Brignolia ondaatjei, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Ranasinghe, U. G. S. L.
name: Benjamin, Suresh P.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Oonopidae
Brignolia
Brignolia ondaatjei

description: Brignolia ondaatjei sp. nov.
(Figs.10 A–H; 11A–F; 12A–D)
Type material. Holotype male (IFS_Oon_227): Sri Lanka, Badulla District, Rawana Ella, forest around cave, 6 °51’52.4”N 81°03’01.3”E, 990m, 27 June 2014, leg. N. Athukorala, S. Ranasinghe, litter.
Paratype: 1♀ (IFS_Oon_228): from same locality and data as the holotype.
Other material examined. 1♂ (IFS_Oon_076): Sri Lanka, Uva Province, Badulla District, Ohiya, 0 6°50’32”N 80°53’0 5”E, 1280m, 30 August 2011, leg. S. P. Benjamin, N. Athukorala.
Etymology. Named for Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist and poet, Philip Michael Ondaatje best known for the “ The English Patient ” and our favorite “ Anils Ghost ”.
Diagnosis. Males can be easily recognized by the hammer-shaped palpal tip and the small triangular projection at the base of the bulb (bpr in Fig. 12 A). Females can be recognized by the narrowed posterior tube, with a rounded ending and the anteriorly directed, triangular-shaped projection (tpr in Figs. 12 C, D).
Description. Description based on all specimens listed above.
MALE: Body length 2.04. Coloration: carapace usually reddish-brown, sternum and mouthparts orangebrown, abdominal scuta reddish-brown, abdominal inter scutal region not visible, fully covered with dorsal and ventral scuta; legs pale orange; palps dark red-brown. Carapace: broadly ovoid in dorsal view (Fig. 10 A), smooth, sides striated, pars cephalica strongly elevated in lateral view (Fig. 10 B), anteriorly slightly narrowed, with angular posterolateral corners, posterolateral edge without spikes and pits, lateral margin straight, posterior margin squared (Fig. 10 D). Clypeus: straight in front view (Fig. 10 C). Eyes: six, well developed, ALE largest, oval, PME and PLE equal in size and oval. Labium: triangular shaped, fused to sternum, same as sternum sclerotization. Endite: distally not excavated, anteromedian part with stout projection, edges heavily sclerotized than sternum. Sternum: slightly longer than wide, decorated with round pits, radial furrows consisting with rows of small pits present between coxa I–II, II–III and III–IV (Fig. 10 E). Abdomen: ovoid, dorsal scutum strongly sclerotized (Fig. 10 F), cover full length of abdomen (Fig. 10 G), no soft tissue visible from above, epigastric scutum strongly sclerotized, extend to pedicel region, scuto-pedicel region with W-shaped straight transverse ridge (Fig. 11 C), book lung covers, nail-shaped (Fig. 11 A), dark, oval without elevation, pedicel tube large with dorsolateral triangular extensions, pedicel region fully covered with fine setae (Fig. 11 C). Postepigastric scutum strongly sclerotized, long, semicircular, covering most part of the area and fused to epigastric scutum, with short posteriorly directed lateral apodemes (Fig. 11 A). Spinnerets scutum present (Fig. 10 H), short setae present. Legs: spineless. Sperm pore: large, elliptical, situated in between anterior and posterior spiracles. Genitalia: palpal bulb with a hammer-shaped palpal tip (Figs. 12 A, B) and a small triangular projection at the base of the palpal bulb (bpr in Fig. 12 A).
FEMALE: Body length: 2.04, Coloration and somatic morphology same as male (Fig. 11 E), pars cephalica strongly elevated in lateral view, squared posterior margin. Genitalia: posterior tube narrow, elongated, with rounded ending, triangular-shaped protrusion anteriorly directed from the posterior spiracular groove (Figs. 12 C, D).
Intraspecific variation. Color ranges from reddish-brown to orange-brown. Body length of males ranges from 1.90–2.04. One specimen (IFS_Oon_076) shows long setae on the chelicerae and some strong setae on the top of the carapace. Scuto-pedicel ridge slightly curved and anteriorly directed in some specimens (Figs. 11 A–D).
Distribution. Sri Lanka: Badulla District: Ohiya (L 30), Rawana Ella (L 50).
description: Published as part of Ranasinghe, U. G. S. L. & Benjamin, Suresh P., 2016, A review of Sri Lankan Brignolia including the description of four new species (Araneae: Oonopidae), pp. 451-476 in Zootaxa 4144 (4) on pages 461-464, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4144.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/267497