Anemesia tubifex
Creators: name: Zonstein, Sergei
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Cyrtaucheniidae
Anemesia
Anemesia tubifex

description: Anemesia tubifex (Pocock, 1889)
Figs 4, 17, 51, 65, 79, 93, 106, 120, 161–162, 176, 195–196, 230–232, 271–272, 306–307, 369
Nemesia tubifex Pocock, 1889: 112 (♀).
Nemesia tubifex – Simon 1892: 113, 116.
Anemesia tubifex – Pocock 1895: 195, pl. V, fig. 4 (♀). — Simon 1903: 907 (♀). — Reimoser 1919: 188. — Roewer 1942: 177 (♀). — Bonnet 1955: 322 (♀). — Zonstein 2001: 11. — Marusik et al. 2014: 3.
Diagnosis
Anemesia tubifex can be distinguished from all other members of the same group by an unusually wide eye group with AMEs broader spaced from each other (Figs 51, 65; cf. Figs 48–50, 63–64). Males of A. tubifex differ from those of other species in the A. tubifex group by a less swollen and moderately spinose palpal tibia (Fig. 176; cf. Figs 173–175). The conspecific females possess the characteristic bipartite spermathecae with stalks slightly shorter than in other species of this group (Figs 230–232; cf. Figs 224–229).
Material examined
Holotype
AFGHANISTAN: ♀, north foothills of Paropamisus Mts, Gulran (750 m, 35°06′ N, 61°41′ E), Mar. 1885, J.E. T. Aitchison leg. (MNHL). The current poor condition of the holotype makes the examination of many characters (the spinnerets, etc.) impossible.
Additional material (2 ƋƋ, 5 ♀♀)
TURKMENISTAN: 1 ♀, Karabil Mts, surroundings of Takhta-Bazar (400 m, 35°56′ N, 62°57′ E), 21 Mar. 1980, G. T. Kuznetzov leg. (SMNH); 2 ƋƋ, 1 ♀, Kushka river valley, 5 km N of Kalaimor, 450 m, 35°42′ N, 62°37′ E, 19 Apr. 1993, S. Zonstein leg. (SMNH); 2 ♀♀, southwestern edge of Badhyz Plateau, Zulfagar Mts, surroundings of Nardenvaly spring, 800–1000 m, 35°47′ N, 61°21′ E, 13 Apr. 1993, S. Zonstein leg. (SMNH); 1 ♀, 12 km SSE Gyangaly (235 m, 36°55′51′ ′N, 60°50′22′′ E), 3 Apr. 2002, A. V. Gromov leg. (ZMMU).
Description
Male (from Kalaimor)
HABITUS. See Fig. 4.
MEASUREMENTS. TBL 14.80, CL 6.55, CW 5.67, LL 0.42, LW 1.06, SL 3.10, CW 2.68.
COLOUR. Carapace brownish orange with eye tubercle brownish black; chelicerae, all femora, palpal patella, cymbium, patellae and tibiae I–II dark foxy brown; patellae and tibiae III–IV, metatarsi and tarsi I–IV, sternum, labium and maxillae light foxy brown; sternal sigilla brown; abdomen dorsally light brownish grey with brownish black pattern consisting of median lanceolate spot intersected with wide transverse fascia in basal third and five pairs of short chevron-like lateral spots inclined backward; dorsal abdominal surface and spinnerets pale yellowish brown.
PROSOMA. Clypeus and eye tubercle as shown in Fig. 51. Eye diameters and interdistances: AME 0.15(0.22), ALE 0.30, PLE 0.26, PME 0.15, AME–AME 23(16), ALE–AME 0.16(0.13), ALE–PLE 0.10, PLE–PME 0.06, PME–PME 0.55. Cheliceral rastellum composed of 15–20 spikes located in front of claw base and on low mound. Each cheliceral furrow with 6–7 promarginal teeth and 5 smaller retromarginal teeth. Sternum, labium and maxillae as shown in Fig. 93. Maxillae with 14–15 cuspules each.
LEGS. Tibia and metatarsus I as shown in Fig. 120. Scopula: distal 2/5 on metatarsus I, distal 1/6 on metatarsus II, entire on tarsi I–II, absent on tarsi III–IV. Trichobothria: 2 rows of 7–9 each on tibiae, 13–17 on metatarsi, 15–17 on tarsi, 9 on cymbium. Trichobothrial bases and tarsal organ of leg I as shown in Figs 161 and 162, respectively. PTC I–III with 8 teeth on each margin; PTC IV with 5 teeth on outer and 7–8 teeth on inner margins.
SPINATION. Palp: femur d3, pd3; patella pd1; tibia p2–3, pv1, r1–2, rv1; tarsus d6. Leg I: femur d4, pd3, rd3; patella pd2; tibia p3, r3, v7+m; metatarsus p3, r1, v2–4. Leg II: femur d4, pd3, rd3; patella pd2; tibia p3, r1, v8–9; metatarsus p3, r1, v7. Leg III: femur d4, pd3, rd3; patella d1, p1, r3; tibia d1, p3, r3, v7; metatarsus d2, p3, rd3, v7; tarsus p1; Leg IV: femur d4, p3, r2–3; tibia d1, p3, r2–3, v8; metatarsus d2, pd2, p3, r3, v8–10; tarsus p1. Patella IV, and tarsi I and II aspinose.
PALP. Tibia, cymbium and palpal organ as shown in Figs 176, 195–196. Tibia moderately long and weakly swollen (Fig. 176). Palpal organ with embolus tapering and noticeably curved (Figs 195–196).
SPINNERETS. See Fig. 271. PMS: length 0.65, diameter 0.22. PLS: maximal diameter 0.52; length of basal, medial and apical segments 1.10, 0.75, 0.73; total length 2.50; apical segment triangular.
LEG MEASUREMENTS. Ƌ(♀)
Female (from Kalaimor)
HABITUS. See Fig. 17.
MEASUREMENTS. TBL 20.20, CL 8.63, CW 6.37, LL 0.77, LW 1.28, SL 4.75, SW 3.97.
COLOUR IN ALCOHOL. Similar to that of male, but carapace and legs are paler, as well as dorsal abdominal pattern is paler and less contrasted.
PROSOMA. Clypeus and eye tubercle as shown in Fig. 65. Eye diameters and interdistances: AME 0.20(0.30), ALE 0.42, PLE 0.26, PME 0.19, AME–AME 0.25(0.18), ALE–AME 0.23(0.19), ALE–PLE 0.18, PLE–PME 0.04 (left) to 0.06 (right), PME–PME 0.80. Cheliceral rastellum well developed and consists of about 10 spikes in front of fang base and ca 20 spikes on mound. Each cheliceral furrow with 6 promarginal teeth and 9 smaller retromarginal teeth. Sternum, labium and maxillae as shown in Fig. 106. Maxillae with 16–17 cuspules each.
LEGS. Scopula: distal on metatarsi I and II, entire on palpal tarsus and tarsi I and II, elsewhere absent. Trichobothria: 2 rows of 7–8 each on tibiae, 10–12 on metatarsi, 12–14 on tarsi. Palpal claw with 6 promarginal teeth. PTC I–II with 5–6 teeth on each margin; PTC III with 5–6 teeth on outer, 1–2 teeth on inner margins; PTC IV with 4 and 0 teeth, respectively.
SPINATION. Palp: femur d1, pd1; patella p2; tibia p4, v9–10; tarsus v3–4. Leg I: tibia v5–6; metatarsus v5–6. Leg II: tibia p2, v4; metatarsus v5. Leg III: patella p1; tibia d2, p2, v4; metatarsus d1, p4, v6; tarsus p1. Leg IV: tibia dr2, v4; metatarsus p3, rd2, v8. All femora with dorsal median row of 4–5 long bristles; femora III and IV also with 3 prodorsal and 3 retrodorsal bristles; patellae I, II and IV, and tarsi I, II and IV aspinose.
SPERMATHECAE. Bipartite, as shown in Figs 230–232.
SPINNERETS. See Fig. 272. PMS: length 0.65, diameter 0.35. PLS: maximal diameter 0.85; length of basal, medial and apical segments 1.50, 0.63, 0.73; total length 2.86; apical segment triangular.
Variation
The length of the carapace varies from 6.50 to 6.55 in males and from 7.52 to 8.63 in females; the number of the maxillary cuspules ranges between 11 and 17; both the colouration and the leg spination range very narrowly.
Habitat
The species was found to inhabit at least two types of habitats, in piedmont and montane areas of the Badhyz Plateau, respectively. The only visited piedmont habitat, located in the surroundings of Kalaimor, is typical for the region: a true sand desert occupying the upper terrace on the left bank of Kushka River, 1–1.5 km from the floodplain. A sandy substrate features sparse herb vegetation dominated by the ephemerous desert sedge, Carex physodes M.Bueb. The visited montane habitats, confined to a relatively high south-western edging of the uplands, represent mountainous wormwood and cereal steppe on a rocky substrate, with sparse trees and shrubs (see Fig. 307).
Distribution
Northern Afghanistan and the far southern Turkmenistan (Fig. 369).
Notes
Although the holotype is in poor condition (a result of careless sampling rather than bad preservation), the identification of other specimens belonging to Anemesia tubifex is not problematic. Among all members of the considered species group, only Anemesia tubifex has such a broadly extended eye group and such broadly spaced AMEs. Within females of Anemesia, the somewhat comparable eye group can be observed only in the geographically distant A. andreevae sp. nov., A. castanea sp. nov. and A. karatauvi (see Figs 66, 70–71). However, females of A. andreevae sp. nov. have legs III–IV barely stouter than legs I–II (vs evenly slender legs I–IV in A. tubifex), whereas females of A. castanea sp. nov. and A. karatauvi possess more numerous maxillary cuspules (40–70 vs 14–18 cuspules in A. tubifex).
Examination of the spider material used by Denis (1958) for his work on the spider fauna of Afghanistan, revealed that he listed a new record of A. tubifex erroneously, since the latter was based on misidentified material (see page 48). The corresponding reference is therefore excluded from the synonymy list of this species.
description: Published as part of Zonstein, Sergei, 2018, A revision of the spider genus Anemesia (Araneae, Cyrtaucheniidae), pp. 1-100 in European Journal of Taxonomy 485 on pages 17-20, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2018.485, http://zenodo.org/record/3829992