Arabelia pheidoleicomes Bosselaers, 2009, sp. n.
Creators: name: Bosselaers, Jan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Liocranidae
Arabelia
Arabelia pheidoleicomes

description: Arabelia pheidoleicomes sp. n.
Figs. 2 K; 7 A–G; 8 H; 9.
Type material. Holotype female, Greece, Rhodos, Laerma, under stone, with ants, 20 April 1987, C. & P. Deeleman leg [RMNH]. Paratypes. 1 ♀, same data as holotype [RMNH]; 10 ♀, Greece, Rhodos, between Agios Isodoros and Laerma, grassland, under stones in ant nests, 550 m, 8 March 1998, H. Henderickx leg. [CJB, 3 ♀ in RBINS].
Other material examined. 1 ♀, Cyprus, Polemi, N of Paphos, under stones, 700 m, 17 May 1985, P. Deeleman leg. [RMNH]; 1 ♀, Cyprus, Neo Chorio, in fields under stones, running with ants, 200 m, 20 March 1998 [CJM23283]; 1 ♀, Greece, Rhodos, Fourni Beach S of Monolithnos, under stones at beach, with ants, 12 May 2006 [CJVK 2632]; 1 ♀, Greece, Lesbos, Kalloni, N of Agra, under stones in dry grassland, 8 October 2007 [CJVK 2743]; 2 ♀, Lesbos, Megali Limni W, Steni Klidi, under stones in pine wood, with ants, 26 March 2008 [CJVK 2809]; 1 ♀ 2 juv., Lesbos, Mandamados, Klio-Sykaminia road, stones and litter in small pine wood, with ants, 6 October 2007 [CJVK 2736]; 1 ♀, Lesbos, Skala Sykoundas - Agios Dimitrios, along road in olive grove, under stones, 27 March 2008 [CJVK 2813]; 2 ♀, Lesbos, Sigri, Potamos Meladia, stones around rivulet, 30 March 2008 [CJVK 2825]; 1 ♀, Lesbos, Agiasos, pine wood near Megali Limni, under stones among ants, 325 m, N 39° 06' 18" E 26° 19' 49", 1 April 2008 [CJB]; 1 ♀, same data [CJVK 2833]; 2 ♀, Lesbos, Ambeliko, under stones in pine forest, 1 April 2008 [CJVK 2831]; 1 ♀, Lesbos, Agiasos, chestnut wood, under stones with ants, 690 m, N 39° 03' 43" E 26° 23' 34", 2 April 2008 [CJB].
Description. Male unknown.
Female (holotype). Total length 2.74. Carapace length 1.18, w 1.00, with a brown, short fovea length 0.10, anterior end 0.87 from front end of carapace. AER w 0.32, PER w 0.36. AME separated from each other by their diameter, separated from ALE by slightly less. PME widely separated by almost twice their long axis, and separated from PLE by half that distance. MOQ depth 0.13, anterior w 0.14, posterior w 0.18. Promarginal cheliceral rim with three teeth, largest one in the middle and smallest one furthest from fang base, retromarginal rim with three small teeth close to fang base, smallest one closest to fang base, largest one furthest from fang base. Sternum length 0.76, w 0.71. Feathery hairs absent from legs I and II, but present on legs III and IV. Tarsal claws with 7–9 teeth and five pairs of tenent hairs. Leg length I 3.29 II 2.89 III 2.47 IV 3.10. Leg spination (Fig. 2 K) fe: I pl 0-1-1 do 1-0-0; II do 1-0-0; III do 1-0-0; IV do 1-0-0; ti: I plv 1-1-1-1-1 rlv 1-1-1-1-1; II plv 1-1-1-1-1 rlv 1-1-1-1-1; IV pl 0-1-0 rl 0-1-0 plv 0-1-1 rlv 0-0-1; mt: I plv 1-1-1 rlv 1-1-1; II plv 1-1-1 rlv 1-1-1; IV rl 0-1-0 plv 0-1-0.
Epigyne (Fig. 7 F) with small anterior hood, lighter median flat zone flanked by two large brown sclerotised areas, posterior part a sclerotised V-shaped groove. Vulva (Fig. 7 E) with very large anterior CO filled with dark material, globular posterior ST1 and small, globular, median ST2.
Variability. In specimens from Cyprus and Lesbos, the posterior V-shaped groove of the epigyne is wider posteriorly and more parallel-sided.
Etymology.The species epithet pheidoleicomes, "companion of Pheidole " refers to the myrmecophylic habits of the new species.
Discussion. Arabelia pheidoleicomes sp. n. is clearly a myrmecophylic species. All specimens collected to date were found under stones, accompanied by yellow ants. The ants among which the specimens from Laerma (Rhodos) were collected, could be identified as Pheidole pallidula (Nylander, 1849), an ant species known for its associations with commensal arthropods such as Paussidae (Coleoptera) and Lepismatidae (Bernard 1968). In spite of repeated efforts by several collectors, no males could be found to date. An attempt to check material of the new species for the presence of bacterial endosymbionts influencing sex ratio (Goodacre et al. 2006), was inconclusive (S. Goodacre, personal communication). The investigation might be repeated in the near future.
Distribution. Known from the Eastern Mediterranean islands Rhodos, Lesbos and Cyprus.
description: Published as part of Bosselaers, Jan, 2009, Studies in Liocranidae (Araneae): redescriptions and transfers in Apostenus Westring and Brachyanillus Simon, as well as description of a new genus, pp. 37-55 in Zootaxa 2141 on pages 51-53, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.188586