Recifella quadriseta, Smit & Pešić, 2025

Recifella quadriseta sp. nov.

Fig. 12 View FIGURE 12 , 13A–B View FIGURE 13 , 16C View FIGURE 16

Material examined. Holotype male, New South Wales, Shoalhaven River, E of Burrier , 34°52.364 S 150°27.865 E, 0 m asl, 29-i-2024, dissected and slide mounted ( AMS) GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis. III-leg-5 with a distal robust seta, distally bluntly pointed and with very fine serrations. IV-L-5 bowed, with four specialized setae, three of these located in distal half of segment, the posterior one, spoon-shaped, with anterior margin very finely serrated.

Description. Male. Dorsal and ventral shield present; dorsal shield 563 long and 478 wide, with four pairs of glandularia ( Figure 12B View FIGURE 12 ), fused posteriorly with ventral shield. Postocularia fused with the ventral shield; no glandularia lying in the dorsal furrow. Dorsal shield without a peculiar colouration (as illustrated in Figure 16C View FIGURE 16 ). Ventral shield (partly queezed) approximately 600 long, tips of first coxal plates rounded.Apodemes of anterior coxal plates extending to the middle of third coxal plates. Genital plates fused with the ventral shield with approximately 36 pairs of acetabula, 319 wide between outer margins of acetabula; gonopore 76 long. Excretory pore subterminal. Ejaculatory complex 123 long.

Palp as illustrated in Figure 12D View FIGURE 12 : dorsal length/height: P1, 30/42; P2, 111/59; P3, 59/47; P4, 97/31; P5, 30/21. Gnathosoma ventrally 72 long. Chelicera 139 long.

Dorsal lengths of I-leg-2–6: 106, 98, 138, 164, 148; dorsal lengths of III-leg-2–6: 127, 99, 151, 173, 166; III-leg-5 with a distal robust seta, distally bluntly pointed and with very fine serrations ( Figure 12F View FIGURE 12 , inset); dorsal lengths of IV-leg-2–6: 121, 106, 144, 248, 217; IV-L-5 bowed, with four specialized setae, three of these located in distal half of segment, the posterior one, spoon-shaped, with anterior margin very finely serrated ( Figures 13 View FIGURE 13 A-B). III-leg-3 with one, III-leg-4 and 5 each with three swimming setae; IV-leg-3 with one distoventral, IV-leg-4 and 5 each with three distoventral swimming setae.

Etymology. Named for the four specialized setae of IV-leg-5.

Remarks. The new species resembles Recifella szalayi in similar shape of legs (ventral setae of I-leg-5 relatively short and pointed; III-leg-5 with a broad and curved distal seta, III-leg-6 with three long, curved setae on dorsal surface) and palp (the four claw-like setae at the tip of P4 of approximately the same length and lie more or less parallel to each other). However, R. szalayi has IV-leg-5 with three specialized setae while the new species has IVleg-5 with four specialized setae.

Recifella ligulifera Smit, 2007 , a species known from Northern Territory and Western Australia ( Smit 2007) resembles the new species in shape of IV-leg-5 with three specialized setae located in distal half of segment, and a peculiar spoon-shaped seta in the posterior part of the segment. Following Smit (2007) the later species differs in ventrodistal seta on III-leg-5 with a large pectinations.