Anatextrix monstrabilis sp. nov. (Araneae: Agelenidae) is described and illustrated, based on male and female specimens collected from Adana Province, Türkiye. The new species has an L-shaped male palpal femur bearing multiple apophyses, which is a rare trait in spiders. Anatextrix monstrabilis sp. nov. is the second species of the recently described genus Anatextrix Kaya, Zamani, Yağmur & Marusik, 2023, currently known only from southern Türkiye.

Adana, Ageleninae, Anatolia, Aranei, Mediterranean Region

The funnel-weaver spider family Agelenidae C.L. Koch, 1837 is one of the most diverse families of spiders, currently comprising 93 genera and 1375 extant species in the subfamilies Ageleninae C.L. Koch, 1837 and Coelotinae F.O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1893 (Lehtinen 1967; WSC 2023). According to Lehtinen (1967), Ageleninae is subdivided into four tribes, including Textricini Lehtinen, 1967 which comprises four genera and more than 30 species primarily distributed in the Mediterranean Region. Anatextrix Kaya, Zamani, Yağmur & Marusik, 2023 — the most recently described genus of Textricini — is currently known only from southern Türkiye, a region with a high degree of endemism and a particularly high diversity of agelenids (Kaya et al. 2023).

Anatextrix was described by Kaya et al. (2023), with A. spectabilis Kaya, Zamani, Yağmur & Marusik, 2023 (from Mersin and Adana provinces of Türkiye) as its type species. The genus is characterised by a strongly modified male palpal femur bearing several processes/outgrowths, palpal patellar apophysis and a cymbial prolateral fold in males, and a thin septum and a lack of fovea or scape in females.

We recently found specimens of another species of this genus amongst the material collected in southern Türkiye. The new species displays a remarkable morphology of the male palpal femur and represents the second species of Anatextrix.

Specimens were collected using a hand aspirator and preserved in 70% ethanol. Photographs were taken by a Canon EOS 7D camera attached to an Olympus SZX16 stereomicroscope at the Zoological Museum of the University of Turku. Digital images were montaged using Combine ZP and edited using CorelDraw graphic design software programme. Illustrations of internal genitalia were made after clearing and cleaning the epigyne in a 10% potassium hydroxide (KOH) aqueous solution, followed by a few minutes of treatment in Chlorazol Black. Lengths of leg segments were measured on the dorsal side and are listed as: total length (femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus). All measurements are in millimetres (mm). Spination formula follows Bolzern et al. (2008, 2009).

The following abbreviations are used in the text and figures:

Eyes: ALE ‒ anterior lateral eye, AME ‒ anterior median eye, PLE ‒ posterior lateral eye, PME ‒ posterior median eye. Spination: d ‒ dorsal, Fe ‒ femur, Mt ‒ metatarsus, Pa ‒ patella, pl ‒ prolateral, rl ‒ retrolateral, Ti ‒ tibia, v ‒ ventral.

Male palp: Ca – anterior arm of conductor, Cf – cymbial fold, Cp – posterior arm of conductor, Ct – ventral tip of conductor, Db – distal bulge, Dc – dorsal extension of conductor, Eb – base of embolus, Kt – ventral keel, Rt – proximal bulge, Pt – prolateral apophysis, Rt – retrolateral apophysis, So – stump-like outgrowth, Sp – spine-like outgrowth, Va – ventral apophysis.

Epigyne: Cd – copulatory duct, Fd – fertilisation duct, Oc – copulatory opening, Re – receptacle, Se – septum.

The specimens are deposited in the following collections:

AZMM Alaşehir Zoological Museum of Manisa Celal Bayar University, Türkiye (E.A. Yağmur);

ZMUT Zoological Museum of the University of Turku, Finland (V. Vahtera);

ZMUU Zoological Museum of the Bursa Uludağ University, Türkiye (R.S. Kaya).

This paper describes and illustrates a new species of Anatextrix, representing the second species of this recently-established genus, which is currently known only from southern Türkiye. It seems that the species of Anatextrix primarily occur in montane forests (Fig. 6A, B).

Both currently-known species of this genus have been collected in closely-situated localities in the Taurus Mountains, a biodiversity hotspot that separates the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau (Noroozi et al. 2019). A higher diversity of Anatextrix is expected in this region, as mountain complexes, such as the Taurus, form barriers that contribute to the separation of populations and speciation (Çıplak 2003). Anatolian Agelenids demonstrate a very high degree of endemism: most species have restricted, local distributions and occur at high altitudes in mountainous areas (Kaya et al. 2010). This pattern of distribution is an indication of the important role of topography in the faunal evolution in this region (Çıplak 2003).

The most interesting and remarkable characteristic of the new species described in this paper is the highly-modified male palpal femur, which is a relatively rare trait in spiders. Although the generotype of Anatextrix also displays a modified male palpal femur, the morphology of this segment is more remarkable in the new species (i.e., more distinctly L-shaped and bearing larger outgrowths). To the best of our knowledge, the combination of these two characters is unknown in any other species of spiders.

Generally speaking, male spiders use the apophyses on their palps or first pair of legs during copulation. Palpal apophyses (particularly the retrolateral tibial apophysis) are used to stabilise the palp on the epigyne (Huber 1995) or, in some cases, they are ‘locked’ into parts of the bulb, while apophyses of the legs are hooked to the chelicerae or appendages of the female to prevent her from attacking the male (Pérez-Miles and Perafán 2017). The morphology of these structures is often species-specific and widely believed to be shaped by sexual selection (Huber 1995). We believe that the mating behaviour of the species of Anatextrix should be an interesting case to study, as the large and numerous apophyses of the male palpal femur are likely to play a role in the copulation.