Pholcus clavimaculatus Zhu & Song, 1999

Zhang, Feng & Zhu, Ming-Sheng, 2009, A review of the genus Pholcus (Araneae: Pholcidae) from China, Zootaxa 2037 (1), pp. 1-114 : 20-23

Pholcus clavimaculatus Zhu & Song, 1999

( Figs. 6–7)

Pholcus clavimaculatus Zhu & Song , in Song, Zhu & Chen 1999: 57, f. 23P–U. Zhang & Zhang, 2000: 154, 156, f 4A–D.

Diagnosis. Among its close relatives (see remark of P. alloctospilus ) this species is very similar to P. beijingensis and P. triangulatus in the shapes of the palpal bulb and epigynum, all without appendices of palpal bulb ( Fig. 6G) and with knob-shaped epigynal apophysis ( Fig. 6A). P. clavimaculatus can be distinguished from the latter two by the shape of tip of the procursus ( Fig. 7F); by the shape of the trochanter ( Fig. 6C); by the shape of the sclerotized arch of the epigynum in dorsal view ( Fig. 6B); from P. triangulatus also by the pair of cheliceral apophyses proximocentrally; from P. beijingensis also by the nearly round uncus ( Fig. 6G) and by the shorter ventral apophysis of the trochanter ( Figs. 6H).

Redescription. Male ( holotype), total length 4.4: cephalothorax 1.3 long, 1.6 wide; abdomen 3.1 long, 1.5 wide. Leg I: 28.4 (7.7+0.6+6.9+11.4+1.4), tibia II: 5.4, tibia III: 4.3, tibia IV: 6.2; Tibia I L/D: 41. Prosoma shape as in Fig. 6D. Carapace short, broad and almost circular, ochre, with pair of brown marks broadly connecting to ocular area. Cephalic region raised, with brown stripe centrally, ocular area dark yellow. Clypeus 0.46, unmodified, slightly ochre, without yellow marks. Distance AME–AME 0.03. Diameter AME 0.08, ALE 0.14, PME 0.12, PLE 0.13. Chelicerae as in Fig. 6F, with pair of black serrated apophyses distally, pair of unsclerotized thumb-shaped apophyses proximolaterally and pair of small unsclerotized rounded apophyses proximocentrally. Labium light yellow. Endites gray. Sternum yellow, without marks. Femora, patellae and tibiae ochre, with dark rings, metatarsi and tarsi brown. Abdomen cylindrical, pale ochre, dorsum with numerous brown patterns as in Fig. 6E. Venter pale brown. Male gonopore with four epiandrous spigots as in Fig. 7C. Male ALS with six piriform gland spigots as in Fig. 7G, and PMS with two spigots as in Fig. 7H. Palps as in Figs. 6G and 6H, bulb with a mushroom-shaped uncus with numerous small teeth ( Fig. 7I) and a long embolus, without appendix. Procursus as in Fig. 7F. Palpal tarsal organ capsulate as in Fig. 7E.

Variation. The color of specimens from Mt. Xiaowutai is lighter than that of the holotype.

Female: in general very similar to male. One female (Mt. Xiaowutai) total length 4.9: cephalothorax 1.5 long, 1.5 wide; abdomen 3.4 long, 1.5 wide. Tibia I 7.9. Distance AME–AME 0.04. Diameter AME 0.08, ALE 0.14, PME 0.13, PLE 0.15. Epigynum roughly circular as in Figs. 6A and 7A, with a small, triangular apophysis overlapping the gonopore. Dorsal view as in Fig. 6B, with a centrally-divided sclerotized arch anteriorly and a pair of oval pore plates.

Distribution. Known from several localities in northern China.

Material examined. CHINA: Liaoning: Suizhong County , August 26, 1987, leg. J. D. Guan, male holotype ( MHBU) . Hebei: Yu County, Mt. Xiaowutai , July 12, 1998, leg. F. Zhang, 5♂, 6♀ ( MHBU) ; July 10, 1999, leg. F. Zhang, 11♂, 18♀ ( MHBU) ; July 13, 2002, leg. F. Zhang, 1♂, 5♀ ( MHBU) ; August 20, 2005, leg. F. Zhang, 23♂, 44♀ ( MHBU) ; July 6, 2006, leg. F. Zhang, 30♂, 35♀ ( MHBU) ; Zhuolu County, Yangjiaping Village , July 6, 2004, leg. F. Zhang, 10♂, 7♀ ( MHBU) .