: Malamel, Jobi J.
name: Joseph, Mathew M.
name: Sebastian, Pothalil A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Sparassidae
Martensopoda
Martensopoda transversa

description: Martensopoda transversa Jäger, 2006
(Figs 7A–D, 8A–B)
Martensopoda transversa Jäger, 2006: 338, figs 1–12, 26–28 (Description and illustration of male and female).
Material examined. INDIA: Kerala: 1 female (with left leg II missing), Idukki, near Kuyilimalai Hills in Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary, 9o50'46.91''N, 76o56'16.72''E, 825 m, 23 December 2012, M.J. Mathew leg. by hand (ADSH 920134C).
Diagnosis. Females of M. transversa are similar to those of M. sanctor sp. nov., but can be separated (also from M. minuscula) by the roundish epigynal field (both M. sanctor sp. nov. and M. minuscula with oval epigynal field), a distinct anterior pit of the median septum (indistinct in both M. sanctor sp. nov. and M. minuscula) and the anterior 2/3rd of median part of the internal duct, which forms a flattened, longitudinal plate (in both M. sanctor sp. nov. and M. minuscula, it appears as paired tubes).
Redescription. Female: Prosoma uniformly yellowish-brown with dark, faint markings (Figs 7A–B). Eye field yellowish-brown, hirsute; eyes with distinct dark patches. Clypeus, chelicerae, maxillae, labium, sternum yellowish-brown. Cheliceral promargin with 3 teeth, retromargin with 4 teeth; promargin provided with a row of long, curved hairs. Fang furrows provided proximally with a few denticles. Maxillae with reduced scopulae. Sternum without markings. Opisthosoma elongated, hirsute; dorsum and laterals blackish-brown, venter yellowishbrown. Leg segments yellowish-brown with inconspicuous dark brown patches; all trochanters notched; metatarsus IV less scopulated; all other metatarsi and all tarsi with well developed scopulae. Spinnerets yellowish-orange. Palpal segments yellowish-brown. Body length 9.47. Prosoma length 4.34, width 4.22. Opisthosoma length 5.13, width 2.65. Eye diameters: AME 0.17. ALE 0.29. PME 0.19. PLE 0.34. Eye interdistances: AME–AME 0.12. AME–ALE 0.08. AME–PME 0.22. ALE–PLE 0.29. PME–PME 0.27. PME–PLE 0.33. Clypeus height at AME 0.23, at ALE 0.21. Chelicera length 1.75. Measurements of palp and legs: Palp 5.28 [1.51, 0.97, 1.09, 1.71], I 13.03 [3.93, 1.86, 3.20, 2.94, 1.10], II (right leg) 15.16 [4.46, 2.12, 3.81, 3.56, 1.21], III 12.66 [3.95, 1.70, 3.06, 2.96, 0.99], IV 13.57 [4.08, 1.54, 3.23, 3.52, 1.20]. Leg formula 2413. Copulatory organ (Figs 8A–B): Epigynal field roundish (Figs 7C, 8A). Median septum narrower distally, with a triangular posterior pit (Figs 7C, 8A). Rims around copulatory openings forming a small circle (Figs 7C, 8A). Lateral loops of internal duct system extending posteriorly not to receptacula (Figs 7D, 8B). Anterior 2/3rd of median part of the internal duct system fused to become a broad, longitudinal plate (Figs 7D, 8B).
Natural history. Female of M. transversa was collected from leaf litter in a moist-deciduous forest floor.
Distribution. Known only from southern India (Kerala) (Fig 9).
description: Published as part of Sankaran, Pradeep M., Malamel, Jobi J., Joseph, Mathew M. & Sebastian, Pothalil A., 2015, An updated review of the genus Martensopoda Jäger, 2006 (Araneae: Sparassidae: Heteropodinae), pp. 577-590 in Zootaxa 3937 (3) on pages 586-587, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3937.3.9, http://zenodo.org/record/232869