Meotipa argyrodiformis (Yaginuma, 1952)

Deng, Zhongwei, Agnarsson, Ingi, Chen, Zhanqi & Liu, Jie, 2022, Meotipa species (Araneae, Theridiidae) from China, ZooKeys 1082, pp. 153-178 : 153

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1082.75400
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2D3FA191-A984-4F5A-99D5-C34473D5DC93
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/8FFA37F6-D4CD-5DD7-A969-1424403A5196
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Meotipa argyrodiformis (Yaginuma, 1952)
status

Treatment

Figures 1A-H View Figure 1 , 10 View Figure 10

Ariamnes argyrodiformis Yaginuma, 1952: 14, figs 1-6 (description of female).

Topo argyrodiformis Yaginuma, 1955: 16 (transferred from Ariamnes , at the time in synonymy with Argyrodes ).

Chrysso argyrodiformis Yaginuma, 1965: 35 (transferred from Topo , at the time in synonymy with Thwaitesia ); Yaginuma 1986: 45, fig. 24.3 (female, description of male); Chikuni 1989: 32, fig. 14 (male and female); Chen and Gao 1990: 93, fig. 116 (female); Barrion and Litsinger 1995: 419, figs 248a-i, 249a, b (male and female); Yoshida 2003: 128, figs 338, 343-345, 584 (male and female); Yin et al. 2012: 293, figs 106a-d (female); Sen et al. 2015: 85, figs 493-498, pl. 19 (female).

Meotipa argyrodiformis Yoshida, 2009: 378, figs 208-210 (transferred from Chrysso ).

Material examined (holotype not examined).

Hunan Province: 9♀, Changsha City, Yuelu Mountain Scenic Area (28.19°N, 112.94°E, 210 m), 12 August 2018, Z.C. Li & Z.W. Deng leg. (CBEE).

Diagnosis.

Meotipa argyrodiformis is similar to M. pulcherrima (Fig. 2A-H View Figure 2 ) in: having the abdomen pointed to a tubercle posteriorly (Fig. 1B View Figure 1 ), lacking obvious copulatory openings, and having a spoon-shaped conductor in the male palp. However, it can be distinguished from the latter by the following combination of characters: (1) the abdomen extends beyond spinnerets ~ 3/4 of total abdomen length in M. argyrodiformis (Fig. 1A View Figure 1 ), but less than half in M. pulcherrima (Fig. 2A View Figure 2 ); (2) the epigynum does not have a tongue-shaped apophysis posteriorly and medially in M. argyrodiformis (Fig. 1D View Figure 1 ), but has in M. pulcherrima (Fig. 2D View Figure 2 ); (3) the copulatory ducts are tube-shaped in M. argyrodiformis (Fig. 1F View Figure 1 ), but spherical in M. pulcherrima (Fig. 2F View Figure 2 ); (4) the cymbium is long and nearly ovoid in M. argyrodiformis (see Yoshida 2003: fig. 345), but shorter and nearly spherical in M. pulcherrima (see Yoshida 2003: fig. 342); (5) the embolus is long with a twisted tip, extending beyond conductor in M. argyrodiformis (see Yoshida 2003: fig. 345), but short and straight, completely surrounded by conductor in M. pulcherrima (see Yoshida 2003: fig. 342).

Description.

Female. Total length 5.20; Prosoma length 1.20, width (at middle) 0.81, height (at middle) 0.88; Opisthosoma length 4.05, width (at middle) 1.97, height (at middle) 2.46; Eye diameters: ALE 0.07, AME 0.07, PLE 0.07, PME 0.07; Eye interdistances: AME-AME 0.05, ALE-ALE 0.15, PLE-ALE contiguous, PLE-PLE 0.22, PME-PME 0.07, PME-PLE 0.07, AME-ALE 0.05; Clypeus height (at middle) 0.38, width (at middle) 0.16; Measurements of legs: Leg I (right) 11.18 [4.93, 0.84, 2.36, 2.34, 0.71], II (right) 6.72 [1.85, 0.49, 1.50, 2.17, 0.71], III (right) 4.61 [1.44, 0.38, 0.85, 1.42, 0.52], IV (right) 9.27 [2.80, 0.59, 2.69, 2.43, 0.76]. Carapace rather ovate with V-shaped longitudinal fovea, cephalic area short and narrow, thoracic area widest between coxae II and III (Fig. 1A View Figure 1 ). Eyes in two rows with black or pale brown ring, strongly recurved (Fig. 1B View Figure 1 ); anterior eye row curved, shorter than the straight posterior eye row. Sternum yellow, longer than wide, lateral margins slightly indented. Labium contiguous to the sternum, yellow with a brown, rounded to slightly triangular, apical margin (Fig. 1C View Figure 1 ). Chelicerae vertical, yellow with pale brown fang. Yellow legs long and slender with or without gray bands and bearing a few dark brown short spines, tibiae with two dorsal spines in legs I, II and IV, and one in leg III, tarsus three-clawed with 5-7 teeth in the superior claws. Leg formula 1423. Pedipalp yellow and length ~ 2/3 carapace, single-clawed, with many short hairs; tibia laterally with a lanceolate spine. Abdomen pale yellowish, anterior portion overhangs the carapace, approximately triangular in lateral view, dorsum with red cardiac marking and several transverse reddish brown bands laterally. Posterior area of ventral abdomen with deep red stripes, pointed posteriorly, with six black and medially broad setae with sharp ends, and ventrally projected spinnerets (Fig. 1B View Figure 1 ). Epigynum forming a triangular atrium, without obvious copulatory openings (Fig. 1D View Figure 1 ); two round spermathecae can be clearly seen in ventral view (Fig. 1E View Figure 1 ); copulatory ducts long, narrow, almost straight; fertilization ducts short, close to copulatory ducts, and both of them are located at the directly below spermathecae (Fig. 1F View Figure 1 ); spermathecae round, slightly separate from each other (Fig. 1H View Figure 1 ).

Male. Not collected.

Distribution.

China (Anhui, Fujian, Hunan, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Zhejiang), Japan, Philippines, India.

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Arthropoda
Class	Arachnida
Order	Araneae
Family	Theridiidae
Genus	Meotipa