Pholcus dongxue Dong, Zheng, Yao, and Li 2017
- Dataset
- Ten new species of the spider genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 (Araneae, Pholcidae) from Southeast Asia
- Rank
- SPECIES
- Published in
- Dong, Tingting, Zheng, Guo, Yao, Zhiyuan, Li, Shuqiang (2017): Ten new species of the spider genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 (Araneae, Pholcidae) from Southeast Asia. Zootaxa 4306 (3): 339-369, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4306.3.3
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Arthropoda
- class
- Arachnida
- order
- Araneae
- family
- Pholcidae
- genus
- Pholcus
- species
- Pholcus dongxue
description
Description. Male (holotype): Total length 3.56 (3.96 with clypeus), carapace 1.06 long, 1.20 wide, opisthosoma 2.50 long, 1.18 wide. Leg I: 26.4 (8.01 + 0.60 + 8.59 + 14.87 + 1.75), leg II: 19.68 (6.09 + 0.56 + 6.15 + 9.49 + 1.09), leg III: 20.18 (6.09 + 0.56 + 6.15 + 9.62 + 1.16), leg IV: 25.35 (4.81 + 0.55 + 4.10 + 6.86 + 0.90); tibia I L / d: 72. Distance PME-PME 0.34; diameter PME 0.05; distance PME-ALE 0.03; AME absent. Sternum wider than long (0.84 / 0.63). Habitus as in Figs 20 E – F. Carapace yellowish, with light brown marks medially; ocular area yellowish, with brown marks; sternum yellowish, with brown marks marginally. Legs yellowish, darker rings absent. Opisthosoma yellowish, without spots. Ocular area elevated, each eye triad on top of a laterally directed eye-stalk; PME strongly protruding anteriorly (Fig. 20 G). Thoracic furrow absent. Chelicerae as in Fig. 20 D, with a pair of proximo-lateral apophyses, a pair of distal apophyses, and a pair of indistinct frontal apophyses. Pedipalps as in Figs 19 A – B; trochanter with a short ventral apophysis; femur with a distinct ventral modification; procursus simple proximally but complex distally; bulbal apophyses as in Fig. 20 C; uncus with a scaly edge; appendix curved, with a scaly edge; embolus weakly sclerotized. Retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia I at 5 %; legs with short vertical setae on tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi; without spines and curved setae; tarsus I with 6 distinct pseudosegments. Female: Similar to male, habitus as in Figs 20 H – I. Total length 3.14 (3.40 with clypeus), carapace 0.95 long, 1.06 wide, opisthosoma 2.19 long, 1.09 wide. Distance PME-PME 0.19; diameter PME 0.05; distance PME-ALE 0.02; AME absent. Sternum wider than long (0.72 / 0.63). Ocular area without eye-stalks; PME less protruding than male PME. Epigynum (Fig. 20 A) with a knob. Vulva (Fig. 20 B) with a sclerotized anterior arch and two elliptic pore plates. Variation: Unknown (leg I lost in the other specimen).
diagnosis
Diagnosis. The species can be easily distinguished from all known congeners in the P. yichengicus species group by the combination of the following characters: the male PME strongly protruding anteriorly (arrow in Fig. 20 F), the very short male pedipalp trochanter apophysis (Figs 19 A – B), the absence of large dorsal sclerites subdistally on the procursus (Fig. 19 D) and the absence of branches on the appendix (Fig. 20 C).
distribution
Distribution. Thailand (Satun, type locality; Fig. 21). Natural History. The species was found in the aphotic zone inside the cave.
etymology
Etymology. The specific name is a Chinese pinyin word for cave (dòng xúe), in reference to the habitat of this species; noun.
materials_examined
Type material. Holotype: male (Ar 29679), Charakae Cave (6 ° 53.687 ′ N, 99 ° 46.743 ′ E, elevation 25 m), La Ngu District, Satun, Thailand, 16 October 2015, Q. Zhao, G. Zhou and Z. Chen leg. Paratypes: 2 females (Ar 29680 – 29681), same data as holotype.