Mimetus parvulus Sankaran, Sudhin & Sen 2024, n. sp.
Creators: name: Sudhin, Puthoor Pattammal
name: Sankaran, Pradeep M.
name: Sen, Souvik
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Mimetidae
Mimetus
Mimetus parvulus

description: Mimetus parvulus Sankaran, Sudhin & Sen, 2024 n. sp.
Figs 1–2
Etymology. The species epithet is an adjective, derived from the Latin word for small (parvulus) and refers to the short copulatory ducts of the new species (Fig. 2B).
Type material. Holotype ♀ (ZSI/ WGRC /IR.-INV.26948), INDIA: Kerala: Ernakulam, Illithodu (10°11’55.94’’N, 76°33’00.57’’E; 24 m), 25 February 2014, leg. M.S. Pradeep, from plant twig, by hand.
Diagnosis. Females of M. parvulus n. sp. are similar to the females of M. echinatus Wang, 1990 from China as both share epigyne with large scape and large posterior plate, in addition to long fertilization ducts, but can be separated from the latter species by not very elongated prosoma (vs. elongated in M. echinatus), triangular opisthosoma (vs. subcircular in M. echinatus), dorsum of opisthosoma with conspicuous tubercles (vs. less evident in M. echinatus), large median plate of epigyne (vs. small in M. echinatus), triangular scape (vs. lingulate in M. echinatus), round spermathecae (vs. oval in M. echinatus), and straight and parallel fertilization ducts (vs. divergent and curved in M. echinatus) (e.g., Figs 1A–B, H, 2A–B; Zeng et al. 2016: figs 3, 4B–C). Females of M. parvulus n. sp. can be readily distinguished from the females of M. indicus by arch-shaped anterior epigynal margin (vs. Mshaped in M. indicus), and epigyne with scape (vs. absent in M. indicus) (e.g., Figs 1H, 2A; Brignoli 1972: figs 25, 27).
Description. Female in alcohol (holotype; Figs 1A–G): carapace pale creamy rose, with dense gray-black mottling medially (Figs 1A–B); eye field, clypeus, endites, labium, sternum, leg and palp segments pale yellow-brown; black mottling on clypeus, endites, labium and sternum; dark brown annulations, patches and spots on leg and palp segments; chelicerae brown; opisthosoma dull gray-white, with broad pale gray patch bordered on both sides by chalk-white spots dorsomedially (Figs 1A–B); spinnerets gray. Carapace glossy; cephalic region with three longitudinal rows of erect spine-like setae (Figs 1A–B). Lateral and anterior median eyes on raised humps; lateral eyes contiguous (Fig. 1D). Chelicerae elongate, distally with two macrosetae cross forming an ‘X’ (Figs 1C, E; arrow 1); promargin with single row of 10 peg teeth, retromargin with single, tiny true tooth (Figs 1E–F; arrow 2). Sternum longer than wide, distally narrow, extending up to coxae IV, fused with labium, covered with scattered black erect setae (Fig. 1G). Opisthosoma roughly triangular (Fig. 1A); dorsum and sides with numerous tubercles; posteromedian tubercles on dorsal opisthosoma large, bearing a single erect seta (Figs 1A–B). Prolateral side of tibiae and metatarsi I–II with raptorial spines/modified setae in between normal spines: tibia I with 25, II with 20, metatarsus I with 42, II with 30. Body length 4.21. Carapace 1.94 long, 1.77 wide. Opisthosoma 2.27 long, 2.04 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: ALE 0.12, AME 0.14, PLE 0.10, PME 0.10; AME–ALE 0.13, AME–AME 0.11, AME–PME 0.20, PME–PLE 0.20, PME–PME 0.08. Clypeus height at AMEs 0.15, at ALEs 0.20. Chelicerae 1.11 long. Length of palp and legs: palp 2.55 [0.71, 0.38, 0.57, 0.89], I 12.54 [3.66, 1.04, 3.41, 3.18, 1.25], II 9.75 [3.05, 0.86, 2.40, 2.38, 1.06], III 5.46 [1.79, 0.63, 1.15, 1.12, 0.77], IV 7.07 [2.39, 0.67, 1.73, 1.48, 0.80]. Leg formula: 1243. Spination of palp: femur do 2 rlv 1, patella do 2, tibia pl 1 do 1 rl 1, tarsus pl 2 pld 1 plv 1 do 1 rl 1 rlv 3 v 1; legs: femur I pld 1 do 9 rld 2, II pld 1 do 9 rld 1, III pld 1 do 6 rld 1, IV pld 1 do 5 rld 1; patellae I–IV do 2; tibia I pl 11 do 7 rl 6, II pl 6 do 4 rl 2, III–IV pl 1 plv 2 do 1 rl 1 rld 1; metatarsus I pl 6 do 4 rl 5, II pl 4 do 1 rl 4, III pl 1 pld 2 do 1 rld 1, IV pl 1 pld 2 do 1 rld 2; tarsi I–IV spineless. Genitalia (Figs 1H, 2A–B): epigyne slightly longer than wide, with arched anterior margin, without atrium, with broad median and posterior plates of different shapes and a median broad triangular scape (Figs 1H, 2A). Copulatory openings indistinct, being covered by the median epigynal plate. Copulatory ducts short, wide, sclerotized (Fig. 2B). Spermathecae roundish, medially fused (Fig. 2B). Fertilization ducts long, parallel, and straight (Fig. 2B).
Male. Unknown.
Distribution. Known only from the type locality (Fig. 8).
description: Published as part of Sudhin, Puthoor Pattammal, Sankaran, Pradeep M. & Sen, Souvik, 2024, Two new species and a new transfer in the pirate spider genus Mimetus Hentz, 1832 (Araneae: Mimetidae: Mimetinae) from India, pp. 555-566 in Zootaxa 5496 (4) on pages 556-558, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5496.4.5, http://zenodo.org/record/13617557