Nopsma rioja, Villarreal-Blanco & Martínez & Eyes-Escalante, 2025

Nopsma rioja sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:FC949F61-94C6-446B-A0EA-70C6A5C5493A

Figs 7–8 View Fig View Fig , 9G–H View Fig , 10 View Fig

Diagnosis

Nopsma rioja sp. nov. is similar to N. florencia , by having the tegulum spherical, very small, up to 1 /5 the cymbium length, and embolus clearly longer than the palpal tibia, but can be distinguished by the dorsal carapace pattern form by large spots instead of small black dots, and the palpal embolus anteriorly directed ( Sánchez-Ruiz et al. 2020: 483, fig.18c–d; Figs 7E–G View Fig , 8A–B View Fig ).

Etymology

The specific epithet is a noun in apposition taken from the type locality.

Type material

Holotype

PERU • ♂; San Martín Department, Rioja, Bajo Naranjillo ; 5°48′43.41″ S, 77°20′24.43″ W; 839 m a.s.l.; 27 Sep. 2009; W. Paredes and C. Albujar leg.; MUSM-ENT 0515822 . GoogleMaps

Description

Male (holotype (MUSM-ENT 0515822))

COLORATION ( Fig. 7A–D View Fig ). Carapace orange-brownish with a darker dorsal pattern. Chelicerae, endites and labium light orange, sternum orange-brownish. Legs orange. Abdomen dorsally gray, without noticeable pattern ( Fig. 7A View Fig ). Ventrally beige. Spinnerets beige.

MEASUREMENTS. Total length 4.13, carapace length 1.89, width 1.53, height 0.50. Clypeus height 0.39. Eye diameters and interdistances: PME 0.17, PME–PME 0.44. Chelicerae length 0.66. Sternum length 1.24, width 1.07. Legs: I: 6.51; II: 6.06; III: 5.22; IV: 7.72. Abdomen length 2.31.

PALP. Very small spherical tegulum, embolus longer than palpal tibia, membranous keel inconspicuous, restricted to final third ( Figs 7E–G View Fig , 8 View Fig , 9G–H View Fig ).

Distribution

Known only for the type locality in San Martín, Peru ( Fig. 10 View Fig ).

Remarks

The genus Nopsma , with the new species described here, now comprises 11 species, distributed from Nicaragua to southern Peru. Peru harbors the highest diversity, with five species, followed by Colombia with four species, while Nicaragua and Ecuador each have one species.

The distribution of the genus currently falls into three main groups, separated by the Andean Mountain range: species distributed along the Pacific margin of South America ( N. florencia and N. juchuy ), species with an Amazonian distribution (the remaining species), and a Central American species, N. armandoi , which occurs in Nicaragua. The genus has always been recorded in lowland areas below 1000 m a.s.l. The highest record is N. rioja sp. nov., found in San Martín, Peru, at 839 m a.s.l., although the greatest diversity is observed at elevations ranging from 69 to 320 m a.s.l.