Raveniola insolita Zonstein, 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Zonstein, Sergei L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Nemesiidae
Raveniola
Raveniola insolita

description: Raveniola insolita sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: A3E8F4A4-7067-4053-A329-41992E5E26D9
Figs 10, 92, 146, 211, 268, 360, 409–411, 575, 677, 752
Diagnosis
Habitually, as well as in the structure of the copulatory bulb, the only known male of Raveniola insolita sp. nov. resembles males of R. alajensis sp. nov. and R. cucullata sp. nov. (Figs 10, 411 cf. Figs 4–6, 387, 393–396). However, it differs from the two latter species in having either a noticeably thinner proximal section of the embolus, additionally lacking a raised keel, or a considerably longer palpal tibia, compared with R. alajensis and R. cucullata, respectively (vs a thicker embolus provided with a long raised keel and a clearly shorter palpal tibia; see Figs 360, 409–410 cf. Figs 352, 354–355, 385–386).
Etymology
The specific epithet ‘ insolita ’ is a Latin adjective (of the feminine gender) that means ‘odd, different, unusual’ and refers to the unusual male characters of the holotype (which are intermediate between those in Raveniola alajensis sp. nov. and R. cucullata sp. nov., although the two latter species are not very closely related to one another).
Material examined
Holotype
TAJIKISTAN • ♂; Peter I Mts, environs of Yashilkul (also Yashnylkul) Lake; ca 39°07′ N, 71°18′ E; 3300–3400 m a.s.l.; 29 Jul. 1891; B. Grąbczewski leg.; ZISP.
Description
Male (paratype)
HABITUS. See Fig. 10.
MEASUREMENTS. TBL 14.65, CL 6.58, CW 5.70, LL 0.49, LW 1.03, SL 3.38, SW 2.92.
COLOUR. Carapace, palps and legs dark foxy brown (legs I–II slightly darker than palps and legs III– IV); eye tubercle blackish brown; chelicerae medium reddish brown; sternum, labium, maxillae and abdomen including spinnerets paler yellowish brown; darker chevron-like dorsal abdominal pattern medium brown.
CEPHALOTHORAX. Carapace and chelicerae as shown in Fig. 92. Clypeus and eye group as in Fig. 146. Eye diameters and interdistances: AME 0.18(0.23), ALE 0.26, PLE 0.19, PME 0.18; AME–AME 0.16(0.11), ALE–AME 0.13(0.11), ALE–PLE 0.13, PLE–PME 0.05, PME–PME 0.42. Anterior cheliceral edge with 30–35 slightly thickened spikes. Each cheliceral furrow with 8 promarginal teeth and 3–4 mesobasal denticles. MIT indiscernible. Sternum, labium and maxillae as shown in Fig. 211. Maxillae with 30–31 cuspules each.
LEGS. Tibia and metatarsus I as in Fig. 268. Scopula: entire distal on metatarsi I–II; entire on tarsi I–II; narrowly divided with setae on tarsus III; sparse and widely divided on tarsus IV. Trichobothria: 2 rows of 8–10 on tibiae, 14–18 on metatarsi, 15–16 on tarsi, 8–9 on cymbium. PTC I–IV with 9–12 teeth on each margin.
LEG MEASUREMENTS.
FemurPatellaTibiaMetatarsusTarsusTotalPalp4.112.093.35–1.0110.56Leg I6.093.154.285.112.7821.41Leg II5.562.934.124.432.7919.83Leg III4.822.473.024.352.5717.23Leg IV6.113.064.516.133.0622.87
SPINATION. Palp: femur d3, pd2; patella pd1; tibia d4, p3, r3, v6; cymbium d ~ 25 spikes. Leg I: femur d4, pd3, rd3; patella p2; tibia p2, pv3, r3, rv2+2M; metatarsus v1. Leg II: femur d4, pd3, rd2; patella p3; tibia p2, v8; metatarsus p4(3), v6. Leg III: femur d4, pd3, rd2; patella p3, r1; tibia d2, pd3, p4, r3, v7; metatarsus d3, p4, r4, v7; tarsus p1(0), r1(0). Leg IV: femur d4, pd3, rd2; patella p2, r1; tibia d2, p3, r4(3), v9; metatarsus d2, p4, r4, v8; tarsus p1, r1. Tarsi I–II aspinose.
PALP. Tibia, cymbium and copulatory bulb as shown in Fig. 360. Embolus with long basal portion provided with rudimentary keel and shorter hooked apical part (Figs 409–411).
SPINNERETS. See Fig. 575. PMS: length 0.52, diameter 0.17. PLS: maximal diameter 0.56; length of basal, medial and apical segments 0.98, 0.60, 0.52; total length 2.10; apical segment triangular.
Female
Unknown.
Ecology
Judging from the label data, the holotype male was collected in an alpine meadow-steppe biotope at 3300–3400 m a.s.l. (such as shown in Fig. 677). Other details remain unknown.
Distribution
Tajikistan: the eastern part of Peter I Mts. See Fig. 752.
description: Published as part of Zonstein, Sergei L., 2024, A revision of the spider genus Raveniola (Araneae, Nemesiidae). II. Species from Central Asia, pp. 1-185 in European Journal of Taxonomy 967 on pages 36-37, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.967.2699, http://zenodo.org/record/13990819