The tiniest violin: the male of Loxosceles vallenar (Araneae, Sicariidae)

Abstract

In recent years, several endemic species of Loxosceles, violin spiders, have been described from the North-Central Chile biodiversity hotspot, some of which have ambiguous placement within the species groups of the genus. In a recent expedition to the Atacama region, we collected male specimens representing new records of two recently described species: Loxosceles vicentei Taucare-Ríos, Brescovit & Villablanca, 2022 and Loxosceles vallenar Brescovit, Taucare-Ríos, Magalhaes & Santos, 2017 (Araneae, Sicariidae). Males of the latter are hitherto unknown and are here described for the first time. Examination of the morphology of these species revealed characters such as an embolic keel and digitiform median receptacles, which suggest they do not belong in the laeta species group, but rather in the spadicea species group, which is briefly re-diagnosed. With carapace lengths smaller than 2 mm, the newly discovered males of L. vallenar are the tiniest members of the genus. In addition, males of this species bear strong macrosetae in the clypeus, a sexually dimorphic character not previously reported in Loxosceles.