Cyrioctea islachanaral Grismado & Pizarro-Araya, 2016, sp. nov.

Cyrioctea islachanaral sp. nov.

(Figures 1, 3, 5 a – b, g – h, 6 a – b)

Type material. Female holotype from CHILE. Atacama: Huasco Province: Pingüino de Humboldt National Reserve: Chañaral Island: 29º02'27.1''S, 71º34'46.1''W, 99 m; pitfall traps, (code P1R3, preparation codes CJG 1459/60) 15-18/11/2012, J. Pizarro-Araya, F. M. Alfaro, M. Cortés, P. Vargas & C. Rivera coll. (MHNS). Female paratype (together with a juvenile) with the same data (code P1R2, preparation code 1461, MACN-Ar 35648).

Material examined. Same data as the holotype, 1 female (probably adult, lacking abdomen; preparation code CJG 1485, LEULS); same locality (code P1R1, preparation code CJG-1486), 1 female, 1 immature (LEULS); same locality, 24-27/01/2013, 29º01'44.2''S, 71º34'32.3''W, 106 m; pitfall traps, (code P2R1), J. Pizarro-Araya, F. M. Alfaro, M. Cortés, A. Ojanguren & C. Rivera coll., 1 subadult male (MACN-Ar 35649).

Diagnosis. Females of C. islachanaral sp. nov. are recognizable by their relatively large size (more than 7 mm); the ocular macrosetae unordered, not aligned in a defined transverse row, determining that the anterior eye row appears straight rather than procurved (Figs. 3 e – g), and the median field of the epigynal plate short and very widened laterally (Fig. 6 a).

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

Description (Holotype). Total length 7.40. Carapace 3.70 long, 2.20 wide. Femur II 1.70 long. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.093, ALE 0.12, PME 0.10, PLE 0.11; AME-AME 0.11, AME-ALE 0.013, PME-PME 0.10, PME-PLE 0.17, ALE-PLE 0.041. MOQ length 0.42, front width 0.36, back width 0.31. Carapace elongated piriform, cephalic area with nearly parallel sides, light brown with a tenuous darker marbled pattern anteriorly (Figs. 3 a, d); legs light brown turned reddish distally; sternum, labium, and endites light brown; chelicerae brown.

Abdomen light gray with irregular darker spots (apparently faded by the poor conditions of preservation, Fig. 3 a). Leg podomeres differently sized as compared to those of the other American species: tibiae I and II thickened, metatarsi I–II relatively long, appearing as aligned with the tarsi as an almost rigid unit (Fig. 3 b); tibiae III very short (nearly as short as patella, Figs. 5 a – b). Leg spination (only surfaces bearing spines are listed): femora: III d1ap, rd1subap; IV d1ap; patellae: III dr1-1-0-0-1, p1-1-1-1, r1-1; IV dr1-1-0-0-1, p1-1-0-1, r1; tibiae: III pv1-1, p1-0 IV d1-0, p1-1, r1-1-1(in a diagonal line to ventral), vr1-1-1; metatarsi: III dl-1-1, p1-1, vp1-0-0, v2 ap; IV d1- 1-0, dp1-1-1, p1-1-1-1, vp1-0-0, v2 ap. Epigynum with median field distinctly sclerotized, short and very wide, not scape-shaped as in most of the other species; lateral epigynal margins not evident, (Fig. 6 a), internally, rounded, thick walled spermathecae with short, inconspicuous copulatory ducts (Fig. 6 b).

Distribution. Only known from the type locality, Chañaral Island (Atacama, Chile).

Habitat. Chañaral Island (507.3 ha), part of the Pingüino de Humboldt National Reserve (Atacama Region, Chile) (Fig. 1). This island corresponds to a coastal desert area with Mediterranean-type climate influenced by the presence of mist. The island is a plateau bordered by rocky cliffs with heights varying from 30 to 50 m above the sea level and culmination at ~ 150 m (Fig. 2). The flora of Chañaral Island is represented by different life forms, predominantly shrub species, annual and perennial herbs, and cacti (Arancio & Jara 2007).

Cyrioctea islachanaral sp. nov. specimens were collected by pitfall trapping. The captures were conducted in Ecotope 3 (Fig. 1, E3, see Pizarro-Araya et al. 2014) (29º01'31.3''S; 71º34'18.7''W, 65 m), a subdesert steppe dominated by spring hydrophytes and cacti; its geomorphology is dominated by outcrops of sedimentary rock (Fig. 2).