The genus Hygrocrates Deeleman-Reinhold, 1988 (Araneae, Dysderidae) in Turkey

Abstract A new species, Hygrocrates deelemanus Kunt & Yağmur sp. n., is described on the basis of both sexes from the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Detailed morphological descriptions, diagnosis and figures of the copulatory organs of both Turkish species are presented. An identification key is presented for all the currently known species of Hygrocrates.


Introduction
Hygrocrates Deeleman-Reinhold, 1988 is a small dysderid genus which contains only three previously described species: Hygrocrates caucasicus Dunin, 1992; H. georgicus (Mcheidze, 1972) and H. lycaoniae (Brignoli, 1978). H. caucasicus and H. georgicus are endemic to Georgia, while H. lycaoniae is known from Rhodes and Turkey. Hygrocrates lycaoniae was originally ascribed to Harpactocrates Simon, 1914. In their revision of Dysderinae spiders of the Mediterranean region, Deeleman- Reinhold and Deeleman (1988) transferred H. lycaoniae to the new genus Hygrocrates, which was diff erentiated from Harpactocrates as follows: posterior median eyes closer to each other; anterior cheliceral teeth smaller in the basal region, and the presence of a subapical apophysis on the male palp. H. georgicus, originally ascribed to Harpactocrates, was only provisionally transferred to the genus Hygrocrates by Deeleman- Reinhold and Deeleman (1988); see also Dunin (1992) who reported that the female holotype of this species was lost. Subsequently, the third, new species H. caucasicus was described by Dunin (1992), based on two male specimens from the Georgia.
To date, only H. lycaoniae has been recorded from Turkey based on only one male in a sample collected from outside Körükini Cave (Konya province, Beyşehir District, Çamlık town). After the original description by Brignoli (1978), Deeleman-Reinhold and Deeleman (1988) redescribed this species based on male and female specimens collected from Greece. During our surveys of the Turkish spider fauna we collected some specimens of H. lycaoniae, in addition to some specimens that were impossible to place in any of the known species of Hygrocrates. In this paper, a new species of the genus, namely Hygrocrates deelemanus sp. n., is described based on both sexes, collected from the southern region of Turkey. Th e characteristic features of both species, including photographs of the prosoma and of the copulatory organs, are provided for comparative purposes.

Material and methods
All specimens were collected from two diff erent localities in Turkey (Fig. 1). Th e specimens were collected by sifting of leaf litter and preserved in 70% ethanol. Digital images of the pedipalp and vulva were taken with a Leica DFC295 digital camera attached to a Leica S8AP0 stereomicroscope and 5-15 photographs were taken in different focal planes and combined. Photographic images were edited using Photoshop CS2 and Corel-DRAW X3 was used to create the plates. All measurements are in mm. Terminology for the body measurements and copulatory organ structures follows Deeleman-Reinhold and Deeleman (1988) and Chatzaki and Arnedo (2006). Th e following terminology is used for the male palp: apical apophysis of the male palp, Embolus; subapical apophysis of the male palp, Apophysis a ; and posterior apophysis of the male palp, Apophysis b .
Material treated herein is deposited in the personal collection of Kadir Boğaç Kunt (cKBK, Ankara, Turkey) and in the Senckenberg Museum (SMF, Frankfurt am Main, Germany). Th e following abbreviations are used in the text: AL, abdominal length; CL, carapace length; CWmax, maximum carapace width; CWmin, minimum carapace width; AME, anterior median eyes; PLE, posterior lateral eyes; PME, posterior median eyes; AMEd, diameter of anterior median eyes; PLEd, diameter of posterior lateral eyes; PMEd, diameter of posterior median eyes; ChF, length of cheliceral fang; ChG, length of cheliceral groove; ChL, total length of chelicera (lateral external view); Ta, tarsus; Me, metatarsus, Ti, tibia; Pa, patella; Fe, femur; Tr, trochanter; C, coxa; D, dorsal; Pl, prolateral; Rl, retrolateral; V, ventral. is most similar to that of H. lycaoniae. Bulbal apophyses are shorter than the embolus in both species. However, the transition between the bulbus and distal continuation is more abrupt in H. deelemanus sp. n., clearly curved over 90°, whereas it is more gradual in H. lycaoniae. In the vulva, the proximalmost part of the spermathecae is larger and wider than in H. lycaoniae.     Table 1.
Chelicerae brownish with darker tubercules; basally broader in females and laterally swollen (Figs 4, 8). Cheliceral groove with four teeth: retromargin with four teeth, including one small and one large tooth at the base of the groove (Fig. 11). Sternum and abdomen yellowish brown, with thin blackish hairs over the entire surfaces. Legs yellowish brown. Palps and legs I and II darker than legs III and IV. Leg length formula: Leg I > Leg IV > Leg II > Leg III. Tarsi with two claws and claw tufts. All tarsi with fi ne tarsal scopulae. Legs III and IV with metatarsal scopulae (Figs 12-15). Coxae without spines. Details of leg spination are given in Table 2.  Palpal organ with pyriform bulbus and hook-shaped (tapering towards the tip) embolus. Bulbal apophyses are more strongly sclerotized than the embolus (Figs 16-19). Vulva with two parts: anterior diverticulum and posterior diverticulum (Fig. 20). Anterior diverticulum consists of a dorsal arch with spermathecae which have two parts (distalmost and proximalmost parts), a large membranous sac (clearly visible in dorsal view) and widened twisted lateral membranes (Fig. 21). Posterior diverticulum consists of a central valve with a transverse bar, a wide membranous sac and a couple of small lateral membranous pockets (Fig. 20).    Dunin (1992). Th e females of this species have not been collected yet, but the bulbal structures of the male palp were well illustrated by Dunin (1992). However, the information of H. georgicus is still insuffi cient. Th e following information was given by Dunin (1992: Deeleman-Reinhold and Deeleman (1988). To confi rm their placement addition material is required. Th is species is absent from my collection." During the preparation of this paper, as a result of our correspondence with the Tbilisi Janashia Museum (Georgia) which retains the spider collection of Tamara Mcheidze, it is obvious that the holotype of this species is lost (S. Otto pers. comm.). Th us, we could not examine it, but on the basis of the original illustrations of the vulva by Mcheidze (1972), H. georgicus can be distinguished from the Turkish members of the genus by the linear distalmost part of spermathecae.   Table 3.

Hygrocrates lycaoniae (Brignoli, 1978)
Description: General features of the body of H. lycaoniae closely resemble the new species , H. deelemanus sp. n., but the two are easily diff erentiated by their diff erent body sizes and by structures of the male and female genitalia (35)(36)(37)(38). Th e males of the two species are easily distinguished in ventral view (90° angle) by the terminal part of the bulbus having the following characteristics: 1. Embolic base is pear-shaped in the two species, but the tip of the embolic base located at 12 o'clock in H. deelemanus sp. n. (Fig. 37) and at 10 o'clock in H. lycaoniae (Fig. 38). 2. Apophysis a and Apophysis b are short and blunt in H. deelemanus sp. n. (Fig. 37), but long in H. lycaoniae (Fig. 38). 3. Apophysis b originates near the tip of the embolic base in H. deelemanus sp. n. (Fig. 37), but originates from the central part of the tip of the embolic base in H. lycaoniae (Fig. 38). 4. Embolus is curved between Apophysis a and Apophysis b in H. deelemanus sp. n. (Fig. 37), but is raised from the embolic base and separated from Apophysis a and Apophysis b in H. lycaoniae (Fig. 38).
Th e females of the two species are easily distinguished by the form of the proximalmost part of the spermathecae which is oval in H. deelemanus sp. n. (Figs 20-21) and circular in H. lycaoniae (Fig. 34). Details of leg spination are given in Table 4.

Habitat and distribution
Th e holotype of H. lycaoniae was collected from outside of Körükini Cave, which is located in Çamlık Village (Beyşehir District, Konya Province). Th e vegetation surrounding the cave is the mixed forest composed of Taurus fi r, juniper, oak and maple species. Annual and perennial herbaceous plants also grow very densely around the cave (Fig. 39). Although several fi eld trips were conducted to the type locality, we failed to fi nd any specimens of H. lycaoniae. However, our male and female specimens of H. lycaoniae were collected near to Salda Lake (Burdur Province), which is approximately 170 km apart from the type locality (Figs 40, 41). Th e specimens were collected in the leaf-litter of shrublands surrounding the Salda Lake. Deeleman-Reinhold and Deeleman (1988) collected their samples of H. lycaoniae from leaf litter and under stones of wetland areas in Rhodes island. Th erefore, it is safe to conclude that H. lycaoniae prefers wetland habitats. We collected the samples of the new species, H. deelemanus sp. n., from leaf litter under Pinus nigra trees (Fig. 42). Th erefore it can be concluded that the two species are distributed in diff erent habitat types of the Mediterranean.