Scytodes joniae, Iost & Alayón & Rheims, 2025

Scytodes joniae sp. nov.

Figs 71–78 View FIGURES 71–78 , 95–98 View FIGURES 95–105 , 136 View FIGURES 135–138

Type material. Holotype: ♂, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: La Altagracia Province: Occidental, San Rafael de Yuma, Cueva de Linea , Parque Nacional los Haitises , 19.07796ºN, 69.46355ºW, 7 mts., 12 June 2012, Team CarBio leg., USNM782341 About USNM , DR008 ( NMNH) GoogleMaps . Paratypes: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: La Altagracia Province: 1 ♀, same collection data as for holotype, USNM785538 About USNM ( NMNH) GoogleMaps ; 1 ♀, same collection locality as for previous specimen, Cueva La Arena , 19.0800ºN, 69.4650ºW, 17 mts., 12 June 2012, Team CarBio leg., USNM782490 About USNM GoogleMaps , DR007 ( NMNH); 1 ♀, same collection data as for previous specimen, USNM785252 About USNM ( NMNH) GoogleMaps ; 1 ♀, same collection data as for previous specimen, USNM782496 About USNM ( NMNH) GoogleMaps ; 1 ♀, same collection data as for previous specimen, USNM784365 About USNM ( NMNH) GoogleMaps ; 1 ♀, same collection data as for previous specimen, USNM785799 About USNM ( NMNH) GoogleMaps .

Etymology. The specific name is a matronym honoring the Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, known for her influential work in folk, jazz, and pop music, and for her complex compositions and poetic lyrics.

Diagnosis. Males of S. joniae sp. nov. resemble those of S. cubensis ( Figs 16–18 View FIGURES 14–22 , 61, 62 View FIGURES 61–70 ), S. mingusi sp. nov. ( Figs 89, 90 View FIGURES 87–94 , 100, 101 View FIGURES 95–105 ), S. noeli (Alayón, 1992: fig. 3), S. reinhardti sp. nov. ( Figs 112, 113 View FIGURES 110–117 , 128, 129 View FIGURES 126–134 ) and S. robertoi ( Alayón, 1977: fig. 2C) by the palp with a piriform bulb and a slender, tapering embolus. They are distinguished from S. robertoi by the bulb with a median constriction (vs. lacking in S. robertoi ); from S. mingusi sp. nov. by the filiform embolus (vs. thicker at base in S. mingusi sp. nov.); from S. noeli by the straight embolus (vs. curved in S. noeli ); and from S. reinhardti sp. nov. by the shorter cymbium, roughly 1.5 times tibia length, and bulb, roughly as long as embolus (vs. cymbium with more than 1.8 times tibia length and bulb 1.6 times longer than embolus in S. reinhardti sp. nov.). Females resemble those of S. coltrainei sp. nov. ( Figs 12, 13 View FIGURES 10–13 , 36 View FIGURES 31–41 ), S. cubensis ( Figs 21, 22 View FIGURES 14–22 , 63–70 View FIGURES 61–70 ), and S. jimmorrisoni sp. nov. ( Figs 59, 60 View FIGURES 53–60 , 99 View FIGURES 95–105 ) by the vulva with S-shaped IS. They are distinguished from S. coltrainei sp. nov. by the shorter IS, approximately three times longer than the OS ( Figs 78 View FIGURES 71–78 , 95, 96 View FIGURES 95–105 ) (vs. more than four times longer in S. coltrainei sp. nov.); from S. cubensis by the PS simple and untwisted (vs. twisted and coiled in S. cubensis ); and from S. jimmorrisoni sp. nov. by the IS with the same with throughout its entire length (vs. widened at base in S. jimmorrisoni sp. nov.).

Description. Male (USNM782341, holotype): prosoma pale golden yellow with brown markings; chelicerae pale yellow; legs pale yellow with brown markings; labium grayish brown; endites pale yellow with brown outlines; sternum pale yellow with brown dotted markings; opisthosoma grayish yellow with scattered brown markings ( Figs 71, 72 View FIGURES 71–78 ). Total length 3.8; prosoma: 2.0 long, 1.6 wide; sternum: 1.1 long, 0.8 wide; labium: 0.22 long, 0.25 wide; opisthosoma: 1.7 long, 1.3 wide; eye diameters: PME 0.15, ALE.014, PLE 0.13; legs: I – (3.8, rest of leg absent); all other legs absent. Palp: cymbium with two apical spines; embolus long and filiform, slightly curving at tip ( Figs 73, 74 View FIGURES 71–78 , 97, 98 View FIGURES 95–105 ). Measurements: tibia 0.39; cymbium 0.67; bulb 0.68.

Female ( paratype, USNM785252): prosoma golden brown, with dark brown markings; chelicerae pale yellow with brown margins; legs golden yellow with brown ring-marks; labium dark brown with two oval-shaped paleyellow spots; endites dark brown with golden yellow bases; sternum golden yellow covered with brown markings; opisthosoma grayish yellow with scattered brown markings ( Figs 75, 76 View FIGURES 71–78 ). Measurements: total length 6.3; prosoma: 2.4 long, 1.9 wide; sternum: 1.1 long, 0.9 wide; labium: 0.28 long, 0.3 wide; opisthosoma: 3.9 long, 2.0 wide; eye diameters: PME 0.11, ALE 0.11, PLE 0.10; legs: I: 9.6 (3.0, 0.5, 3.0, 2.15, 0.95); II: − (2.3, 0.5, 2.25, 2.2, absent); III: 5.85 (1.6, 0.5, 1.55, 1.5, 0.7); IV: 8.1 (2.3, 0.5, 2.25, 2.3, 0.75). Female genitalia: positioning ridges postero-laterad, hood-like, four times wider than long, separated from each other by twice their width ( Fig. 77 View FIGURES 71–78 ). Vulva: IS slightly widened at tip; OS roughly five times longer than wide, with the same width throughout its length and apically rounded; antero-laterad; PS with mediad loop ( Fig. 78 View FIGURES 71–78 ).

Variation. Females (n=6): total length 4.8–6.3; prosoma length 2.3–2.6; femur I length 2.9–3.0.

Distribution. Known from Parque Nacional los Haitises, Dominican Republic ( Fig. 136 View FIGURES 135–138 ).