Atypus sinensis Schenkel 1953

Zhu, Ming-Sheng, Zhang, Feng, Song, Daxiang & Qu, Ping, 2006, A revision of the genus Atypus in China (Araneae: Atypidae), Zootaxa 1118, pp. 1-42 : 26-28

Atypus sinensis Schenkel 1953

( Figs 80–86 )

Atypus sinensis Schenkel 1953: 6–10 , figs 3, 4a (1 male and 1 female syntypes from Tschang ts’ounnkeou, Shanxi Province, China in the Hoangho­Peiho Museum, Tientsin, China, we did not find this species in the collection, presumably lost; also see Schwendinger 1990). — Hu 1984: 35, figs 33, 34. — Schwendinger 1990: 358. — Song, Zhu & Chen 1999: 35, fig. 16C.

Material examined. CHINA: Shanxi Province, Huguan County, 36°06’N, 113°12’E, Shuzhang Village , 1 male, 4 June 1984, M. S. Zhu leg. ( MHBU) .

Diagnosis. Males resemble those of A. karschi and A. yajuni sp. nov. in the shape of their conductor. They can be distinguished from those of A. karschi by the short conductor, the finger­like lower distal corner, the upper corner far away from tegular process ( Figs 84–85 ), and by the distance between first and second pair of sigilla being distinctly longer than that between the second and third pairs ( Fig. 82 ). They differ from those of A. yajuni sp. nov. in that the sternum is obviously longer than wide, in the absence of a distinct tegular tubercle on the palpal bulb, and in the finger­like lower distal corner of the conductor ( Figs 84–85 ).

Redescription.

Male. Total length (including chelicerae) 17.91. Carapace 5.85 long, 5.85 wide; abdomen 7.11 long, 4.59 wide. Carapace smooth with shallow grooves and pits, red brown, with black border and dark stripes. Eye region occupying nearly one­third of width of pars cephalica. Anterior eye row slightly recurved, posterior eye row distinctly recurved and wider than anterior eye row. Eye diameters: AME 0.25, ALE 0.25, PME 0.20, PLE 0.23. Distances AME–AME 0.25, AME–ALE 0.10, PME–PME 0.75, PME–PLE 0.02. MOA 0.55 long, front width 0.95, back width 1.10. Fovea transverse and wider, occupying about 1/5 of carapace width at that point. Chelicerae red brown, promargin with 14 teeth. Labium red brown, anterior lobe of pedipalp coxa with large number of cuspules at inner margin. Sternum red brown, margins and posterior half black, longer than wide, anterior pair of sigilla close to anterior sternal margin and remote from second pair, third and fourth pairs of sigilla oval.

Abdomen dark brown, dorsal scutum mauve brown. ALS 0.53 long, PMS 0.95 long, PLS 2.93 long (basal joint 0.75, median 0.85, subapical 0.70, apical 0.63).

Palpal femur with furrow. Legs red brown, with short and thin brown hairs and few spines. Femora I, II with granular texture. Metatarsus IV with five dorsal spines. Leg formula: 4123.

Male palp ( Figs 83–86 ): conductor short, with lower distal corner extended and fingerlike, upper corner far from tegular process.

Female. Total length (including chelicerae) 26.00. Carapace 7.50 long, 6.50 wide (see Schenkel 1953: 8).

Variation. Carapace 5.20 long, 5.00 wide, total length 15.50 in the male syntype.

Habitat. The specimen examined was found in a forest. The purseweb was attached to the base of a pine tree.

Distribution. China: Shanxi.

Remarks. The type specimens of this species are lost. The original description includes no useful characters and the illustrated palpal bulb cannot be interpreted. Also, the redescription and figures of Hu (1984) provide no better information. The male specimen that we describe here was collected from Huguan County, Shanxi Province, which is close to the type locality of A. sinensis . It was identified as A. sinensis because the shape of its conductor is very similar to that illustrated by Schenkel (1953).

Figures

FIGURES 80–86. Atypus sinensis Schenkel 1953, male. 80, carapace, dorsal view; 81, left chelicera, inner­lateral view; 82, labium and sternum, ventral view; 83, left palp, prolateral view; 84, left palpal bulb, prolateral view; 85, same, retrolateral view; 86, same, dorsal view. Scale bars: 80–82, 1.0mm; 83–86, 0.2mm.