A revision of Neodiplothele ( Araneae : Mygalomorphae : Barychelidae )

The Neotropical Sasoninae Neodiplothele Mello-Leitão, 1917 is revised and now includes eight species. Neodiplothele can be distinguished from other Sasoninae by the absence of the posterior median spinnerets and differs Neotropical relatives as Cosmopelma by the absence of cuspules on coxae of leg I and Paracenobiopelma by the absence of cuspules on the labium. The male of N. irregularis Mello-Leitão, 1917 and N. picta Vellard, 1924 are described and illustrated for the first time. Neodiplothele leonardosi Mello-Leitão, 1939 is considered a junior synonym of N. irregularis. Five new species are described from Brazil: N. aureus sp. nov. from the states of Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, and Minas Gerais, N. itabaiana sp. nov. from Sergipe, N. martinsi sp. nov. from Bahia, Espírito Santo, and Minas Gerais, N. indicattii sp. nov. from Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, N. caucaia sp. nov. from Ceará, Goiás, and Mato Grosso do Sul. Two informal groups are proposed based on genitalia morphology: irregularis group and picta group. An identification key and new distribution records for all known species are given.

Barychelidae Simon, 1889 is subdivided in two subfamilies: Barychelinae and Sasoninae (RAVEN 1985) which includes 42 genera and 291 species (WORLD SPIDER CATALOG 2015). Sasoninae currently includes the genera: Sason Simon, 1887, Cosmopelma Simon, 1889, Neodiplothele Mello-Leitão, 1917and Paracenobiopelma Feio, 1952, from these genera, only Sason is not present in the Neotropical region (RAVEN 1985, GOLOBOFF 1995. Sasoninae differs from Barychelinae by the presence of a narrow clypeus, short and conical apical segment of the posterior lateral spinnerets, labium and eye tubercle wider than long (RAVEN 1985(RAVEN , 1986. Neodiplothele was established by MELLO-LEITÃO (1917) based on N. irregularis, a female from Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil. Later, another three species from Brazil were described: N. fluminensis Mello-Leitão, 1924 based on a male from Floresta da Tijuca, N. picta Vellard, 1924 based on a female from Niterói, both from state of Rio de Janeiro and N. leonardosi Mello-Leitão, 1939 based on a female from Cabeceira do Paraguaçu, state of Bahia. BÜCHERL et al. (1971) redescribed N. fluminensis, presented an illustration of the male palpal bulb for the first time and observed that N. leonardosi was a juvenile specimen. RAVEN (1985) transferred Neodiplothele to Pycnothelinae (Nemesiidae) due to the presence of numerous keels on the bulb, small intercheliceral tumescence, absence of third tarsal claw and pseudosegmented tarsi of males. This transfer was rejected by GOLOBOFF (1995) who classified the genus back in Barychelidae, due to the well-developed claw tufts and tarsal claws without teeth, and included the genus in Sasoninae for sharing with Cosmopelma and Paracenobiopelma the presence of an intercheliceral tumescence and the bulb with low ridges. Examination of the type-material and a large number of specimens from several Brazilian collections have offered us the opportunity to revise the genus, describe the male of N. irregularis and N. picta for the first time, and also describe five new species, all from Brazil. Two informal groups of species are proposed based in genitals characters: irregularis group and picta group.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The material examined is deposited in the following collections: Instituto Butantan, São Paulo (IBSP, A.D. Brescovit); Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro (MNRJ, A.B. Kury); Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo (MZSP, R. Pinto da Rocha); Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte (UFMG, A.J. Santos) and Universidade Federal do Piauí, Floriano (CHNUFPI, L.S. Carvalho). All measurements are in millimeters. Total body length includes carapace and abdomen without chelicerae and spinnerets. Length and width of carapace, eye tubercle, labium and sternum are measures of maximum values obtained. The length measurement of leg segments was obtained between joints in dorsal view. Terminology for number and disposition of spines follows that of PETRUNKEVITCH (1925) with modifications proposed by BERTANI (2001). Digital multi-focal photos were taken with a Leica DFC500 digital camera attached to a Leica MZ16A stereoscopic microscope. Extended focal range images were composed with Leica Application Suite version 2.5.0. SEM. These images were taken in the Scanning Electron Microscope FEI Quanta 250 in the Laboratório de Biologia Celular of Instituto Butantan. Spermathecae were dissected and submitted to digestion by Ultrazyme ® Enzymatic Cleaner for 24 hours in order to observe of the internal structure. The structures of internal genitalia of females were illustrated in dorsal view. Male palpal bulb from the left side was removed from the cymbium and illustrated. The geographic coordinates were obtained using Google Earth and the distribution maps were made using the program DIVA-GIS 7.5. Abbreviations: (PLS) posterior lateral spinnerets, (PMS) posterior median spinnerets, (AME) anterior median eyes, (ALE) anterior lateral eyes, (PLE) posterior lateral eyes, (PME) posterior median eyes, (STC) superior tarsal claws, (ap) apical, (d) dorsal, (v) ventral, (p) prolateral, (r) retrolateral.
Distribution. From Northeast to the north of the South of .
Natural history. This species was found in ravines, at about 10-50 cm high from the ground on tracks edges in the Atlantic Forest, in the Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos, Teresópolis, Rio de Janeiro (about 1400m above the sea level). The burrow has two trapdoors camouflaged with mosses on substrates as soil, rocks, roots or fallen trunks in ravines. Diagnosis. Neodiplothele aureus sp. nov. can be distinguished from the other species by the golden dorsal color in the abdomen with a median longitudinal dark brown strip (Fig.  41). Males palpal bulb embolus with evident keels emerging from an enlarged base (Figs. 15,(35)(36)(37)(38). Females can be distinguished by the more spiraled internal branch and longer than the external one (Fig. 40).

Neodiplothele itabaiana sp. nov.
Scopulae on tibia and metatarsus absent; tarsi I-II integral and III-IV divided by one narrow row of thin setae. STC without teeth on all claws. Tibia I with a megaspine on the retrolateral side . Palpal bulb with evident keels and an apical curvature in the embolus . Spinnerets: basal segment 0.8; median 0.45; apical 0.23.
Distribution. Only known from the type locality (Fig. 92). Etymology. The specific name is a noun in apposition taken from the type locality.
Etymology. The species is in honor of Pedro Henrique Martins, the collector of this species.
Natural history. The species were collected in a small ravine of sandy soil located on the edge of a road (Fig. 64, arrow). The tubular burrow was covered by silk and protected by a malleable trapdoor very well camouflaged with debris and mosses (Figs. 65-66). The burrow had a circular shape with only one entrance. It was about 2-3 cm wide and 10-12 cm deep. Several exuviae were found next to the burrows and base of the ravine.

Neodiplothele picta
Diagnosis. Neodiplothele picta can be easily recognized by the color pattern of the dorsal area of the abdomen with light distinct spots (Figs. 67,72,74). Males of N. picta can be distinguished by the strong curvature on the median half of the embolus with slender keels (Figs. 13,(68)(69)(70)(71). Females can be distinguished by the aspect of the seminal receptacle with the external branch without sinuosity (Fig. 73).
Diagnosis. Males of Neodiplothele caucaia sp. nov. can be distinguished by the aspect of the palpal bulb with an embolus with a strong curvature in the median area, curved tip and inconspicuous keels (Figs. 87-90).