New jumping spiders from the alpine meadows of the Valley of Flowers, western Himalayas, India (Araneae, Salticidae)

Abstract Two new jumping spider species: Nandiciusvallisflorumsp. n., (♀) and Pelleneshimalayasp. n. (♂, ♀), are diagnosed, described and illustrated in detail. The specimens were collected from the Valley of Flowers, western Himalayas, Uttarakhand State of India.


Introduction
The Indian salticid diversity is represented by 245 species in 79 genera (WSC 2018) of which, 65 species under 40 genera are known from across the Indian Himalayan region (Caleb and Kumar 2018a). While examining specimens from recent biodiversity surveys on the alpine meadows of the 'Valley of Flowers' (VOF), a high-altitude Himalayan valley in Uttarakhand state of India, two new species of jumping spiders were recognized. The VOF is a recognized UNESCO world heritage site known for its unique natural elegance, and is home to several rare, endangered, and high-altitude flora and fauna (Kala 2005).
The genus Nandicius Prószyński, 2016 contains eight valid species from Asia, of which two species, N. frigidus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1885) and N. mussooriensis (Prószyński, 1992) are known from India (WSC 2018). The genus Pellenes Simon, 1876 consists of 83 described species known from Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Australia (WSC 2018). Two species are known from India, P. allegrii Caporiacco, 1935 andP. maderianus Kulczyński, 1905 (Caporiacco 1935;Prószyński 1992). The record of P. maderianus in India is presumably doubtful and misidentified as stated by both Logunov et al. (1999) and Prószyński (2016). Recently, a new species, P. iva Caleb, 2018 was described from South India (Caleb and Kumar 2018b). The present paper provides detailed descriptions and illustrations of two new species: Nandicius vallisflorum sp. n., and Pellenes himalaya sp. n. This paper is part of an on-going study recording the biodiversity across the Indian Himalayan region.

Materials and methods
Specimens were hand collected and preserved in 70% ethanol. Morphological examination and photography were performed under a Leica EZ4 HD stereomicroscope. Detailed micro-photographs were obtained using a Leica M205A stereomicroscope attached with Leica DFC500 HD camera enabled with a Leica Application Suite (LAS) version 3.8. Epigyne was dissected and macerated in 10% KOH to clear soft tissue. Temporary preparations were observed and photographed using a Leica DM1000 compound microscope attached with a Leica EC3 camera. Line drawings were prepared with the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) (Montesanto 2015). All measurements are in millimetres; leg measurements are given in the following order: total (femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus). Spine positions are as follows: prolateral, dorsal, retrolateral and ventral. The type specimens are deposited in the National Zoological Collections, Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kolkata.
Abbreviations used in the text are as follows: AER anterior eye row; ALE anterior lateral eye; AME anterior median eye; CBP central blind pocket; CTA compound terminal apophysis; EFL eye field length; PER posterior eye row; PLE posterior lateral eye; PME posterior median eye; RTA retrolateral tibial apophysis. Etymology. The specific name is derived from the location 'valley of flowers' ('vallis florum' in Latin).

Genus Pellenes Simon, 1876
Pellenes ( Etymology. The specific name is a noun in apposition, referring to the great Himalayan Mountain range from where the species was collected. Diagnosis. The males of P. himalaya sp. n. can be readily distinguished from other congeners except P. allegrii Caporiccao, 1935, P. pamiricus Logunov, Marusik & Rakov, 1999and P. bitaeniata (Keyserling, 1882 in having a similar embolic division and CTA. From P. allegrii it can be distinguished by the RTA directed at 12 o' clock position (curving dorsally and directed at 1 o' clock position in P. allegrii; cf. Figs 22, 23 with figs 69, 81 in Logunov et al. 1999); from P. pamiricus by the wider cymbial lobe, covering the entire RTA in dorsal view (protruding ventrally, covering the basal part of RTA in P. pamiricus; cf. Figure 24 with fig. 185 in Logunov et al. 1999); from P. bitaeniata by the lack of terminal protrusion of CTA and the larger cymbial lobe (CTA terminally elongated and cymbial lobe indistinct in ventrolateral view; cf. Figs 20, 21, 26 with figs 8, 9 in Żabka 2006). In addition, P. himalaya sp. n. can also be separated easily from other congeners by the relatively longer and slender tibia and metatarsus of leg I (Figure 27). Females can be easily distinguished from other species by the distinctly long and conical CBP and closely placed spermathecae (Figs 28, 30).
Variation. Body length: Male: 5.04-5.89 (n = 4). Female: 5.47-6.71 (n = 3). The thickness of the band of white hairs on the base of the chelicerae is variable within both males (Figs 12,13) and females (Figs 17, 18). Natural History. Both the new species were collected from the alpine meadows of the VOF (Figure 31) at altitudes ranging between 3200 to 3600 meters above mean sea level. The heterogeneous landscape ranges from the low-lying flat and gentle slopes to steep and high snow-bound areas, providing a great diversity of microhabitats resulting in a rich diversity of both flora and fauna (Kala 2005).