Drassodes mylonasi Chatzaki & Keer 2019, sp.n.
Creators: name: Chatzaki, Maria
name: Keer, Johan Van
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Gnaphosidae
Drassodes
Drassodes mylonasi

description: Drassodes mylonasi Chatzaki sp.n.
Figs 5–8
Diagnosis. This species is distinguished by the small body size in combination with the relatively long embolus and large median apophysis of the male palp and the large lateral margins of the epigyne surrounding almost the entire area of the vulva.
Holotype: male, Rodos, S-Soroni, under stones in Pinus forest, 18.V.2006 (JVK: 2648). Paratype: Rodos, S- Kamiros, under stones along fieldroad, 1 ♀, 15.V.2006 (JVK: 2643). All leg. J. & K. V. Van Keer.
Other material examined. Site 18: 1♀; Site 42: 2♂♂.
Etymology. The name is given in honor of Prof. M. Mylonas, Professor of Ecology and Director of the Natural History museum of the University of Crete who contributed substantially to the study of biogeography of the Aegean in the last forty years.
Description. Male holotype (other specimens). Small size spiders of light brown color. Legs uniformly light brown except for all Fe which are darker due to striae of dark hairs. Measurements: TL 2.611 (2.849 −3.147); CL 1.136 (1.185 −1.414); CW 0.817 (0.999 −1.023); AL 1.291 (1.337 −1.641). Eye sizes: AME 0.063; PME 0.081; PLE 0.060; ALE 0.075; PME-PME, PME-PLE and AME-AME separated by less than their diameter; AME-ALE almost touching. All eyes pearly white with black surroundings (especially AME), PME oval and without black surrounding. PER slightly procurved, AER slightly recurved. Prosoma with widening thoracic region, fovea small, located at about 1/3 of abdominal length. Chelicerae with 3 PM and 1 RM denticle. Leg formula is IV>I>II>III. Legs spination: Leg I: Fe 3d, Ti 2v; leg II: Fe 3d, Ti 2v; leg III: Fe 2−4d, Ti/Mt spinose; leg IV: Fe 2−5d, Ti/Mt spinose. Ta densely scopulated and with numerous trichobothria.
Palp (Figs 5−6). Small transverse tibial apophysis originating from ventral side of cymbium and directed retrolaterally with tapering transverse tip. Spermophore serpent-like. Embolus long medially placed, slightly curved with filiform ending. Its free part longer than half the tegulum, extending almost to the top of cymbium and guided by membranous lamella. Median apophysis relatively stout.
Description. Female. Small size spiders of similar coloration and habitus as male. Measurements: TL 4.260; CL 1.772; CW 1.144; AL 2.213. Eye sizes: AME 0.078; PME 0.082; PLE 0.071; ALE 0.083; PME-PLE 0.065 (separated by ca their diameter), all others almost touching; All eyes pearly white with black surroundings (especially AME), PME oval and without black surrounding. PER slightly procurved, AER slightly recurved. Prosoma with widening thoracic region, fovea small, located at about 1/3 of abdominal length. Chelicerae with 3−4 PM and 0−1 RM denticle. Leg formula is IV>I>II>III. Legs spination: Leg I: Fe 1d; leg II: Fe 3d, Ti 1v; leg III: Fe 6d, Ti/Mt spinose; leg IV: Fe 5d, Ti/Mt spinose. Ta densely scopulated and with numerous trichobothria.
Epigyne (Fig. 7). Large lateral margins surrounding almost the entire area of the vulva. Smaller median epigynal frames forming median tongue connected to epigastric furrow, with copulatory openings on their top.
Vulva (Fig. 8). Spermathecae bilobed with lobes of almost equal size and glandular heads on the basal pair of lobes.
Comments. Drassodes mylonasi sp.n. is very similar to D. serratichelis (Roewer, 1928), originally described from Crete. However it differs from it in the following characters: in males, by the presence of a small tibial apophysis, the longer embolus and the stouter median apophysis and in females by the different position of the lateral margins in relation to the spermathecae (in D. serratichelis they surround only the basal ones). Interestingly, these distinctive characters are also found between D. serratichelis -as presented by Chatzaki et al. (2002b, p. 618, Figs 40−43)- and D. serratichelis -as presented by Levy (2004, p.12, Figs 29−32). This observation raises doubts about the correct placement of the Israeli Drassodes to D. serratichelis, and it possibly best fits the new species here described. Levy reported the absence of a tibial apophysis in the male palp. However, the size and positioning of the tibial apophysis in D. mylonasi sp.n. is such, that the character could be easily overlooked. The figures by Kovblyuk (2008, p. 20, Figs 6.1−4, 7.1−2), Wunderlich (2011, p. 52, Figs 102-107) and Platnick & Shadab (1976, p. 21, Figs 57−60) (sub D. louisianus) suggest similarity to the original description of D. serratichelis and are hence not questioned here. A closer examination of the Israeli material is required to confirm its identity.
Distribution. Only known from Rodos, possibly also present in Israel.
description: Published as part of Chatzaki, Maria & Keer, Johan Van, 2019, Ground spiders (Araneae: Gnaphosidae, Liocranidae, Prodidomidae) from the Greek islands Rodos, Symi and Karpathos, with the description of new species, pp. 434-460 in Zootaxa 4646 (3) on pages 436-439, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4646.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/3351022