Christo Deltshev1. 1. National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd., Sofia, Bulgaria.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The genus Heser (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) belongs to the Zelotes group, and is currently known to comprise 10 species distributed in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. The type species is Heser malefactor Tuneva, 2004 from Kazakhstan. NEW INFORMATION: A new spider species, Heser stoevi sp. nov. (male and female) found in Koytendag Mountains, southeastern Turkmenistan is described and illustrated. It is morphologically close to H. aradensis (Levy, 1998) from Israel but can be readily distinguished by the longer embolus, the smaller and flattened conductor, the lack of retrolateral tibial apophysis, all this coupled with very distinctive female copulatory organs. The new species was found under stones in arid grassland habitats.
BACKGROUND: The genus Heser (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) belongs to the Zelotes group, and is currently known to comprise 10 species distributed in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. The type species is Heser malefactor Tuneva, 2004 from Kazakhstan. NEW INFORMATION: A new spider species, Heser stoevi sp. nov. (male and female) found in Koytendag Mountains, southeastern Turkmenistan is described and illustrated. It is morphologically close to H. aradensis (Levy, 1998) from Israel but can be readily distinguished by the longer embolus, the smaller and flattened conductor, the lack of retrolateral tibial apophysis, all this coupled with very distinctive female copulatory organs. The new species was found under stones in arid grassland habitats.
The genus (, ) belongs to the group, which comprises genera of small to medium-sized spiders (typical size ranges from 2 to 10 mm) with preening distal combs on metatarsi III and IV (Murphy 2008). This character is not possessed by any other gnaphosid group. The genus is delimited by Tuneva (2004) with the description of the type species Tuneva, 2004 from Kazakhstan. In this work, she proposed also two new combinations, both ex. (Levy, 1998) from Israel, and (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872) from Egypt, Israel and Tanzania. Later, Bosselaers (2010) and Senglet (2012), described two other species, respectively Bosselar, 2010 from India and Senglet, 2012 from Spain. The latter author proposed also the new combinations (all ex. ): (Marinaro, 1967) from Spain, Algeria, (Marinaro, 1967) from Algeria, (Levy, 1998) from Israel, (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1874) from the Mediterranean region, Canary Is, Burkina Faso, USA and Mexico, and (Kulczyński, 1899) from Spain, Madeira, Canary Is. and USA (World Spider Catalog 2016).Thus, the genus is currently known to comprise 10 species ranging from India to the USA. Here, we describe a new species of collected from two closely situated localities in the Koytendag State Nature Reserve, Koytentag Mts, southeastern Turkmenistan. The material has been collected in the course of a Rapid Environmental Assessment survey carried out by an international team of zoologists in Koytendag Mts. (= Köýtendag, Kugitang, Koitendag, Kugitangtau, Kugitang-Tay, Kugitangtou).
Materials and methods
The specimens were hand-collected under stones. Coloration is described from alcohol-preserved specimens. Male palps and female genitalia were examined and illustrated after dissection from spiders’ bodies. All photos were taken with the aid of Panasonic DMC-FS62 digital camera mounted on Wild M5A stereomicroscope. Measurements of the legs are taken from the dorsal side. Total length of the body includes the chelicerae. All measurements are in mm. Abbreviations: AME – anterior median eyes; ALE – anterior lateral eyes; E – embolus; C – conductor; MA – median apophysis; PLE – posterior lateral eyes; PME – posterior median eyes; SD – sperm duct; ST – spermatheca. The type specimens are deposited in the National Museum of Natural History (NMNHS), Sofia, Bulgaria.Material used for comparison: (Levy, 1998), 1 male, Israel, nr. Nehusha, 14.05.2002, leg Y. Mandelik, det G. Levy; 1 male, Golan, Ramat Magshimim, 06.1998, leg I. Warburg, det G. Levy; 1 female, Golan, Geshur, 06.1998, leg I. Warburg, det G. Levy, Collection of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Zoological Museum.
Male holotype: Total length 5.25; prosoma, length 2.55, width 1.80; sternum length 1.43, width 1.05; chelicerae, length 0.75, width 0.30; opisthosoma, length 5.25. Carapace uniformly brown, with a fovea in the posterior half (Fig. 1a, c). All eyes subequal, AME circular, separated from each other by their own diameter, ALE oval, touching AME. PME oval to subtriangular, touching, larger than AME. PLE oval, slightly smaller than ALE, separated from PME by more of one PLE diameter. Clypeus vertical, large one diameter of AME. Chelicerae brown, with a few scattered thin setae on anterior surface, promarginal rim with three very small teeth spaced closely to fang base, retromarginal rim spineless. Sternum smooth, yellow brown, shield-shaped with a thin border (Fig. 1b). Abdomen grey with frontal row of curved hairs and a scutum covering about 10% of abdominal dorsal surface area (Fig. 1a, c). Legs yellowish to yellow-brown (Fig. 1a, c), leg formula 4123, measurements as in Table 1.
Figure 1a.
sp. n., holotype, dorsal view.
Figure 1c.
sp. n., holotype, ventral view.
Figure 1b.
, dorsal view.
Table 1.
sp. nov., leg measurements (holotype).
Legs
Femur
Patella
Tibia
Metatarsus
Tarsus
Total
I
-
-
-
-
-
-
II
1.58
0.98
1.20
1.05
0.83
5.64
III
1.35
0.75
0.90
1.13
0.75
4.88
IV
1.95
1.05
1.50
1.73
0.98
7.21
Male palp (Fig. 2a, b, c, Fig. 5a, c, e): Distinctive retrolateral tibial apophysis is not presented, hence distal part of tibia retrolateral is strongly chitinized and dark colored. The embolus is slender, basally prolaterally inserted, extends across the broad and flat conductor (sensu Bosselaers 2010), circling more than half of the tegulum. Median apophysis large, hook-shaped.
Figure 2a.
sp. n., holotype, ventral view.
Figure 2b.
, ventral view.
Figure 2c.
sp. n., holotype, prolateral view.
Figure 5a.
sp. n., holotype, ventral view.
Figure 5c.
sp. n., holotype, prolateral view.
Figure 5e.
sp. n., holotype, retrolateral view.
Female paratype: Total length 6.00; prosoma, length 2.63, width 1.80; sternum length 1.50, width 1.05; opisthosoma, length 3.38 (Fig. 3a, c). All characters as described for male. Leg measurements as in Table 2.
Figure 3a.
sp. n., paratype, dorsal view.
Figure 3c.
sp. n., paratype, ventral view.
Table 2.
sp. nov., leg measurements (paratype).
Legs
Femur
Patella
Tibia
Metatarsus
Tarsus
Total
I
1.65
1.05
1.28
0.9
0.75
5.63
II
1.05
0.75
1.05
0.9
0.68
4.43
III
1.13
0.75
0.75
0.9
0.68
4.21
IV
1.8
0.9
1.43
1.35
0.75
6.23
Epigyne and vulva (Figs 4a, b, 6a, b): characterized by well-developed copulatory openings, leading to coiled insemination ducts, connected with coiled spermathecae.
Figure 4a.
sp. n., paratype, ventral view.
Figure 4b.
, ventral view.
Figure 6a.
sp. n., paratype, ventral view.
Figure 6b.
, ventral view.
Diagnosis
The somatic characters of the new species correspond to those of the genus , but the genitalia are distinctive and separate well the new species from all other congeners. Morphologically, the new species resembles (Fig. 1b, d) but the male has longer embolus, and smaller and flattened conductor (sensu Bosselaers 2010), as well as lacks distinctive retrolateral tibial apophysis (Fig. 2a, c, e). Female has distinctive epygine and vulva, characterized by well-defined copulatory openings leading to coiled insemination ducts, connected with coiled spermathecae (see Figs 4c, d, 6c, d for comparison).
Figure 1d.
, ventral view.
Figure 2e.
sp. n., holotype, retrolateral view.
Figure 4c.
sp. n., paratype, dorsal view.
Figure 4d.
, dorsal view.
Figure 6c.
sp. n., paratype, dorsal view.
Figure 6d.
, dorsal view.
Etymology
Named in honour of the Bulgarian zoologist Pavel Stoev, who collected the species; name in genitive case.
Distribution
The species is hitherto known only from two closely situated localities in the western slope of Koytentag Mts, southeastern Turkmenistan (Fig. 7).
Figure 1a.
Figure 1c.
Figure 1b.
Figure 2a.
Figure 2b.
Figure 2c.
Figure 5a.
Figure 5c.
Figure 5e.
Figure 3a.
Figure 3c.
Figure 4a.
Figure 4b.
Figure 6a.
Figure 6b.
Figure 1d.
Figure 2e.
Figure 4c.
Figure 4d.
Figure 6c.
Figure 6d.
Figure 7.