Afraflacilla goaensis Gawas & Tripathi, 2024

Gawas, Vibhuti U., Tripathi, Rishikesh, Sudhikumar, Ambaraparambil Vasu & Sawant, Nitin S., 2024, A new species of Afraflacilla Berland & Millot, 1941 (Araneae, Salticidae) from India, Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 10 (1), pp. 125-132 : 126-127

Afraflacilla goaensis Gawas & Tripathi sp. nov. ( Figs 1–2)

https://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:7EDAE069-4B84-465C-B87F-A78334087105

Material examined. Holotype ♂ (NRC-AA-8611), INDIA: Goa, North Goa, Tiswadi, Chorao Island (15.515662° N, 73.869248° E; 3 m a.s.l), 23 July 2022, V. Gawas leg., from branch, by hand.

Etymology. The specific epithet is an adjective, referring to the type locality of the new species.

Diagnosis. The male of Afraflacilla goaensis sp. nov. is most similar to that of Afraflacilla ballarini Cao & Li, 2016 as both have an oval bulb and embolus arising at a 9 o’clock position, but can be distinguished from it by RTA short and broad (vs. long and thin in A. ballarini ; cf. Figs 2F–G with Cao et al., 2016: figs 1B–D).

Description Male holotype ( Figs 1–2). Measurements. Body length 4.15. Carapace length 1.67, width 1.16. Opisthosoma length 2.48, width 1.14. Eye diameters: AME 0.27, ALE 0.16, PME 0.06, PLE 0.15. Eye interdistances: PME–PME 0.18, ALE–ALE 0.65, PME–PLE 0.17, PLE–PLE 0.78, ALE–PME 0.24. Length of chelicerae 0.55. Measurements of palp and legs: Palp 1.18 [0.47, 0.14, 0.11, 0.46], legs: I 3.98 [1.11, 0.62, 1.24, 0.71, 0.30], II 2.12 [0.69, 0.31, 0.48, 0.37, 0.27], III 2.18 [0.72, 0.29, 0.42, 0.51, 0.24], IV 3.14 [1.04, 0.43, 0.76, 0.65, 0.26]. Leg formula: 1432. Spination. Palp: femur do 1, patella spineless, tibia spineless, tarsus plv 1. Legs: femur I spineless, II pld 1 do 3, III and IV pld 1 do 3 rld 1; patellae I–IV spineless; tibiae I and IV plv 1, II spineless, III rlv 1; metatarsus I plv 1 rlv 1, II–IV pl 1 plv 1 rlv 1; tarsi I–IV spineless. Colour in alcohol: Carapace, clypeus, chelicerae, labium, endites, sternum, leg I and palp burnt orange; spinnerets light brown; eye field nearly black; carapace covered with scattered fine black hairs ( Fig. 2A–C).

Ocular region longer than wide, covered with brown long hairs. Lateral sides of carapace with a row of twelve long black curved bristles below eyes ( Fig. 2C). AME and ALE nearly contiguous ( Fig. 2D). Chelicerae dorsolaterally flat and without much hair; promargin with 2 closely arranged teeth, retromargin with 1 tooth. Fovea short, longitudinal, straight, reddish-brown ( Fig. 2A). Opisthosoma oval, hirsute; dorsum coffee brown with creamy dots and a narrow light yellowish brown transverse stripe posteriorly ( Fig. 2A). Leg I robust, nearly as long as body ( Fig. 2E). Palp ( Fig. 2F–G): segments orangish-brown; RTA flat, broad, wharncliffe knife-shaped in retrolateral view ( Fig. 2G); bulb oval, with a small medioretrolaterally blunt growth ( Fig. 2F); embolus arising at a 9 o’clock position and coiled once around bulb ( Fig. 2F).

Female. Unknown

Distribution. Known only from the type locality ( Fig. 3).

Habitat. Chorao is an estuarine island nestled within the Mandovi River's backwaters. It marks the starting point of the Mandovi estuary's mangrove ecosystem, which stretches for 34 km upstream. Chorao Island hosts thriving mangrove swamps, creating a rich estuarine wetland environment. Among the various mangrove species found on Chorao, Avicennia officinalis L., A. alba Blume , Bruguiera cylindrica (L.), Kandelia candel (L.), Rhizophora mucronata , and R. apiculata Blume are the most common. A portion of the island, specifically 178 hectares, is situated within the boundaries of the Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary ( Figs 1, 3) and is protected.