Ochyrocera mayabeque Pérez-González & Magalhaes, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Pérez-González, Abel
name: Magalhaes, Ivan L. F.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Ochyroceratidae
Ochyrocera
Ochyrocera mayabeque

description: Ochyrocera mayabeque sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 4C0FBEBA-56A0-402F-9586-B8365BE61D32
Figs 1A–C, 2A–C, 3A–B, 4–9
Fageicera sp. 436: Li et al. 2020: 990, 991, figs. 1, 2, supplementary table S1.
Type material. Holotype: CUBA. Mayabeque: Tapaste, Escaleras de Jaruco, Cueva de La Jaula [~ N23.0348°, ~ W82.0788°], A. Pérez-González & R. Barba Díaz coll., 28.VIII.2015, IFM-2832, 1 ♂ (CZACC). Paratypes: CUBA. Mayabeque: Tapaste, Cueva Del Indio, Salón I, oscuridad, A. Pérez-González coll., 23.XII.1995, IFM-2835, 4 ♂ 5 ♀ (MACN-Ar 46500); mogote en frente a la Cueva del Indio, BioKarst coll., III.1996, 3 ♂ 3 ♀ 2 imm. (MACN-Ar 46501); same data as the holotype, 1 ♂ 1 ♀ (MACN-Ar 46048), IFM-2833, 1 ♂ 1 ♀ (MACN-Ar 46049), 2 imm. (MACN-Ar 46050), 1 ♀ 1 imm. (MACN-Ar 46051), 1 ♀ (CZACC).
Etymology. The species epithet is a noun in apposition taken from the Cuban Mayabeque Province where the type locality is found.
Diagnosis. Can be distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characteristics: cephalothorax without two pointed tubercles behind the ALE; clypeus unarmed; chelicerae sexually monomorphic, male pedipalp with conical cymbium with a very long sub-apical finger-like apophysis; tegulum large, ovoid, with a slender mostly tubular embolus (2 times the tegulum length) oriented in a very acute angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the tegulum, and with a slightly sinuous base; females with two chitinized abdominal pockets on the sides of the female abdomen; vulva with two weakly sclerotized wide putative receptacles and with a short columnar uterus externus ending in a very narrow neck. Can be easily separated from the morphologically closest species, O. luisarmasi sp. nov., by the shorter cymbium and the heavily sclerotized tubular embolus oriented in a very acute angle (Figs 1A–C, 4B). Regarding the female, O. mayabeque sp. nov. can be differentiated from O. luisarmasi sp. nov. by a shorter columnar uterus externus, and larger receptacles and pore plates (Figs 2A, 3A).
Description. Male holotype (CZACC, IFM-2832). Total length 1.32. Carapace length 0.63, width 0.55. Abdomen length 0.63 width 0.49. Clypeus length 0.19, PME 0.05, ALE 0.05, PLE 0.05. Sternum length 0.38, width 0.31. Palp: femur 0.33, tibia 0.31, tarsus 0.21, cymbial apophysis 0.16. Leg I: 6.03 (1.79, 0.22, 1.93, 1.31, 0.78). II: 4.82 (1.41, 0.20, 1.49, 1.05, 0.67). III: 3.95 (1.18, 0.19, 1.17, 0.86, 0.55). IV: missing. Leg formula: 1(4?)23.
The specimens in alcohol (Fig. 4) have the cephalothorax mostly greenish white with lateral and medial strips purplish blue, lighter in the medial posterior section and has two greenish white ovoid spots behind the eyes. Deep bluish (almost black) at the medial half around the eyes. Chelicerae suffused with light purplish blue. Abdomen dorsally mostly greenish white, without defined darker pattern, ventro-lateral suffused with purplish blue, darker around spinnerets. Endites suffused with purplish blue and sternum purplish blue with an incomplete medial greenish white longitudinal stripe, not reaching the posterior region. Palps suffused homogeneously with purplish blue except for the bulb. Bulb greenish white with the distal portion purplish blue and the embolus dark almost black. Legs: coxae greenish white basally and rest suffused with purplish blue, rest of the legs suffused with purplish blue.
PME anteriorly displaced forming a straight row with ALE. Ocular area slightly elevated. Clypeus large, unarmed, projecting forward, with two pairs of strong setae (Figs 4B, D, 6B–D); several strong setae on the ocular area behind the eyes, but smaller than the clypeal ones. Anterior margin of labium notched. Abdomen oval, but not markedly elongated. Chelicerae sexually monomorphic, without stridulatory organ, with well-developed lamina followed by a series of at least eight subequal promarginal teeth. Palp (Figs 1A–C, 2C, 3B, 7): femur cylindrical slightly larger than tibia; patela very short, tibia slightly thicker than femur, and slightly curved (ventrally concave), with several trichobothria in dorsal surface with an longitudinal striated hood (Fig. 7G); cymbium conical with rounded apex, 0.68 the palpal tibia length, with long sub-apical (and far from the pedestal) finger-like apophysis carrying a cuspule at its tip (Fig. 7F). Dorsoapical region of the cymbium with higher number of setae including the larger and stronger ones. Cymbium basally with a wide and strong, protruding pedestal where the copulatory bulb inserts; retrolateral face of the pedestal with three (mechanoreceptor?) smooth setae pointing to the bulb (Fig. 7E). Tegulum large, ovoid, larger than cymbium; sperm duct diameter tapering abruptly from the distal end of strongly reniform fundus and running toward opening, with at least two switchback loops before entering in the embolus. Embolus tubular in the basal third, becoming flattened distally, 0.5 in length, 0.03 in height, with limit clearly marked with the tegulum, very elongated, tapering towards the end, 2 times the tegulum length. The embolus is heavily sclerotized, hindering the observation of the sperm duct; the surface is somehow striated and has a twisted-like appearance at the base. The embolus is oriented with a very acute angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the tegulum. Tarsal organ elevated, striated, with four marginal cuticular lobes and one bifid sensillum. Six epiandrous spigots globular base, anterior to the gonopore (Fig. 6E). Spinnerets (Figs 6F–H): colulus fleshy, protruding, covered with irregularly distributed setae; anterior lateral spinnerets with one major ampullate gland spigot accompanied by a nubbin and seven piriform spigots; posterior median spinnerets with one minor ampullate gland spigot; posterior lateral spinnerets with a row of compactly packed aciniform gland spigots with long bases.
Female paratype (MACN-Ar 46049). Total length 1.57. Carapace length 0.66, width 0.61. Abdomen length 0.95, width 0.73. Clypeus length 0.20. Eye diameters: PME 0.04, ALE 0.05, PLE 0.04. Sternum length 0.38, width 0.39. Palp: femur 0.32, tibia 0.22, tarsus 0.28. Leg I: 6.19 (1.87, 0.22, 2.01, 1.31, 0.78). II: 5.05 (1.56, 0.21, 1.60, 1.05, 0.63). III: 3.89 (1.18, 0.17, 1.19, 0.83, 0.52). IV: 5.49 (1.67, 0.21, 1.78, 1.11, 0.72). Leg formula 1423.
The specimens in alcohol (Fig. 5) have the cephalothorax, endites and sternum colored as males. Palps greenish yellow, suffused with purplish blue distally. Legs: coxae and trochanters greenish yellow suffused with purplish blue, femora greenish yellow proximally and reddish purple distally, patella greenish yellow, tibiae reddish purple, metatarsi and tarsi reddish purple with greenish yellow apex.
Ocular area, eyes arrangement, clypeus and anterior margin of labium as in males. Endites with serrula and, at least, with crosier-like and comb-like setae (sensu Baert 2014) (Fig. 9A). Abdomen oval, but not markedly elongated; epigastric furrow as wide as ventral abdomen; two chitinized abdominal pockets in the sides of the abdomen; booklungs modified into bundles of tracheae, without the leaflike trachea described for adult male by Hormiga et al. (2007), opening through independent spiracles; posterior tracheal spiracle positioned closer to spinnerets and consists of pair of tracheal bundles that open to small atrium and short muscle apodemes in central anterior margin of the atrium. Leg I with three tarsal claws, superior prolateral claw with two rows of teeth, the medial row shorter, only on apical third; superior retrolateral claw with single row of teeth (Fig. 9I); dorsal metatarsal stopper as much wide as the distal metatarsus (Fig. 9J). Chelicerae sexually monomorphic, without stridulatory organ (Fig. 9C), with well-developed lamina (Fig. 9D) followed by a series of seven subequal promarginal teeth (Fig. 9B). Palp with single seta in the position of the femoral pick (Fig. 9E–F), tarsus without ending claw (Fig. 9F, H), tibia with several trichobothria in dorsal surface, tarsus ventro-laterally with numerous strong setae, tarsal organ as in males (Fig. 9G). Spinnerets (Fig. 8C–F): colulus, anterior lateral spinnerets and posterior median spinnerets as in males; posterior lateral spinnerets with a row of 27 compactly packed aciniform gland spigots with long bases.
Vulva (Fig. 2A–B, 3A, 8A–B) without the “cul-de-sac” type (sensu Austad, 1984) spermathecae, but with two weakly sclerotized wide receptacles? without evidence of glandular pores; uterus externus with a very wide base and apical short columnar portion ending in a very narrow neck; two rounded pore-plates, adjoined to the receptacles? with numerous glandular ducts.
Penultimate male specimen (Fig. 4F). Paler and lighter in color than adults, with purplish blue marks. Pedipalp tarsus modified with an extremely long proto-embolus curved dorsally.
Distribution. Known from two nearby caves and epigean environments in the type locality (Mayabeque, Cuba) (Fig. 13).
description: Published as part of Pérez-González, Abel & Magalhaes, Ivan L. F., 2025, On Antillean ochyroceratines (Scytodoidea: Ochyroceratidae: Ochyroceratinae), with the description of three new species from Cuba, pp. 264-289 in Zootaxa 5563 (1) on pages 267-278, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5563.1.18, http://zenodo.org/record/14596009