Pholcus buatong species group

This species group is newly proposed to include one species previously part of the Ph. halabala group ( Ph. satun Huber, 2011), one species previously tentatively assigned to the Pholcus ethagala group ( Ph. schwendingeri Huber, 2011), and a newly described species ( Ph. buatong Huber, sp. nov.). They share three putative synapomorphies, (1) the complete reduction of distal anterior apophyses on the male chelicerae (Fig. 156); (2) the very distinctive dorsal bulging of the male palpal patella (Fig. 155; angle between femur and patella ~120–125° rather than ~180° as in typical pholcids); and (3) the large, heavily sclerotized ‘knob’ on the epigynum (Figs 184, 187, 190). The group is strongly supported by preliminary molecular data (A. Valdez-Mondragón, B.A. Huber & D. Dimitrov unpublished data). Pholcus schwendingeri and Ph. buatong sp. nov. also share a distinctive whitish membranous process retrolatero-distally on the procursus (arrows in Figs 155, 180). Otherwise this group appears rather inhomogeneous: Pholcus schwendingeri males have extremely long eye stalks (Fig. 173) while males of the other two species have short eye stalks (Fig. 155); Pholcus buatong sp. nov. is rock-dwelling while the other two species are leaf litter dwelling; Pholcus satun has small AME, while the other two species lack AME; Pholcus satun males have only one bulbal process (sclerotized embolus), while males of the other two species have a membranous embolus plus an appendix. In all three species, egg-sacs are carried in front of the body (Figs 145, 152) as in typical pholcids. This species group is known from southern Thailand and northern mainland Malaysia (Fig. 153).