Physocyclus pocamadre Nolasco & Valdez-Mondragón 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Nolasco, Garduño
name: Valdez-Mondragón, Alejandro
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Pholcidae
Physocyclus
Physocyclus pocamadre

description: Physocyclus pocamadre sp. nov. Valdez-Mondragón & Nolasco
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: C1CAEA70-9477-4C27-BB99-41ED86B39D3B
Figs 64–69
Differential diagnosis
Females of Physocyclus pocamadre sp. nov. resemble those of P. xerophilus by shape and size of VAE. In P. pocamadre sp. nov. (1) VAE slightly elongated, in parallel position (Fig. 67–68); (2) epigynum longer than wide (Fig. 67); (3) lateral constrictions of epigynum absent; (4) PP elongated, thin, without bag-shaped structures below (Fig. 69).
Etymology
The species name is a noun in apposition, from the Mexican slang words “poca madre”, which mean something cool or something nice.
Material examined
Holotype MEXICO • ♀; Baja California Sur, Municipality of La Paz, cave close to the beach “El Tecolote ”, highway La Paz – El Tecolote; 24.3330°N, − 110.3127°W; 4 m a.s.l.; 7 Aug. 2019; A. Valdez, P. Solís, A. Cabrera and D. Montiel leg.; daytime collection; CNAN-T01479.
Paratypes MEXICO • 2 ♀♀; same collection data as for holotype; CNAN-T01480. • 1 ♀; Baja California, Municipality of Ensenada, beach “Punta San Francisquito ”, San Francisquito Bay; 28.4089° N, 112.8581°W; 4 m a.s.l.; 23 Jul. 2019; A. Valdez, P. Solís, A. Cabrera and D. Montiel leg.; nighttime collection; CNAN-T01481.
Description
Female (holotype, CNAN-T01479)
MEASUREMENTS. Total length 3.2. Carapace 1.4 long, 1.5 wide. Clypeus 0.3. Diameter AME 0.07, ALE 0.11, PME 0.11, PLE 0.12. Distance ALE-PME 0.05, PME-PME 0.13. Leg lengths: I (total 18.2): femur 5.4/patella 0.6/tibia 5.8/metatarsus 5.2/tarsus 1.2; tibia II: 4.3; tibia III: 3.3; tibia IV: 4.4; tibia I L/d: 41.1.
PROSOMA. Carapace beige color, with a Y-shaped pale brown pattern around fovea and posterior part of ocular region (Figs 64–65). Carapace with a dorsal protuberance in posterior part (red arrow on Fig. 64). Fovea longitudinal. Clypeus without marks, entirely pale beige. Chelicerae with light brown coloration, without stridulatory files (Fig. 65). Sternum pale brown. Labium and endites dark brown, both wider than long (Fig. 66).
LEGS. All segments with beige coloration. Tibiae and femora with light gray rings distally. Trochanters light beige, with a notch distally (Figs 64–66).
OPISTHOSOMA. Longer than wide, with a dorsal patch located in anterior part (blue arrow on Fig. 64). This structure might be functional, together with dorsal protuberance of carapace (Fig. 64).
EPIGYNUM. Longer than wide, with VAE small, semi-conical, pointing forward (Figs 67–68). VAE darker than rest of epigynum (Fig. 67). PP thin and markedly long (Fig. 69). Sclerotized arc of uterus thin (Fig. 69).
Male
Unknown.
Variation
Females
Females paratypes smaller than female holotype. One of them has a pale beige coloration and the pattern of the body has a light gray coloration, whereas the other female has a similar color as the female holotype. (N =2): female 1: tibia I: 5.3; tibia II: 3.9; tibia III: 2.9; tibia IV: 3.9. Female 2: tibia I: missing; tibia II: 3.6; tibia III: 2.7; tibia IV: 3.8. The ring coloration of tibiae and femora are light beige, barely visible. The pattern on carapace is slightly dark. (N =1): tibia I: 7.8; tibia II: 5.6; tibia III: 3.8; tibia IV: 5.4.
Natural history
The specimens were collected on their sheet webs among and under large boulders on the ground at both localities, close to the beaches “El Tecolote” and “Punta San Francisquito” (Figs 76–77). The vegetation type of both localities is dry xerophilous scrub, with cacti and scrubby vegetation (Figs 76–77). The specimens collected close to the beach “El Tecolote” were collected on their sheet webs among and under large boulders on the ground, and on walls of the cave, which is a concavity on a big wall.
Distribution
Mexico: Baja California and Baja California Sur (Fig. 78).
description: Published as part of Nolasco, Garduño & Valdez-Mondragón, Alejandro, 2022, Four new species of the spider genus Physocyclus Simon, 1893 (Araneae: Pholcidae) from Mexico, with updated taxonomic identification keys, pp. 173-206 in European Journal of Taxonomy 813 on pages 201-204, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.813.1739, http://zenodo.org/record/6484118