Conothele chinnarensis K, 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: K, Sunil Jose
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Halonoproctidae
Conothele
Conothele chinnarensis

description: Conothele chinnarensis sp. nov. (Figs 1–3)
Type Materials. Holotype ♀ (13/143), Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary (10°19'44.40"N, 77°13'30.36"E), Idukki, Kerala, India, 2 December 2013, coll. Sunil Jose K. Paratypes ♀ 14/156 & ♀ 14/157 Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary (10°18'38.60"N, 77°11'7.40"E), Idukki, Kerala, India, 5 November 2014, coll. Sunil Jose K.
Etymology. The specific epithet is based after Chinnar wildlife sanctuary.
Diagnosis. The new species C. chinnarensis sp. nov. resembles C. varvarti, C. birmanica and C. vali. It can be distinguished from C. varvarti by the long stalk of the apical lobe which is not distally twisted, and the burrow straight without any other chamber, while in C. varvarti, the stalk is twisted distally, and the inner end of the burrow a second Dshaped hinged trapdoor exists, which opens into another chamber (Siliwal et al., 2009). The new species differs from C. birmanica by the presence of curved spines on tibiae I–II which are absent in the latter. It also differs from C. vali by the nature of the stalk of apical lobe (not bent in C. chinnarensis sp. nov. vs bent and twisted distally in a zig-zag manner in C. vali).
C. chinnarensis sp. nov. can be separated by other species in the genus by the spermathecae with two receptacles (Fig. 2E), and the distal end bowl-shaped, with its proximal half darker. The new species is also distinguished by paired claws on all legs with 2–3 unequal teeth, leg III with three teeth (1 primary and 2 secondaries), secondary teeth reduced in leg IV. Burrow consists of a single chamber, up to 10–13 cm deep.
Description. Female. Total body length 36.16. Carapace length 14.92, width 14.13. Abdomen length 19.8, width 14.16. Spinnerets: PMS length 1.63, width 0.98, 0.51 apart; PLS length 3.11, width 3.32. Eye diameter: ALE 0.54, AME 0.5, PLE 0.48, PME 0.33. Distance between eyes: AME–AME 0.24, PME–PLE 0.22, AME–ALE 0.37, PME–PME 0.78. MOQ length 1.34; front width 1.24; back width 1.41; eye group occupies 3.51 of head width. Maxillae length 5.81 in front, 7.19 long in back, width 3.83. Labium 2.02 long, 2.59 wide. Measurements of legs. Chelicerae 7.94 long. Sternum 8.59 long, 7.71 wide. Leg formula 4132. Measurements of legs and palp: I 8.75 + 5.7 + 5.81 + 3.4 + 1.55 (25.21), II 7.78 + 5.4 + 4.75 + 3.28 + 2.23 (23.44), III 8.1 + 5.66+5.34 +3.12 +2.94 (25.16), IV 9.98+ 6.13+ 5.63, 5.48 + 2.03 (29.25), Palp 9.1 + 5.16+ 5.65+4.6 (24.51).
Carapace reddish brown, anterior region pale reddish-brown, with a triangular white patch below caput, and a yellowish-white band on margin. Caput with a distinct mount between fovea and eyes (Figs 1D, 3). A dark brown line between posterior margin of eye tubercle and peak region of mount. Fovea deep, procurved and ‘U’ shaped (Fig. 1A). Clypeus wide, white in colour, margin of carapace also white. Caput with a three-branched median white line between anterior peak portion and posterior margin of eye tubercle. Eight eyes in two rows (Fig. 1C), both rows procurved, but anterior row procurved, posterior row slightly curved. Maxillae (Figs 2A, C) with poorly developed anterior lobe, 39 and 45 cuspules on right and left maxillae, respectively. Prolateral region with numerous setae like hairs above suture and 1–2 rows of 11 curved setae below suture. Retrolateral side not glabrous. Labium triangular, labiosternal groove slightly concave; anteromedial nine cuspules arranged in three rows. (5+3+1). Chelicerae with intercheliceral spines (Figs 1E–F) and cheliceral lyra absent. Right chelicerae with six large and two small promarginal teeth and eight large, 15 small retromarginal teeth. Left chelicerae with five large and four small promaginal teeth and eight retromarginal teeth. Dorsally anterior region of chelicerae bears strong rastellum arranged in a low mound. Sternum (Fig. 1B) reddish-brown, broader posteriorly; sigilla large, irregular and centrally placed.
Legs with coxae, trochanter brown and tibia, metatarsus, tarsus dark brown. Tibia III with a saddle-shaped depression on dorsal side (Fig. 2E). A few hairless bands running on dorsal side, two bands on femur, tibia, patella and a single band on metatarsus. Trochanter of palp, leg I–II notched (Fig. 2E). Lateral sides of tibia, metatarsus and tarsus contain a band of short thick curved spines. Distal half of femur I laterally flattened and slightly curved. Femur with a dorsal depression on basal side. Ventral side of trochanter I with a distinct notch. Leg I–IV with three claws, two superior and one inferior, all claws with a primary tooth. Palp contains a single claw with a tooth. One of superior claws in prolateral side of leg I–II contains small secondary teeth near base of primary teeth. Leg III prolateraly contains small secondary teeth near primary teeth and another one on dorso-median region of primary. Leg IV retrolateraly contains normal primary teeth, secondary teeth reduced. Prolateral claw smaller than retrolateral, teeth highly reduced.
Abdomen slightly wrinkled, covered with short and long hairs. Small spine-like setae present along with hairs but not thickly packed. Hairs provided with black surround at base, giving a warty appearance on abdomen. Spinnerets short, thick, covered with brown hairs; PLS with apical segment dome-shaped; PMS digitiform. Short or long brown spine-like setae on PLS and PMS. Spermathecae with two receptacles (Fig. 2F), distal end bowl-shaped, pale yellowish with dark brown dots; proximal portion darker. Spermathecal stalks long and twisted.
Biology. Spiders were found in dry, scrub forests of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. They build vertical burrows on the ground among grasses. The burrows are 10 to14 cm deep, and 2.5 to 3.5 cm wide with a single entrance characterized by D shaped trap door (13 mm wide). Trap door (Fig. 3) is thin, more or less straight and well camouflaged with soil and bits of dried leaves and moss. Usually during the day, when the spider is not active, the lid is kept closed. It is also kept closed during harsh weather, egg-laying and when the spider sheds its skin (Dippenaar-Schoeman, 2002).
Distribution. India (Kerala).
Funding Financial assistance received from SERB; India (CRG /2018/004708) is gratefully acknowledged.
Acknowledgements I extend my sincere thanks to Principal, Deva Matha College, for the necessary facilities. I also extend my heartfelt thanks to Dr. Robert Raven for his constructive comments on the manuscript. The author also thanks Kerala Forest Department for permitting the study in Kerala's forest areas (WL10-22946/2013).
description: Published as part of K, Sunil Jose, 2021, A new species of the trapdoor spider genus Conothele Thorell, 1878 (Araneae: Halonoproctidae) from Western Ghats, Kerala, India, pp. 258-263 in Zoological Systematics 46 (3) on pages 259-263, DOI: 10.11865/zs.2021307, http://zenodo.org/record/12815354