Loxosceles planetaria Bertani & Gallao 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Bertani, Rogério
name: Bichuette, Maria Elina
name: Cordeiro, Lívia Medeiros
name: Gallão, Jonas Eduardo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Sicariidae
Loxosceles
Loxosceles planetaria

description: Loxosceles planetaria Bertani & Gallão sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: D63E5652-6A16-4E0C-813D-00CD1A44B7BB
Figs 20−31
Diagnosis
Males resemble those of L. gaucho, L. similis, L. adelaida, L variegata, L. troglobia and L. bodoquena Bertani & Gallão sp. nov. by the cymbium more than half length of tibia of palpus (Figs 24−26). They differ from L. troglobia and L. bodoquena by the shorter embolus and normal body pigmentation (Figs 20−26); from L. gaucho by the longer and less incrassate palp tibia (Figs 24−26); from L. similis by the slender and straighter embolus (Figs 24−26), from L. variegata by the shorter embolus (Figs 24−26), and from L. adelaida by the shorter and slender embolus (Figs 24−26). Females resemble those of L. gaucho, L. similis, L. variegata Simon, 1897 and L. bodoquena by the well-developed and sclerotized transverse plate of the spermathecae (Figs 29−30). They differ from L. similis by the shorter receptacles, from L. gaucho by the shorter and straighter receptacles, and from L. variegata and L. bodoquena by the longer receptacles (Figs 29−30).
Etymology
The specific name is a name in apposition and refers to the Terra Planetária Cave, where the type specimens were collected.
Type material
Holotype
BRAZIL • ♂; Mato Grosso do Sul, Bonito, Terra Planetária Cave; 21°07′48″ S, 56°35′28″ W; 15 Jun. 2022; M.E. Bichuette, D.F. Torres, L.M. Cordeiro, D.M. Borges, S.G. Jimenez, A. Chagas-Jr and J.E. Gallão leg.; LES 0028823.
Paratypes
BRAZIL • 3 ♀♀, 1 ♂; same collection data as for holotype; LES 0028824 to LES 0028827.
Other material examined
None.
Description
Male holotype (LES 0028823)
Total length 7.63. Carapace 3.37 long, 3.18 wide (Fig. 20). Eye sizes and interdistances: ALE 0.18, PME 0.21, PLE 0.20, PME–PLE 0.07, PME–ALE 0.18; clypeus 0.38. Leg formula II, I, IV, III. Leg lengths: leg I: femur 8.74, patella 1.44, tibia 10.28, metatarsus 10.84, tarsus 1.97, total 33.27; II: 10.34, 1.42, 12.04, 13.72, 2.20, 39.72; III: 7.53, 1.34, 7.20, 8.52, 1.30, 25.89; IV: 8.53, 1.31, 8.48, 9.88, 1.57, 29.77. Palp: femur 2.06 long, 0.37 wide; patella 0.40 long, 0.39 wide; tibia 0.88 long, 0.54 wide; cymbium 0.87 long, 0.49 wide. Labium 0.95 long, 0.47 wide. Sternum 1.95 long, 1.69 wide. Femur I 2.6 times as long, tibia I 3.05 times as long, and leg I 9.9 times as long as carapace. Palp femur 5.6 times as long as wide, tibia 1.63 times as long as wide, cymbium oval (Figs 24−26). Bulb suboval, about half cymbium length. Embolus curved from its base, approximately 2 times as long as bulb length in retrolateral view, without carina (Figs 21–23). Carapace covered by some greyish sparse setae (Fig. 20). Thoracic region of carapace light brown, marginated with brown. Cephalic region darker and reddish (Fig. 20). Legs and palps brown. Endites, coxae, sternum, and labium light brown. Labium and endites a little darker. Abdomen greyish.
Female paratype (LES 0028824)
Total length 8.25. Carapace 3.89 long, 3.52 wide (Fig. 27). Eye sizes and interdistances: ALE 0.20, PME 0.20, PLE 0.23, PME–PLE 0.07, PME–ALE 0.26; clypeus 0.54. Leg formula II, I, IV, III. Leg lengths: leg I: femur 7.25, patella 1.42, tibia 7.62, metatarsus 7.34, tarsus 1.52, total 25.15; II: 7.84, 1.45, 8.10, 8.37, 1.49, 27.25; III: 6.59, 1.40, 5.64, 6.52, 1.20, 21.35; IV: 7.19, 1.40, 6.77, 7.45, 1.38, 24.19. Palp: femur 1.47 long, 0.28 wide; patella 0.43 long, 0.34 wide; tibia 0.99 long, 0.29 wide; tarsus 1.48 long, 0.26 wide. Labium 0.90 long, 0.57 wide. Sternum 2.27 long, 1.89 wide. Femur I 1.86 times as long, tibia I 1.96 times as long, and leg I 6.46 times as long as carapace. Palpal femur 5.25 times as long as wide; tibia 3.41 times as long as wide; tarsus not incrassate (Fig. 28). Spermathecae transverse sclerotized plate short with almost-straight receptacles positioned at an angle of 45° to the inner side (Figs 29−30). Dorsal part of the bursa copulatrix medially sclerotized (Fig. 30). Carapace covered with some greyish sparse setae (Fig. 27). Thoracic region of carapace light brown, marginated with brown. Cephalic region darker and reddish (Fig. 27). Legs and palps greyish. Femora of leg I reddish brown on their basal portion. Coxae greyish, sternum light brown. Labium and endites reddish brown. Abdomen greyish.
Natural history
Specimens of Loxosceles planetaria Bertani & Gallão sp. nov. were found on the ground at the entrance and twilight zones of the cave as well as in the epigean environment. In the cave, specimens were near each other. Due to the absence of morphological troglomorphisms and its distribution inside and outside caves, we propose that L. planetaria has troglophilic populations.
Distribution
BRAZIL: State of Mato Grosso do Sul (Fig. 1).
description: Published as part of Bertani, Rogério, Bichuette, Maria Elina, Cordeiro, Lívia Medeiros & Gallão, Jonas Eduardo, 2024, Three new species of Loxosceles Heinecken & Lowe, 1832 (Araneae, Sicariidae) from Brazilian caves, pp. 98-115 in European Journal of Taxonomy 921 (1) on pages 106-109, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.921.2419, http://zenodo.org/record/10617353