Pholcus baguio Huber, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Huber, Bernhard A.
name: Nuñeza, Olga M.
name: Leh Moi Ung, Charles
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Pholcidae
Pholcus
Pholcus baguio

description: Pholcus baguio Huber, sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:753EAC47-AFE0-4704-A564-696C4DD0A14F
Figs 33–35, 50–52, 58–76
Diagnosis
Distinguished from most similar known relatives (species with horns between eye triads carrying brushes of unglued hairs and with simple, unhinged procursi: P. arayat, P. pagbilao, P. schawalleri, P. kawit sp. nov., P. mulu sp. nov.) by distal modifications of procursus (dorsal pointed process; large prolateroventral process; Fig. 59), by relatively wide and short palpal femur (Fig. 59), and by female genitalia (epigynum with pair of dark lateral areas; internal genitalia with large transversal sclerite; Figs 33–35); from P. pagbilao also by simpler appendix (Figs 58, 71–72); from P. arayat also by relatively wider abdomen (Figs 50–52); from P. kawit sp. nov. and P. mulu sp. nov. also by divided median band ventrally on abdomen (Fig. 51); from P. schawalleri also by much more slender uncus (Fig. 58). From other species of the P. bicornutus group (P. bicornutus; P. olangapo sp. nov.) by unhinged procursus, presence of appendix, large epigynal plate, and by absence of curved hairs on legs.
Etymology
The species name is derived from the type locality; noun in apposition.
Material examined
Holotype
PHILIPPINES: ♁, Luzon, Benguet Prov., near Baguio, Mt. Kabuyao, N slope (16.374° N, 120.557° E), 1200–1400 m a.s.l., among rocks, 2 Mar. 2014 (B.A. Huber), ZFMK (Ar 15506).
Other material
PHILIPPINES: 17 ♁♁, 10 ♀♀, 1 juv., ZFMK (Ar 15507–08) and 1 ♂, 1 ♀, MSU-IIT, same data as holotype, among rocks and vegetation; 1 ♀, 3 juvs, in absolute ethanol, same data, ZFMK (Phi 204); 7 ♁♁, 16 ♀♀, Benguet, “ Tuba, Asin road, 10 km S of Baguio ” [~ 16.37° N, 120.62° E], rock wall at waterfall, 12 Nov. 1979 (P. Lehtinen), ZMT.
Description
Male (holotype)
MEASUREMENTS. Total body length 7.7, carapace width 1.8. Leg 1: 51.2 (12.5 + 0.8 + 12.4 + 22.8 + 2.7), tibia 2: 8.3, tibia 3: 5.3, tibia 4: 7.5; tibia 1 L/d: 67. Distance PME-PME 380 µm, diameter PME 140×160 µm, distance PME-ALE ~40 µm, distance AME-AME 30 µm, diameter AME 100 µm.
COLOR. Carapace ochre to orange, with wide median brown mark including ocular area and clypeus (except rim), connecting posteriorly with lateral submarginal brown bands (Fig. 50); sternum monochromous light brown to orange, labium darker; legs light brown, dark rings subdistally on femora and tibiae and in patella area, tips of femora and tibiae lighter; abdomen ochre-gray, dorsally with several pairs of dark cuticular marks that are fused above spinnerets, laterally with indistinct internal darker marks visible through cuticle; ventrally with wide brown band divided into anterior and posterior parts separated by light V-shaped space.
BODY. Habitus as in Fig. 50; ocular area raised, each eye triad on additional short hump directed towards lateral (Fig. 63), with pair of long processes between eye triads directed towards posterior, each with distal brush of hairs curved upwards, hairs not ‘glued’ together (Figs 64–67); carapace without median furrow (Fig. 64); clypeus unmodified; sternum wider than long (1.10/0.85), unmodified. ALS with one widened, one pointed, and three very small conical spigots (Fig. 74). Gonopore with four epiandrous spigots.
CHELICERAE. As in Fig. 60, small lateral and frontal apophyses proximally and dark distal apophyses near median line provided with two small modified (cone-shaped) hairs each (Fig. 73); without stridulatory ridges.
PALPS. As in Figs 58–59; coxa unmodified; trochanter with short conical retrolateral process and longer ventral apophysis with distinctive tip (Fig. 69); femur with distinct retrolateral process proximally, small dorsal hump, and distinct darkened ventral apophysis; tibia with dark dorsal band, also ventrally darkened, with very small and indistinct ventral cavity; tarsal organ capsulate (Fig. 68); procursus with distinctive pointed process dorsally and large process prolatero-ventrally (Figs 69–70); bulb with large uncus (Figs 58, 71), weakly sclerotized wide embolus, simple appendix with long main branch curved towards prolateral and shorter retrolateral side-branch (Figs 71–72).
LEGS. Without spines or curved hairs; few vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium on tibia 1 at 3%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1, present on other tibiae; tarsus 1 with>30 pseudosegments, only distally about 15 fairly distinct.
Male (variation)
Most males with distinct internal dark marks dorsally and laterally on abdomen. Tibia 1 in 19 other males: 10.9–14.3 (mean 12.3).
Female
In general similar to male but sternum dark brown, eye triads closer together (distance PME-PME 250 µm), without processes between eye triads. Tibia 1 in 16 females: 9.6–11.6 (mean 10.7). Epigynum relatively small, roughly oval plate (Figs 33, 75) with pair of dark brown areas and anterior ‘knob’ weakly sclerotized in most specimens; entire epigynal area strongly protruding in some specimens; internal genitalia as in Figs 35 and 62. Spinnerets and spigots as in male (Fig. 76).
Natural history
The spiders were found in partly extremely high densities in a dry brook bed near the road, among rocks and shaded vegetation. The individual domed sheets were interconnected to form large communal webs of up to 2 m length.
Distribution
Known from Baguio area in Luzon only (Fig. 2).
description: Published as part of Huber, Bernhard A., Nuñeza, Olga M. & Leh Moi Ung, Charles, 2016, The Philippine hair wax spiders and their relatives: revision of the Pholcus bicornutus species group (Araneae, Pholcidae), pp. 1-34 in European Journal of Taxonomy 225 on pages 17-24, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2016.225, http://zenodo.org/record/830814