Phrynarachne xuxiake Lin & S. Li, 2022

Lin, Yejie, Yu, Long, Koomen, Peter, Yan, Xunyou & Li, Shuqiang, 2022, Taxonomic notes on the genus Phrynarachne from China (Araneae, Thomisidae), ZooKeys 1085, pp. 69-99 : 69

Phrynarachne xuxiake Lin & S. Li sp. nov.

Figs 1B , 14 , 19C , 21

Type material.

Holotype: ♀ (IZCAS-Ar41672), China: Anhui: Huangshan City, Tangkou Town, Fangcunxin Village, ravine, 30.0501°N, 118.1854°E, 450 m elev., IX.2018, Long Yu leg.

Etymology.

The species is named after Xu Xiake, a Chinese travel writer and geographer of the Ming dynasty; noun (name) in apposition.

Diagnosis.

Females of Phrynarachne xuxiake sp. nov. are similar to P. katoi but can be distinguished by the length to width ratio of the median plate (3:1 in P. xuxiake vs 5:1 in P. katoi ) and by the rectangular median plate with its posterior edge straight (vs dumbbell-shaped with procurved posterior edge in P. katoi ).

Description.

Female (Figs 14 , 19C ), holotype: total length 8.78, carapace 3.84 long, 4.45 wide, dark brown with long setae. Eye sizes and interdistances: ALE 0.22, AME 0.17, PLE 0.18, PME 0.15; ALE-AME 0.18, AME-AME 0.24, PLE-PME 0.28, PME-PME 0.28. Chelicerae white, with two promarginal teeth and one retromarginal tooth; gnathocoxae, labium black, labium 0.84 long, 0.74 wide. Sternum black. Legs yellow, femora I and II with dense, varying-sized tubercles; tibiae and metatarsi of I, II with dense ventral spines (I, tibia 26, metatarsus 108; II, tibia 21, metatarsus 89). Leg measurements: I 15.11 (4.17, 4.92, 3.70, 2.32), II 13.93 (4.02, 4.68, 3.13, 2.10), III 6.94 (2.12, 2.71, 1.05, 1.06), IV 6.63 (2.39, 2.54, 0.76, 0.94). Leg formula: 1234. Opisthosoma brown, each side with 19 blunt tubercles, each with a clavate seta, with a pair of black markings medially.

Epigyne (Fig. 14 ). Sclerotized margins inconspicuous, M-shaped; median plate obvious, with a posterior hood, anterior edge recurved and posterior edge almost straight, the ratio of width to length is 3:1; copulatory opening inconspicuous; Spermathecae kidney-shaped, the ratio of anterior edge to posterior edge length is 3:2. Fertilization duct transverse.

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality.

Figures

Figure 1. Phrynarachne spp., live A P. brevis, adult female B P. xuxiake sp. nov., juvenile. Photos by Chao Wu (A) and Fan Gao (B).

Figure 14. Phrynarachne xuxiake sp. nov., holotype female A epigyne, ventral B vulva, dorsal.

Figure 19. Phrynarachne spp., habitus dorsal A P. lancea, female B P. mammillata, male C P. xuxiake sp. nov., holotype female D P. yunhui sp. nov., holotype female.

Figure 21. Distribution records of Phrynarachne species in China 1 P. brevis 2 P. ceylonica 3 P. dreepy sp. nov. 4 P. huangshanensis 5 P. katoi 6 P. lancea 7 P. mammillata 8 P. xuxiake sp. nov. 9 P. yunhui sp. nov. 10 P. zhengzhongi sp. nov.