Patu shiluensis Lin & Li, 2009

Rivera-Quiroz, Francisco Andres, Petcharad, Booppa & Miller, Jeremy A., 2021, First records and three new species of the family Symphytognathidae (Arachnida, Araneae) from Thailand, and the circumscription of the genus Crassignatha Wunderlich, 1995, ZooKeys 1012, pp. 21-53 : 21

Patu shiluensis Lin & Li, 2009 Figures 14 , 15a, c

Patu shiluensis Lin & Li, 2009: 59, figs 11A, B, 12A, B, 13A-D.

Collected material.

Thailand • 4♀; Phuket Province, Siray Island. Mixed tropical forest; 7°53.355'N, 98°26.083'E. 132 m; August 02-06, 2018; Booppa Petcharad, Jeremy Miller, F. Andres Rivera-Quiroz leg.; Winkler extractor; RMNH.5106642.

Distribution.

Known only from its type locality, Shilu Town, Hainan Province, China and the specimens collected for the present work.

Morphological remarks.

Carapace pale yellow with black margin, smooth texture (Fig. 14b ). Legs black and semi-transparent. Abdomen oval, longer than wide (Fig. 14a, b ). Ventrally same color as carapace, dorsally, darker with pale yellow patches.

Vulva: Epigynum weakly sclerotized, semi-transparent (Fig. 14c ). Atrium semi-circular slightly wider than inner distance between S (Figs 14c , 15c ). Spermathecae spherical slightly more sclerotized than epigynum, separated by 0.5 × their diameter (Fig. 14d ). Copulatory ducts spring-like, spiraling 3 × over themselves. Fertilization ducts as long as S width, projecting posteriorly (Figs 14d , 15a, c ).

Female: Total length 0.52, carapace 0.21 long, 0.2 wide; clypeus 0.04; Chelicera 0.07 long, 0.05 wide; Leg I: femur 0.15, patella 0.07, tibia 0.1, metatarsus 0.07, tarsus 0.1; leg formula I-II-IV-III; abdomen 0.34 long, 0.28 wide.

Notes.

Small somatic variations can be seen between the specimen we collected in Thailand and the ones previously described from China (compare Fig. 14b to Lin and Li 2009: fig. 11). However, we did not find any objective differences in the female genitalia.

Secretory ampullae (Figs 14d , 15a ) were very evident in our specimens; these glandular structures might be homologous to the accessory glands in Lopardo and Hormiga (2015). These structures were found in one anapid ( Tasmanaspis ) and several mysmenids, but scored as absent or unknown for all the symphytognathids.

The authors of this species mentioned it to be close to Patu silho Saaristo, 1996 from Seychelles. The possibility of P. silho not being a true Patu was discussed by its author ( Saaristo 1996; 2010) mentioning evident differences on somatic and sexual characters between P. silho and other Patu species. Nevertheless, the author deemed appropriate to place it in this genus. We also consider this species might be misplaced in Patu but would need further and more detailed analysis out of the scope of this work to clarify it (see discussion on Patu relationships below).

Figures

Figure 14. Patu shiluensis Lin & Li, 2009 female: Habitus: a ventral view b dorsal view. Epigynum: c ventral view d dorsal view, cleared. Scale bars: 0.2 mm (a, b); 0.06 mm (c); 0.03 mm (d).

Figure 15. a, c Patu shiluensis Lin & Li, 2009 b, d Crassignatha seedam sp. nov. Epigynum, cleared: a, b dorsal view c, d ventral view. Scale bars: 0.03 mm (a, c); 0.05 mm (b, d).