Dictis strandi comb. nov.

Figs 1 - 10

Scytodes strandi Spassky, 1941: 19, figs 7–9 (♂ ♀).

Scytodes strandi: Özkütük et al. 2013: 13, 3 a – e (♂ ♀).

Material examined.

GEORGIA – Kakheti • 1 ♀ (CaBOL-ID 1038624); Dedoplistskaro Mun., Vashlovani NP, Mijniskure; N 41.1245 °, E 46.6456 °; semidesert, under rocks; 22 May 2024; leg. Seropian A. • 2 ♂♂ (CaBOL-IDs 1038625, 103826); Same as previous; 13 Sep. 2024. Males were reared in captivity from egg-sac carried by the collected female. The material is stored at an ISU scientific facility.

Diagnosis.

Dictis strandi comb. nov. resembles a polymorphic D. striatipes L. Koch, 1872 (Zamani et al. 2022: figs 11 A – J; figs 12 A – D), from which it can be distinguished by the following characteristics: Males of D. strandi comb. nov. differ by having a straight retrolateral subapical process (SaP) located at the base of the psembolic apex (PsA), ca. 4.3 times shorter than the psembolus (PS), (Figs 1–2) [vs. prolateral pick (Zamani et al. 2022: fig. 11 K)]; female of D. strandi comb. nov. differs by having an oval receptacle head (RH) and thinner receptacle stem (RS) [vs. rounded receptacle head and thicker receptacle stem (Zamani et al. 2022: figs. 12 C – D)], and by postepigastric fovea (F) and positioning ridges (PR) separated from each other ca. three times their width [vs. four times in D. striatipes (Zamani et al. 2022: figs 12 A – C)].

Description.

Male (Figs 1–2, 8 – 9). Total length 4.73 / 4.75. Carapace 2.65 / 2.65 long, 2.31 / 2.31 wide. Sternum 1.51 / 1.51 long, 1.29 / 1.28 wide. Chelicerae length 0.72 / 0.72. Eye diameters: ALE 0.12 / 0.12, PME 0.13 / 0.13, PLE 0.12 / 0.12. Palp as shown in Figs 1–2: Ti ca. 1.1 times longer than wide, and ca. 1.3 times longer than Pa. Cymbium / bulb length ratio ca. 0.78. Tegulum (Te) subglobular, ca. 1.1 times wider than long. Psembolus / subapical process length ratio ca. 4.3.

Coloration: Carapace beige-light yellow, with ornament consisting of two broad longitudinal light-brown bands with light patches, running from clypeus to posterior part of carapace, and light-brown lateral bands broken into lines and spots. Chelicerae beige, with two diagonally placed dark-brown patches each. Sternum, labium, and endites, light yellow. Palps yellow, with apically darkened Fe and Pa; legs light-yellow, with apically darkened Pa and Ti. Leg measurements as in Table 1. Abdomen dorsally beige-light yellow, posteriorly with three pairs of large dark spots forming longitudinal bands and smaller irregular dark spots forming median and anterior transverse bands running down towards the sides of abdomen. Venter uniformly light-beige.

Female (paratype) (Figs 5 – 7, 10). Significantly larger than males. Total length 9.87. Carapace 3.97 long, 3.47 wide. Sternum 2.23 long, 1.74 wide. Chelicerae length 1.06. Endogyne as shown in Figs 5–6: Post gastric fovea (F) triangle-like shaped, separated from each other ca. 3 times their width; receptacle head (RH) ovoid, ca. 2 times as long as wide, separated from each other ca. 1.4 times their width; RS / RH length ratio ca. 1.4.

Coloration as in males, with the carapace and abdomen having much darker dorsal ornaments (Figs 7, 10). Legs coloration: Fe I dark-brown, distally yellow-beige, Pa, Ti, and Mt I dark brown, Ta I beige; Fe II dark-brown with apically tapering beige dorsum, Pa II dark-brown with beige dorsum, Ti and MT-II dark-brown, Ta II beige; Fe III dark-brown with apically tapering beige dorsum, Pa II light-brown with beige dorsum, Ti III beige, with narrow dark-brown distal and apical annulations, and broad dark-brown median annulation, Mt III distally light-brown, apically beige, Ta III beige; Fe IV beige, with dark-brown lines and dots in apical half, Pa IV light-brown, with pair of dark-brown lateral lines in apical and distal halves, Ti IV beige, with narrow dark-brown distal and apical annulations, and broad dark-brown median annulation, Mt IV beige, distally dark-brown, Ta IV beige. Leg measurements as in Table 2. Eye diameters: ALE 0.14, PME 0.13, PLE 0.11.

Habitat.

For habitat photos, see Seropian et al. (2024: figs. 51–52).

Distribution.

Iran, Central Asia (except for Kazakhstan) (WSC 2024), Georgia (current paper). It is the westernmost record of the genus.

Remarks.

The live female was placed in a 10 ml vial without substrate and found dead on 1 July. A carefully opened egg sac revealed four fully developed spiderlings, of which only two have molted successfully and were then placed in 5 ml vials without any substrate. Spiders were fed daily with soft-bodied arthropods (Collembola, Thysanura, Drosophila spp.) until they reached sexual maturity in the first decade of September. Adult males refused to eat. These observations suggest an annual life cycle.