Cheliceroides jinxini sp. nov.

Figs 1, 2, 47

Type material.

Holotype ♂ (TRU - JS 0729), China: • Yunnan Province, Menghai County, Bameng Village (22°08.1'N, 100°31.56'E, ca 2030 m), 1. VII. 2023, J. X. Liu et al. leg.

Etymology.

The specific name is a patronym in honor of the collector; noun (name) in the genitive case.

Diagnosis.

Cheliceroides jinxini sp. nov. resembles C. longipalpis in habitus and palpal structure, but can be distinguished by the following: 1) presence of a raised tegular portion (Fig. 1 A, B) vs absent (Lin L. et al. 2024 a: figs 9–11, 16); 2) male palpal tibia ~ 1 / 5 of cymbial length (Fig. 1 A, B) vs approx. as long as cymbium (Lin et al. 2024 a: figs 9–11, 16); 3) embolus (E) originating at ca 4 o’clock position (Fig. 1 A, B) vs ca 2 o’clock position (Lin et al. 2024 a: fig. 10); and 4) chelicerae unmodified, and presence of one retromarginal tooth (Fig. 2 D) vs modified, and two retromarginal teeth (Logunov 2021: figs 2, 4).

Description.

Male (Figs 1, 2). Total length 5.40. Carapace 2.60 long, 2.04 wide. Abdomen 2.68 long, 1.64 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.64, ALE 0.36, PLE 0.30, AERW 1.96, PERW 1.80, EFL 1.24. Legs: I 5.99 (1.75, 1.08, 1.45, 1.08, 0.63), II 5.12 (1.58, 0.95, 1.18, 0.88, 0.53), III 5.67 (1.83, 0.88, 1.20, 1.13, 0.63), IV 5.89 (1.83, 0.80, 1.28, 1.35, 0.63). Carapace dark except anterior half of thoracic part red-brown, covered with dense dark and white setae, with clusters of bilateral, dense white scales. Chelicerae red-brown, with two promarginal teeth and one retromarginal tooth. Legs overall yellow except femora I dark brown, patellae, tibiae, and metatarsi I yellow-brown, spiny. Dorsum of abdomen yellow laterally, with anterior, transverse, arc-shaped setal stripes, and central, longitudinal, dark patch; venter pale brown, with dark spots.

Palp (Fig. 1 A, B): femur length / width ratio ca 3.32; patella slightly wider than long; tibia short, ~ 2 × wider than long in ventral view; retrolateral tibial apophysis (RTA) broadened into sub-quadrangular portion at base, then tapered to blunt end slightly curved inward; cymbium flat, ~ 1.5 × longer than wide in ventral view; tegulum almost round, with swollen retrolateral portion; embolus (E) long, arising at ca 4 o’clock position, extending circularly (ca 340 °) along tegulum before strongly curving 180 °, then antero-prolaterally extending into acutely pointed tip at apex of cymbium.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality in Yunnan, China (Fig. 47).

Comments.

The new species is considered a member of the genus because it shares a series of characters with C. longipalpis, such as the similar habitus, pattern, and long and whip-like embolus. However it is also obviously different from the latter by the unmodified chelicerae with one retromarginal tooth (vs modified, elongated chelicerae with two retromarginal teeth; Logunov 2021: figs 3, 9), the C-shaped sperm duct (vs S-shaped; Logunov 2021: fig. 5), and only the cymbium bears dense white setae (vs all segments except coxae and femora are densely covered with white setae; Logunov 2021: figs 2, 4). Therefore, the generic position of this species remains uncertain. Discovering its unknown female and obtaining enough molecular evidence could be helpful in confirming this issue.