Corresponding author: Gábor Kovács (
Academic editor: Jeremy Miller
According to the most recent taxonomic literature, three species of the genus
Kovács G, Prazsák I, Eichardt J, Vári G, Gyurkovics H (2015) A new ladybird spider from Hungary (Araneae, Eresidae). ZooKeys 494: 13–30. doi:
The velvet spiders (family
According to the latest studies (
The long and complicated scientific history of the
The Hungarian spider fauna was first studied in detail by Ottó Herman, who also gave a detailed description of the
However, subsequent authors (e. g.
Recently,
During an ongoing project aimed at mapping the distribution of
Specimens were either collected individually or by using pitfall traps, and stored in 70% ethyl-alcohol.
We studied 31 males, 15 females and 6 juveniles of
All specimens of the new species examined, including holotype and four paratypes, have been deposited in the Soil Zoological Collection (former
Specimens and copulatory organs were studied using a Leica MZ FL III stereomicroscope and photographed by Canon Q Imaging Micro 5.0 RTV at the Institute of Genetics, BRC. Scanning electron micrographs were taken with a Hitachi S-4700 microscope at the Department of Applied and Environmental Chemistry, University of Szeged, Hungary.
Standard abbreviations of morphological terms follow
Translation of Hungarian geographical names in the description of collection material is -
The genus
Dedicated to Ottó Herman (1835–1914), the Hungarian arachnologist and polymath, who first recognized color variants within Hungarian
Females of this species differ from all other
Distinguishing morphological characters of species belonging to
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Prosoma length | 3.6–6.1 (mean 4.7) | 4.2–7.2 (mean 5.4) |
Color of prosoma | black, sparsely sprinkled with off-white to light brown setae, more heavily anteriorly (Fig. |
black, sparsely sprinkled with off-white to light brown setae, more heavily anteriorly (Fig. |
Epigyne | (i) epigynal pit extending all the way to posterior epigyne (Figs |
(i) epigynal pit extending all the way to posterior epigyne (Figs |
(ii) anterior 1/3 of fissures markedly incurvated sidewards, anterior tip usually not incurvated (Figs |
(ii) anterior 1/3 of fissures slightly inclined sideways, anterior tip weakly bent (Figs |
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Vulva | (i) anterior section of copulatory ducts strongly sclerotized, usually elongated (Figs |
(i) anterior section of copulatory ducts weakly sclerotized, usually globular Figs |
(ii) spermathecae distinctly lobed (Figs |
(ii) spermathecae indistinctly lobed (Figs |
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Approximate ratio between greatest width of ML and that of epigyne | 4:10 | 5:10 |
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Prosoma length | 2.6–4.2 (mean 3.6) | 2.9–4.1 (mean 3.6) |
Number of black spots on opisthosoma | usually 4 | usually 6 |
White hairs on opisthosoma | usually present | usually absent |
Color of hind legs | proximally red, distally black (Fig. |
black, exceptionally with some red on femur (Fig. |
White transverse stripes on Leg I–II | narrow, covering only the distal edge of segments (Fig. |
very broad at the distal part of segments, widely extending into the proximal part of next segment (Fig. |
Red color on thoracic dorsum | only on flanks, at most a few red hairs posteriorly (Fig. |
only on flanks, at most a few red hairs posteriorly (Fig. |
Conductor in lateral view | moderately wrinkled, much longer than wide (Fig. |
almost smooth, about as long as wide (Fig. |
Terminal tooth of conductor | small, almost straight, pointed (Figs |
strong, long, almost straight, tip cropped (Fig. |
Groove of conductor in lateral view | shallow, V-shaped (Fig. |
deep, U-shaped (Fig. |
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Prosoma length | 6.6–9.9 (mean 8.2) | 5.9–9.9 (mean 7.5) |
Color of prosoma | entire prosoma grizzled light brown due to a heavy cover of off-white to light brown setae (Fig. |
black, except orange anterior (Fig. |
Epigyne | (i) flat plateaus between the posterior edge of epigynal pit and posterior of epigyne at sides of median lobe (Figs |
(i) epigynal pit extending all the way to posterior epigyne (Figs |
(ii) anterior ½ of fissures parallel to midline, anterior tip strongly incurved (Figs |
(ii) anterior ½ of fissures slightly diverging laterally, anterior tip strongly incurved– |
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Vulva | (i) anterior section of copulatory ducts weakly sclerotized, usually globular (Figs |
(i) anterior section of copulatory ducts strongly sclerotised, usually elongated (Figs |
(ii) spermathecae strongly lobed (Figs |
(ii) spermathecae strongly lobed (Figs |
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Approximate ratio between greatest width of ML and that of epigyne | 6:10 | 5:10 |
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Prosoma length | 2.9–4.1 (mean 3.4) | 3.5–5.6 (mean 4.6) |
Number of black spots on opisthosoma | nearly always 4 | nearly always 4 |
White hairs on opisthosoma | nearly always present | nearly always present |
Color of hind legs | red, tarsal joints brownish grey (Fig. |
red, tarsal joints brownish grey (Fig. |
White transverse stripes on Leg I–II | narrow, covering only the distal edge of segments (Fig. |
broad at the distal part of segments, usually extending to the proximal end of next segment (Fig. |
Red color on thoracic dorsum | only on flanks, at most a few red hairs posteriorly (Fig. |
extends to the middle, at least posteriorly (Fig. |
Conductor in lateral view | wrinkled, clearly wider than long (Fig. |
wrinkled, somewhat longer than wide (Fig. |
Terminal tooth of conductor | strongly incurvated, broad and blunt (Fig. |
strongly incurvated, narrows to a relatively pointed tip (Fig. |
Groove of conductor in lateral view | deep, narrow, |
round (Fig. |
1 | Anterior of cephalic region covered by bright yellow/orange setae |
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– | No bright yellow/orange setae on prosoma |
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2 | Entire prosoma covered heavily by off-white to light brown setae; large |
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– | Prosoma sparsely sprinkled with lightly colored setae, somewhat more heavily on the front; smaller |
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3 | Anterior of fissures only slightly inclined sideways, as in Fig. |
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– | Anterior of fissures markedly incurvated sideways, as in Fig. |
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1 | Terminal tooth of conductor strongly incurvated, hind legs almost entirely red |
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– | Terminal tooth of conductor nearly straight, at most weakly bent, red areas on hind legs not so extensive or entirely absent |
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2 | Conductor with a blunt terminal tooth and a narrow groove, prosoma barely broadens towards front |
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– | Conductor with a pointed terminal tooth and a round groove, prosoma strongly broadens towards front |
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3 | Conductor with a strong, long and slightly bent terminal tooth and a U-shaped (in lateral view) groove, hind legs nearly devoid of red setae |
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– | Conductor with a short, straight terminal tooth and a V-shaped (in lateral view) groove, hind legs with extensive areas of red color |
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Known from seven localities (Fig.
Known localities of all three
Drawings of
Outline of male prosomas of
Edges of a local variety of downy oak scrub woodland (
We wish to thank Csaba Szinetár, Tamás Szűts, Milan Řezáč, and an anonymous reviewer for their valuable advice on the manuscript. We would like to thank József Mihály (BRC Hungary) for his assistance with light microscopy and Ákos Kukovecz (University of Szeged) for his approval of the use of the scanning electron microscope. We are especially grateful to Jørgen Lissner and Walter Pfliegler for consenting to the use of their photographs in this manuscript. We thank the following colleagues, who generously provided us with specimens and locality data: András Rákóczi, Balázs Somogyi, Dávid Viktor Nagy, Edit Vadkerti, Gergely Ambrus, István Hahn, János Bodor, Krisztina Bleicher, Lilla Lajos, Ferenc Samu, Márton Szabó, Mónika Landy-Gyebnár, Jørgen Lissner, Péter Kovács, Róbert Gallé, László Somay, Tünde Rácz, Walter Pfliegler, Orsolya Szentjobbi and László Dányi (HNHM, Budapest). We are grateful to Jennifer Tusz for correcting the English of our manuscript.