Hippasa loundesi Gravely 1924

Hippasa loundesi Gravely, 1924

Figs 16–18, 38

Hippasa loundesi Gravely, 1924: 594, fig. 1E (♀). Tikader & Malhotra 1980: 280, figs 77–79 (♀).

Type material. Holotype ♀ from INDIA: Tamil Nadu: Salem: Yercaud: Servarayan Hills (Shevaroy Hills) (11°46'N, 78°12'E; 1410 m alt.), date unknown, D. Loundes leg., repository NZC-ZSI (5225/H2), not found.

Topotype material examined. INDIA: Tamil Nadu: Salem: Yercaud (11°46'N, 78°12'E; 1420 m alt.), 28 May 2019, M.S. Pradeep & A. V. Mathew leg., from web on roadside mud embankment, by hand: 2 ♀♀, 1 subadult ♀ (ADSH5950251).

Other material examined. INDIA: Tamil Nadu: Javadi Hills / Javadhu Hills / Jawadhi Hills / Jawadhu Hills: Nadur, 26-30 June 1929, H.S. Pruthi leg.: 1 ♀, 1 subadult ♀ (NZC-ZSI 2229 /18). Kerala: Pathanamthitta: Gavi (9°26'09.07''N, 77°09'56.78''E; 1192 m alt.), 21 December 2013, M.S. Pradeep leg., from web on grassland, by hand: 1 ♀ (ADSH5950252).

Diagnosis. Females of H. loundesi are similar to the females of H. lycosina as both share similar spermathecal stalks of vulva with wide proximal and tubular distal parts and large accessory glands, but can be separated from the latter by squarish median plate of epigyne (vs. triangular in H. lycosina), median plate without atrium (vs. present in H. lycosina) and median plate with lateral and posterior thickenings (vs. absent in H. lycosina, compare Figs 17E–F, 18A–B with Figs 20F–G, 21D–F).

Supplementary description. Female in ethanol (ADSH5950251; Fig. 17A–C). Carapace medially pale brownish, with a median straight white stripe extending from PMEs to rear end of fovea, with paired lateral longitudinal white stripes extending along the entire length of carapace, medially clothed with fine, black, appressed setae, with a few scattered erect spine-like setae restricted to cephalic part. Eye region, clypeus, endites, labium, sternum pale brownish; chelicerae dark brownish; dorsum and sides of opisthosoma, and spinnerets blackish, venter of opisthosoma creamy-white; leg and palp segments pale brownish to brownish with black patches and annulations. Thoracic fovea reddish brown, long (0.99), straight, longitudinal (Fig. 17A). Thoracic part laterally black. Cheliceral inner and outer surfaces with stridulatory files; promargin provided with a series of long setae with bend tips, both pro- and retromargins with three teeth (Fig. 17C). Sternum with scattered, greyish black setae, with a broad, median longitudinal black band (Fig. 17B). Opisthosoma elongate-ovoid, hirsute (Fig. 17A); cardiac area marked with a brownish patch; dorsum anteriorly with a pair of white lateral stripes, with a few scattered white spots and patches, medioposteriorly with a few transverse, roughly W-shaped bands. Spinnerets hirsute. Legs long, slender, hirsute, spinose; all tarsi with complete and metatarsi I–II with distal scopulae, all well-developed. Palp segments with black patches and annulations; tarsus with single claw, distoventrally with bunch of long setae. Body length 17.33. Carapace 8.13 long, 5.73 wide. Opisthosoma 9.20 long, 4.88 wide. Eye diameters and interdistances: ALE 0.25, AME 0.29, PLE 0.51, PME 0.52; AME–ALE 0.23, AME–AME 0.22, AME–PME 0.42, PLE–PLE 1.24, PME–PLE 0.42, PME–PME 0.48. Clypeus height at AMEs 0.41, at ALEs 0.36. Length of chelicerae 3.38. Measurements of palp and legs: palp 9.95 [3.32, 1.64, 2.17, 2.82], I 19.93 [5.40, 2.57, 4.61, 4.89, 2.46], II 19.86 [5.40, 2.50, 4.28, 4.86, 2.82], III 19.39 [5.45, 2.24, 3.98, 5.22, 2.50], IV 27.34 [6.72, 2.53, 5.95, 8.59, 3.55]. Leg formula: 4123. Spination of palp: femur pld 1 do 4 rld 1, patella pld 1 do 2, tibia pl 2 rld 1, tarsus/cymbium pl 2 pld 1 rl 1 rld 1; legs: femur I pld 2 do 3 rld 3, II pld 3 do 3 rld 4, III pld 3 do 3 rld 3, IV pld 2 do 3 rld 1; patellae I–IV pld 1 do 2 rld 1; tibia I pl 1 pld 1 plv 3 rl 1 rlv 3, II pl 1 pld 1 plv 1 rl 2 rld 2 rlv 3, III pl 1 pld 1 plv 3 rl 1 rld 1 rlv 1, IV pl 1 pld 1 plv 3 do 1 rl 2 rld 1; metatarsus I pld 2 plv 3 rld 1 rlv 3 vt 1, II pld 2 plv 3 rl 1 rld 2 rlv 3, III–IV pld 3 plv 3 rld 3 rlv 3 vt 1; tarsi I–IV spineless. Genitalia (Figs 17D–F, 18A–B): epigyne clothed in bushy setae (Fig. 17D), with squarish median and short lateral plates (Figs 17E, 18A; MEP, LEP); median plate with lateral and W-shaped posterior thickenings (Figs 17E, 18A). Spermathecal stalks with wide proximal and narrow tubular distal parts (Figs 17F, 18B). Accessory glands globular, without stalk, arising laterally on proximal part of spermathecal stalks (Fig. 18B; AG). Spermathecae globular (Figs 17F, 18B; S). Fertilization ducts anteriorly directed, parallel (Fig. 18B; FD).

Male. Unknown.

Variation. Female (n=3): body length 17.21–17.33.

Distribution. India: Kerala (new record), Tamil Nadu (Gravely 1924; Tikader & Malhotra 1980; present data) (Fig. 38).

Remarks. We were unable to trace the type of H. loundesi in the NZC-ZSI collection, which may either be lost or misplaced elsewhere in the collection. The NZC-ZSI collection currently has one glass bottle for this species, containing a female with intact genitalia and a subadult female specimens, both are in bad condition (2229/18). These specimens were collected by H. S. Pruthi and were determined as H. loundesi by T. B. Sinha, who studied the type of H. loundesi (Sinha 1951). Moreover, these specimens were collected from the Javadhu Hills in Tamil Nadu, which is ~150 Km away from the Servarayan Hills, the type-locality of H. loundesi (Gravely 1924). The NZC-ZSI collection has one more glass bottle labeled as ‘ Paralectotypes, H. loundesi ’. These specimens are misidentified and are of H. himalayensis.