First record of the wolf spider genus Lysania Thorell, 1890 from India with the description of a new species (Araneae: Lycosidae: Zoicinae).

The lycosid spider genus Lysania Thorell, 1890 contains just three species found in Borneo, China and Malaysia (World Spider Catalog 2014), which build small, horizontal, sheet-like webs (Lehtinen & Hippa 1979; Li et al. 2013). Members of the genus are characterised by having a male pedipalp without an articulated median apophysis, a beak-like lateral apophysis and wider conductor and female genitalia with a central/median hairy plate and long copulatory ducts (Lehtinen & Hippa 1979; Li et al. 2013). Lysania deangia Li, Wang and Zhang (described from China) and L. pygmaea Thorell, 1890 (described from China and Malaysia) are known from both males and females, while L. sabahensis Lehtinen and Hippa, 1979 (described from Borneo) is known only from females (World Spider Catalog 2014). Here we provide the description and illustration of a new Lysania species from the Western Ghats, one of the biodiversity hotspots of the world (Myers et al. 2000), in the Kerala region of southern India. Specimens were preserved in 70% ethanol and studied with a Zeiss Stemi 2000-C stereomicroscope. Morphological terminology follows Lehtinen & Hippa (1979), Framenau et al. (2009) and Li et al. (2013). All measurements are in millimetres (mm) and were made with an ocular micrometer. The length of the pedipalp and leg segments are given as: total (femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus). Spine positions are as follows: prolateral, dorsal, retrolateral and ventral. Drawings were made by the aid of a drawing tube attached to the microscope. The microphotographic images were taken by Leica DFC295 digital camera attached to Leica M205 C stereomicroscope with the software package Leica Application Suite (LAS), version 4.3.0. All specimens are deposited in a reference collection housed at the Division of Arachnology, Department of Zoology, Sacred Heart College, Thevara, Cochin, Kerala, India (ADSH). Abbreviations used in the text: ALE—anterior lateral eye, AME—anterior median eye, PLE—posterior lateral eye, PME—posterior median eye.