A new species of Langelurillus Próchniewicz, 1994 (Araneae, Salticidae, Aelurillina) from western India

Abstract

A new jumping spider species, Langelurillus tertius sp. nov. (♂♀), is described from the Ajanta and Sathmala hill ranges of the Deccan plateau in Maharashtra (India). Detailed description, illustrations, and a map showing the distribution of all known Indian congeners are provided.

Full text

A new species of Langelurillus Próchniewicz, 1994
(Araneae, Salticidae, Aelurillina) from western India
Rajesh V. Sanap1, John T.D. Caleb1,2
1 Biodiversity Lab, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore 560 065, Karnataka, India
2 Entomology Research Institute, Loyola College (Autonomous), Nungambakkam, Chennai 600 034, Tamil Nadu, India
http://zoobank.org/28D15571-DF68-43AA-B3FB-8A70D092A0E7
Corresponding author: John T.D. Caleb (caleb87woodgate@gmail.com)
Academic editor: Danilo Harms ♦
Received
27 January 2022 ♦
Accepted
14 March 2022 ♦
Published
28 March 2022
Abstract
A new jumping spider species, Langelurillus tertius sp. nov. (♂♀), is described from the Ajanta and Sathmala hill ranges of the
Deccan plateau in Maharashtra (India). Detailed description, illustrations, and a map showing the distribution of all known Indian
congeners are provided.
Key Words
Deccan plateau, jumping spider, Maharashtra, species discovery, taxonomy
Introduction
Langelurillus Próchniewicz, 1994, a genus of ground-
dwelling jumping spiders, includes 20 known species
distributed in the Afrotropical (18 species) and Indian (2
species) regions (WSC 2022). Of the 20 species, eight are
described based on both sexes, ve based only on males,
and seven based only on females; furthermore, 13 of these
species are known only from their respective type localities
(Logunov and Azarkina 2018). In India, the genus was
rst recorded from the western states of Maharashtra and
Gujarat in 2017, with the description of two species from
dry deciduous forest patches (Sanap et al. 2017). Both
Indian species, namely L. lacteus Sanap, Joglekar & Caleb,
2017 and L. onyx Caleb, Sanap, Joglekar & Prajapati, 2017,
are known solely based on males. Here, we describe another
Langelurillus species based on both sexes from Maharashtra.
Materials and methods
Specimens were hand collected and preserved in 70%
ethanol. Images of live specimens were captured with
a Canon 60D with 60 mm macro lens. Morphological
examination of the specimens was done with the help
of Labovision KS f2000 model stereomicroscope.
The male pedipalp was removed, examined and
photographed. The female genitalia was dissected and
cleared in 10% KOH. Leg measurements are given as
follows: total length (femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus,
tarsus). All measurements are in mm. Distributional
map was prepared using QGIS software. The type
specimens are deposited in the research collection
of National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS),
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Abbreviations used in the text: ALE – anterior lateral
eye; AME – anterior median eye; PLE – posterior lateral
eye; PME – posterior median eye; RTA – retrolateral
tibial apophysis.
Results
Genus Langelurillus Próchniewicz, 1994
Type species. Langelurillus primus Próchniewicz, 1994.
Evolutionary Systematics. 6 2022, 65–70 | DOI 10.3897/evolsyst.6.81259
Copyright Rajesh V. Sanap, John T.D. Caleb. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0),
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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Langelurillus tertius sp. nov.
http://zoobank.org/E9EFE8D1-D192-439F-AC41-363F6758C7A6
Figs 1A–F, 2A–H, 3A–H, 4
Type material. Holotype: ♂ (NRC-AA-3792) from INDIA:
Maharashtra, Jalgaon (20.344885°N, 74.984964°E), 416 m
a.s.l., 21 June 2021, leg. R.V. Sanap. Paratypes: 2 ♀ (NRC-
AA-3793, NRC-AA-3794) and 2 ♂♂ (NRC-AA-3795,
NRC-AA-3796), data same as holotype.
Photographic evidence of male Langelurillus ter-
tius from Gautala Wildlife Sanctuary (20.344499°N,
75.160721°E), 792 m a.s.l., Maharashtra, India.
Etymology. The name is derived from Latin for third
(‘tertius’) indicating that this is the third Langelurillus
species described from India.
Diagnosis. Males of L. tertius sp. nov. can be
recognized by the small, thin slightly hook-shaped RTA;
females by the simple, round copulatory openings;
vertically oriented spermathecae, on which ducts have
three loops (Fig. 3B–H).
Description. Male (based on holotype): total length
3.32; carapace 1.80 long, 1.36 wide; abdomen 1.54 long,
1.13 wide. Carapace black, covered with yellowish
white hairs; ocular region covered with rusty brown to
Figure 1. Langelurillus tertius sp. nov., A. Male habitus, dorsal view; B. Same, front view; C. Same, lateral view; D. Female
habitus, dorsal view; E. Same, front view; F. Same, lateral view.

Evolutionary Systematics 6 2022, 65–70
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orange setae, anterior margin with yellow setae. A pair
of longitudinal brownish-yellow stripes runs behind
AMEs to posterior end. AMEs surrounded by white
orbital setae; broad patch of yellowish white band runs
along lateral margin of carapace (Figs 1A, C, 2A, C).
Eye measurements: AME 0.36, ALE 0.23, PME 0.07,
PLE 0.17; AME–AME 0.04; AME-ALE 0.03; ALE-
PME 0.31; PME-PME 1.08; PME-PLE 0.13; PLE-PLE
0.97. Clypeus brown, covered with yellowish-white
hairs (Figs 1B, 2D). Sternum oval, dark brown, covered
with white hairs; labium and maxillae brown, maxillae
apically paler (Fig. 2B). Chelicerae vertical, narrow,
brownish, sparsely covered with yellow hairs. Abdomen
with medially longitudinal brown band anked by
Figure 2. Langelurillus tertius sp. nov. A–D. Holotype male (NRC-AA-3792), A. Dorsal view; B. Ventral view; C. Lateral view; D. Front
view. E–H. Female paratype (NRC-AA-3795). E. Front view; F. Dorsal view; G. Ventral view; H. Lateral view. Scale bars: 1 mm.

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creamy-brown hairs; venter yellowish-brown covered
with white hairs (Figs 1A, 2A). Spinnerets long, yellow
with black apices dorsally. Legs brownish-yellow
covered with rusty brown scales. Leg measurements: I
2.47 (0.91, 0.57, 0.64, 0.17, 0.18); II 2.28 (0.85. 0.55,
0.46, 0.24, 0.18); III 3.36 (1.20, 0.70, 0.58, 0.45, 0.43);
IV 3.06 (1.08, 0.46, 0.56, 0.53, 0.43). Leg formula 3412.
Palp as shown in Fig. 3A, B, E, F.
Female (paratype). Total length 5.02, carapace 2.24
long 1.72 wide, abdomen 2.78 long, 2.20 wide; overall
brown. Carapace black, ocular region covered with
brown hairs and setae (Figs 1D, 2F). Eye measurements:
AME 0.39, ALE 0.24, PME 0.08, PLE 0.19; AME–AME
0.04; AME–ALE 0.04; ALE–PME 0.28; PME–PME
1.19; PME–PLE 0.14; PLE–PLE 1.04. Clypeus dark
brown (Figs 1E, 2E). Sternum oval, yellowish brown;
labium and maxillae covered with white setae (Fig. 2G).
Chelicerae yellowish-brown, covered with short white
to brown setae. Abdomen brown, with a pair of yellow
spots; venter yellow with sparse brownish speckles
Figure 3. Langelurillus tertius sp. nov. A, E. Left male palp of holotype (NRC-AA-3792), ventral view; B, F. Same, retrolateral
view; C, G. Epigyne of paratype (NRC-AA-3795), ventral view; D, H. Vulva, dorsal view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm

Evolutionary Systematics 6 2022, 65–70
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(Figs 1D, F, 2F–H). Spinnerets yellowish brown. Legs
yellow with brown annulations (Figs 1D–F, 2F–H). Leg
measurements: I 2.86 (1.12, 0.59, 0.58, 0.27, 0.30); II
2.92 (1.10, 0.58, 0.60, 0.28, 0.36); III 3.98 (1.45, 0.59,
0.90, 0.55, 0.49); IV 3.89 (1.39, 0.60, 0.78, 0.63, 0.49).
Leg formula 3421. Epigyne as shown in Fig. 3C, D, G, H.
Distribution. Known only from the type locality
(Maharashtra, India).
Natural history. The new species was found inhabiting
rocky patches in scrubland habitat. But they appear to be
more common in forest patches than open scrubland. We
often observed them perching on small rocks or dry leaf
on the forest oor, where forest cover is up to 60–70%.
Discussion
In India, the tribe Aelurillini Simon is represented by
28 species in 6 genera, namely Aelurillus (4 species),
Langelurillus (3 species), Langona (6 species),
Phanuelus (1 species), Phlegra (4 species), and
Stenaelurillus (10 species) (Caleb and Sankaran 2022).
Among these, as many as 17 new aelurilline species
were described within the last two decades (Azarkina
2002; Caleb and Mathai 2014, 2016; Caleb et al. 2015;
Vidhel et al. 2015; Sebastian et al. 2015; Prajapati et al.
2016; Prajapati 2019; Logunov 2020). These discoveries
highlight the underlying diversity of the tribe Aelurillini
in the Indian landscape.
Langelurillus was conned to the Afrotropics until
the recent discovery of two species from the Indian
subcontinent (Sanap et al. 2017). At present, a greater
diversity of Langelurillus (18 species) has been recorded
from the Afrotropics (WSC 2022) similar to the case
of the genus Stenaelurillus Simon (32 species). While
Stenaelurillus has a few representatives in the Palaearctic
region and Southeast Asia, Langelurillus has none as yet;
this may be because the aelurilline fauna of Southeast
Asia is rather poorly studied (Logunov and Azarkina
2018). All three Indian species are known from localities
falling within a radius of ~300 km.
Langelurillus tertius sp. nov. is the third member of
the genus described from a largely unexplored region
in northern Maharashtra. More extensive eldwork and
molecular analyses would unveil the true Langelurillus
diversity in India.
Acknowledgements
We thank Vivek Ramachandran, Dr. Yeshwanth and
Tarun Karmakar for their help in specimen registration
at the Museum and Research Collection Facility of
National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru.
Thanks to Anuradha Joglekar (Mumbai, India) for
helping us with text editing and map preparation. We
thank the subject editor Dr. Danilo Harms (Hamburg,
Germany) and the reviewers, Dr. Dmitri V. Logunov
(Manchester, UK) and Dr, Suresh P. Benjamin (Kandy,
Sri Lanka) and Dr. Tamás Szűts (Budapest, Hungary),
for their constructive comments and suggestions which
improved the manuscript.
Figure 4. The type localities (solid white) and distribution records (solid black) of Langelurillus species from India.

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