Gea C.L. Koch, 1843

Mi, Xiaoqi, Liu, Feng, Wang, Cheng, Gan, Jiahui & Wu, Yibei, 2024, Revision of the orb-weaver spider genus Gea C. L. Koch, 1843 (Araneae, Araneidae) from China, ZooKeys 1191, pp. 75-88 : 75

Genus Gea C.L. Koch, 1843

Gea C.L. Koch, 1843: 101.

Type species.

Gea spinipes C.L. Koch, 1843.

Diagnosis.

Gea is distinguished from Argiope by having the posterior eyes about equally spaced, while Argiope has the posterior median eyes farther from the posterior lateral eyes than the posterior median eyes from each other ( Levi 1983: figs 27, 45, 64). Gea differs from Neogea in having the cephalic region behind the eyes not swollen, while in Neogea this region of the head is swollen ( Levi 1983: figs 290, 292).

Description.

Small to medium-sized spiders with female total length of 3.65-9.00 mm and male total length of 3.00-4.30 mm. Carapace pear-shaped, yellow to yellowish brown. Legs yellow to yellowish brown, always with dark annuli; coxa I of male without hook; femur II of male without groove; tibia II of male not expanded. Abdomen shield-shaped dorsal often with a pair of low anterolateral humps in females, pale with a pair of dark patches close to humps and dark folium posteriorly or dark with white spots. Ventral abdomen pale with irregular dark patches or white spots.

Pedipalp of male without basal femoral protrusion; patella with only one bristle; paracybium fingerlike or flattened fingerlike; median apophysis bifurcated; dorsal ramus often weaker than ventral ramus; embolus extremely long and curved, thick at base, tapering to filiform end; conductor broad, curved, wrapped distal part of embolus.

Epigynum weakly sclerotized; median septum separating two depressions; copulatory openings situated on edges of depressions; copulatory ducts twisted, a bit longer than spermatheca; spermathecae elongate kidney-shaped, S-shaped, or bean-shaped, either touching or not.

Comment.

Spination of femur I is not useful to characterize these Gea species.