Atelidea nona Sankaran & Malamel & Joseph & Sebastian 2017, sp. nov.

Atelidea nona sp. nov.

(Figs 22A–F, 23A–D, 24A–E, 25A–I, 26)

Type material. Holotype: Male (ADSH1004 A), INDIA: Kerala: Trivandrum, Kallar in Ponmudi, 8o45'35.79''N, 77o07'00.75''E, 920 m. alt., 0 1 November 2014, M.S. Pradeep leg., from foliage, by hand.

Diagnosis. Males of A. nona sp. nov. can be separated from the males of A. spinosa, the only congener by the following combination of characters: metatarsus I lacks ventral line of short and thick macrosetae (metatarsus I of A. spinosa with ventral line of short and thick macrosetae), large cymbial dorso-basal process (A. spinosa with short cymbial dorso-basal process), tegulum with a sharp disto-prolateral process (tegulum of A. spinosa lacks disto-prolateral process), large subtegulum (subtegulum small in A. spinosa), long conductor without terminal apophysis (conductor in A. spinosa short with a terminal apophysis) and long embolus with apical twist (embolus in A. spinosa short, straight) (compare Figs 24E, 25A–I with Álvarez-Padilla & Benjamin 2011: figs 2E, 5A, E).

Description. Male (holotype, Figs 22A–C, 23A–D, 24E). Prosoma shiny, brownish with paired yellowishbrown patches on both sides of fovea; thoracic region with black margins. Eyefield brownish with median ocular quad black. Lateral eyes contiguous, situated on a shallow tubercle (Fig. 23A–B). Clypeus, chelicerae, maxillae, labium, fangs brownish. Chelicerae massive, slightly divergent (Fig. 23A); promargin with three widely spaced teeth, 2nd lies away from fang furrow, basal tooth with swollen base; retromargin with four equally spaced teeth and a short tubercle near to the 4th tooth (Fig. 23C). Sternum brownish, with diffused black shades, rebordered, triangular with intercoxal extentions, with bifid posterior extension (Fig. 23D). Abdomen nearly rectangular, creamy-white; dorsum with scattered silvery-white spots, marginally with broad longitudinal black patches, with a mid-dorsal small pale black patch; laterals with longitudinal black striations and silvery-white spots; venter with a median broad pale black patch. Spinnerets, lung cover pale black. Leg segments yellowish-brown to brown towards distally; femur III prolaterally with a single row of trichobothriae (4 in number); femur IV prolaterally with two rows of trichobothriae (15 in number). Body length 3.48. Prosoma length 1.85, width 1.28. Opisthosoma length 1.63, width 1.01. Eye diameter: ALE 0.10. AME 0.15. PLE 0.09. PME 0.12. Eye interdistance: AME–ALE 0.11. AME–AME 0.10. AME–PME 0.09. PME–PLE 0.13. PME–PME 0.09. Clypeus height at ALE 0.14, at AME 0.09. Length of chelicerae 1.08. Length of trochanter of pedipalp 0.49. Measurements of pedipalp and legs: Pedipalp 1.72 [0.67, 0.17, 0.38, 0.50], I 13.79 [3.79, 0.68, 3.74, 4.47, 1.11], II 8.36 [2.45, 0.55, 2.03, 2.51, 0.82], III 3.92 [1.25, 0.33, 0.78, 1.07, 0.49], IV 6.51 [2.01, 0.39, 1.52, 1.94, 0.65]. Leg formula: 1243. Spination. Pedipalp. 0 0 0 0, 0 0 0 0, 0 0 0 0, 0000; legs: femur I 3220, II 0 220, III 0 0 0 0, IV 1500; patellae I–IV 0200; tibia I 3220, II 1220, III 0 100, IV 1110; metatarsi I–II 0 200, III 1000, IV 2100 (right 1100); tarsi I–IV 0 0 0 0. Pedipalp (Figs 24A–D, 25A–I): Pedipalp segments yellowish; patella and tibia with a long disto-dorsal macroseta (Figs 24A, D, 25E); cymbium with diffused black shades. Cymbial dorso-basal process large, situated horizontally to the longitudinal axis of cymbium, with dorsally curved tip (Figs 24A, D, 25A, D). Paracymbium strong, hook-shaped, apical part not touching with the bulb (Figs 24B–D, 25B–D). Bulb brownish. Tegulum longer than wide, with a prominent disto-prolateral process (Figs 24B–C, 25B–C). Subtegulum broad. Conductor membranuous; proximal 2/3rd folded to form a tube-like stalk, distal 1/3rd flat, foliage-like (Fig. 25F–I). Embolus filiform with an apical twist, angular; embolic base short, lying in close contact with conductor base (Figs 24B–C, 25B–C, F–I). Sperm duct weakly coiled.

Etymology. The specific epithet is an adjective and refers to the absence of ventral line of short and thick macrosetae on male metatarsus I of the new species. Latin non = lack. Gender feminine.

Note. The occurrence of a ventral line of short and thick macrosetae on male metatarsus I is considered as a prominent feature facilitating generic level identification of Atelidea (Simon 1895: 737; Álvarez-Padilla & Benjamin 2011: figs 1F, 3D, F). But the metatarsus I of A. nona sp. nov. lacks such macrosetae (Fig. 24E) indicating that this feature is only species specific and is not dependable for generic level identification.

FIGURE 26. Currently known distribution of the genus Atelidea Simon, 1895. * Atelidea nona sp. nov., ● Atelidea spinosa Simon, 1895.