A new funnel-web spider species (Araneae: Agelenidae, Tegenaria) from Mercantour National Park, France

<p>During a survey of the spider fauna of the Mercantour National Park in the French Alps, several interesting and new taxa were found. One of these new taxa. Tegenaria mercantarensis n. sp. (Agelenidae) is described here. The new species shows distinct morphological characters which allow easy separation from all other Tegenaria or Malthonica species. The most important characters in males are the short, truncated embolus (a character shared with T. rlomestica, the type species of Tegenaria, and T. miritica), the broad. curved hammerhead-shaped conductor and the RTA. Distinct characters in females are the atrium with wide spiral copulatory openings anterior to an anchor-shaped sclerotised ground plate, the strongly sclerotised and irregularly formed &quot;shield&quot; around the tubular-shaped spermathecae. and the conspicuous anterolateral lentiform areas of the spermathecae, covered only by membrane.During a survey of the spider fauna of the Mercantour National Park in the French Alps, several interesting and new taxa were found. One of these new taxa. Tegenaria mercantarensis n. sp. (Agelenidae) is described here. The new species shows distinct morphological characters which allow easy separation from all other Tegenaria or Malthonica species. The most important characters in males are the short, truncated embolus (a character shared with T. rlomestica, the type species of Tegenaria, and T. miritica), the broad. curved hammerhead-shaped conductor and the RTA. Distinct characters in females are the atrium with wide spiral copulatory openings anterior to an anchor-shaped sclerotised ground plate, the strongly sclerotised and irregularly formed &quot;shield&quot; around the tubular-shaped spermathecae. and the conspicuous anterolateral lentiform areas of the spermathecae, covered only by membrane.</p>