Rhyphelia novalima Nobre & Ruiz 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Nobre, Welington B.
name: Ruiz, Gustavo R. S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Salticidae
Rhyphelia
Rhyphelia novalima

description: Rhyphelia novalima sp. nov.
Figs 17A–17D, 18A–18C, 19A–19E
Type material. Holotype: ♂ from Mata Samuel de Paula, Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural, Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brazil (20°S, 43.867°W), 12–18.X.2006, J.P.P. Pena-Barbosa et al. leg. (UFMG 2949). Paratype: 1♀, same data as holotype (UFMG 2950).
Etymology. The epithet, a noun in apposition, was taken from the type locality.
Diagnosis. The male of R. novalima sp. nov. is similar to those of R. tabernarius (Ruiz, 2013) comb nov. and S. minima (Ruiz, 2011) comb. nov. by the spiraled embolus, but it differs from both by having a less compact spiral (Fig. 19A). The female differs from all other known species by having the copulatory openings facing ectally, towards the laterals of the abdomen, with the copulatory ducts running posteriorly (Fig. 18C).
Description. Male holotype. Total length: 1.95. Carapace dark brown, cephalic region black (Fig. 17A); 1.05 long, 0.75 wide, 0.52 high. Ocular quadrangle 0.51; anterior eye row 0.78, posterior 0.71 wide. Chelicera, labium, endite, sternum and palp dark brown (Fig. 17B). Poorly developed RTA (Fig. 19B). Leg formula: 4312; length of legs: I 1.74 (0.53 + 0.29 + 0.42 + 0.29 + 0.21), II 1.51 (0.46 + 0.29 + 0.30 + 0.27 + 0.19), III 1.75 (0.57 + 0.29 + 0.32 + 0.34 + 0.23), IV 1.93 (0.57 + 0.27 + 0.38 + 0.42 + 0.29). Legs dark brown, except metatarsi and tarsi light brown. Tibia I macrosetae well developed, with tips of a more proximal pair surpassing insertions of the spines of a more distal pair. Abdomen dorsally dark brown, with three pairs of tufts of white scales, one anterior and two pairs on the posterior half (Fig. 17A); ventrally dark brown (Fig. 17B). Spinnerets dark brown.
Female paratype. Total length: 1.95. Carapace dark brown, cephalic region black (Fig. 17C); 1.05 long, 0.75 wide, 0.52 high. Ocular quadrangle 0.51; anterior eye row 0.78, posterior 0.71 wide. Chelicera, labium, endite light brown; sternum and palp cream-colored (Fig. 17D). Leg formula: 4312; length of legs: I 1.74 (0.53 + 0.29 + 0.42 + 0.29 + 0.21), II 1.53 (0.46 + 0.29 + 0.32 + 0.27 + 0.19), III 1.75 (0.57 + 0.29 + 0.32 + 0.34 + 0.23), IV 1.97 (0.57 + 0.27 + 0.38 + 0.46 + 0.29). Macrosetae as in male. Abdomen dorsally dark brown, with pairs of cream-colored spots and a posterior transverse bar (Fig. 17C); ventrally yellow (Fig. 17D). Epigyne with copulatory ducts extending from anterior openings to posterior, roundish spermathecae (Figs 18C, 19C–E).
Note. As stated, typical species of Rhyphelia do not have the typical spiraled embolus of Euophryini. However, the embolus of R. novalima sp. nov. is reminiscent of the typical euophryine embolus. This feature is interpretated here as a reversion, since size, coloration and epigyne conformation are typical for the genus.
Distribution. Known only from the type locality (Minas Gerais, Brazil) (Fig. 23).
description: Published as part of Nobre, Welington B. & Ruiz, Gustavo R. S., 2024, On the boundary of the jumping spider genus Rhyphelia Simon, 1902 (Araneae: Salticidae: Euophryini), with description of ten new species, pp. 471-500 in Zootaxa 5418 (5) on pages 492-495, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5418.5.3, http://zenodo.org/record/10779797