Vankeeria catoptronifera Bosselaers, 2012, sp. n.
Creators: name: Bosselaers, Jan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Liocranidae
Vankeeria
Vankeeria catoptronifera

description: <i>Vankeeria catoptronifera</i> sp. n. Figs. 2-6, 10-13, 15. <b>Type material.</b> Holotype female, Greece, Peloponnese, Achaia, A. Zachlorou, Vouraikos Gorge, alt. 1000 m, hand captured, 14 April 2000, J. Van Keer leg. [CJVK1971], deposited in RBINS. <b>Description</b> Male unknown. Female (holotype). Total length 4.70. Carapace length 1.85, w 1.70, fovea brown, length 0.20, anterior end 1.20 from front end of carapace. The orange brown, punctate carapace is covered by sparse white silky hairs in the cephalic region. AER w 0.48, PER w 0.58. AME separated from each other by half of their diameter, almost touching ALE. AME slightly smaller than ALE. PME almost circular, separated from each other by 1.5 times their diameter and from PLE by 3/4 of their diameter. PME slightly smaller than PLE. PLE slightly smaller than ALE, the same size as AME (Fig. 3). MOQ depth 0.27, anterior w 0.24, posterior w 0.27. Promarginal cheliceral rim with three teeth, largest one in the middle and smallest one furthest from fang base, retromarginal rim with two small teeth close to fang base, smallest one closest to fang base. Sternum length 1.18, w 1.05. Abdomen with a frontal row of a few sparse strong setae. Dorsal side of abdomen dark grey with a light grey triangular anterior patch, then, halfway between anterior and posterior end, two lateral subcircular white patches containing a faint sigillum, those patches in turn followed by two faint, light grey chevrons and an oval transverse posterior white patch (Figs. 2, 12). ALS separated by 1/3 of their length, PLS separated by their length. Small ve, non-erectile bristles on mt I and II. Feathery hairs present. Tarsi with toothed claws and six pairs of tenent hairs (Figs. 10-11). Leg formula 4123. Leg spination (Fig. 15) fe: palp do 0-1-3 rlv 1-1-1; I pl 0-0-1 do 1-1-0; II do 1-1-0; III do 1-2-2; IV do 1-1-2; pa: palp pl 1-0-0 do 0-0-1; ti: palp pl 2-0-0 do 1-0-1; I plv 1-1-1-1-1-1 rlv 1-1-1-1- 1-1-1; II plv 1-1-1-1-1-1 rlv 1-1-1-1-1; III pl 0-1-0 rl 0-1-0 ve 2-(2)-2; IV pl 0-1-0 rl 1-1- 1 plv 1-1-1 rlv 0-0-1; mt: I plv 1-1 rlv 1-1; II plv 1-1 rlv 1-1; III ve 2-0-0; IV rlv 1-0-0. Epigyne (Figs. 4, 13) a subrectangular brown sclerotised plate with a wide anterior hood and large anterior entrances with a longitudinal sclerotised rim. Vulva: in order not to damage the unique type specimen, the vulva was not studied. <b>Etymology</b> The species epithet catoptronifera, from the Greek κατοπτρον, mirror, refers to the mirror-like white patches on the do side of the abdomen of the new species. <b>Discussion</b> <i>Vankeeria catoptronifera</i> sp. n. is one of the only liocranids known with a strikingly marked abdomen. <i>Sphingius octomaculatus</i> Deeleman-Reinhold, 2001 also has white spots on a dark abdomen, but these are much smaller and fainter than those of <i>Vankeeria</i>. Apparently this beautiful species is very rare and elusive. The type specimen is described by Van Keer as a fast runner. <b>Distribution.</b> Known only from the type locality.
description: Published as part of <i>Bosselaers, Jan, 2012, Two interesting new ground spiders (Araneae) from the Canary Islands and Greece, pp. 83-90 in Serket 13 (1)</i> on pages 88-89, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.583990