Belisana aliformis, Tong & Li, 2008

Tong, Yanfeng & Li, Shuqiang, 2008, Four New Species Of Six-Eyed Pholcid Spiders (Araneae: Pholcidae) From Hainan Island, China, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 56 (1), pp. 45-53 : 46-47

Belisana aliformis , new species

( Figs. 1 A–C, 2A–H)

Material examined. – Holotype: male ( IZCAS), Wuzhishan Natural Reserve (18 ° 49'N 109 ° 39'E), Hainan Island, China, coll. Y. Song, X. Han, G. Deng and Y. Tong, 16 Apr.2005.

Paratypes: 8 males and 17 females ( IZCAS), same data as holotype ; 3 males and 7 females ( IZCAS), Jianfengling Natural Reserve , Hainan Island, China, coll. Y. Song, X. Han, G. Deng and Y. Tong, 5 Apr.2005 .

Diagnosis. – The new species is similar to B. nujiang Huber, 2005 , and B. pianma Huber, 2005 , but can be distinguished by the unpaired modification of the male clypeus, the less widely spaced cheliceral apophyses, the shapes of procursus and embolus, and the different female vulval structure.

Description. – Male (holotype). Total length 2.95 (3.15 with clypeus), carapace width 1.28. Leg 1: 28.95 (6.99+0.44+7.14+12.28+2.1), tibia 2: 4.57, tibia 3: 2.99, tibia 4: 4.14; tibia 1 L/d: 64. Habitus as in Figs. 1A and 1B . Carapace ochre-yellow, brown margins laterally, sternum whitish, Legs ochre-yellow except brown on patella and joints of tibia to metatarsus, without darker rings. Opisthosoma whitish gray, with two pairs of darker spots dorsolaterally. Ocular area not elevated, thoracic furrow absent; distance PME-PME 0.23; diameter PME 0.10; distance PME-ALE 0.02; AME absent. Clypeus with duck-beak shaped apophysis

THE RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY 2008

on anterior margin. Sternum slightly wider than long (0.75/ 0.62). Chelicerae as in Fig. 2F , with pair of curved apophyses, tips with cuticular ridges laterally, 0.36 apart. Palps as in Figs. 2B, 2C and 2D ; trochanter with short retrolateral apophysis, femur with indistinct hump proximo-dorsally, procursus complicated distally, with ventral membranous flap, bulb with hooked apophysis and complicated embolus. Retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at 7%; legs without spines, vertical hairs, and curved hairs; tarsus 1 apparently with> 20 pseudosegments, but only about 15 quite distinct distally.

Variation. Tibia 1 in other males (n = 8) from Wuzhishan: 6.28–7.18 (mean: 6.68); in the males from Jianfengling (n = 3): 6.81, 7.12, 7.52. Distance between tips of distal cheliceral apophyses in other males from Wuzhishan (n = 8): 0.31–0.37 (mean: 0.33); in the males from Jianfengling (n = 3): 0.29, 0.32, 0.33.

Females. In general, similar to male. Body colour lighter than male’s; dorsal spots on opisthosoma indistinct (nearly invisible in some specimens from Jianfengling). Tibia 1 in females from Wuzhishan (n = 17): 5.04–6.08 (mean: 5.45); in females from Jianfengling (n = 7): 5.44–6.02 (mean: 5.72). Epigynum simple and flat externally, with distinctive internal dark structures visible through cuticle ( Figs. 1C and 2G ), pockets 0.19 apart. Dorsal view as in Fig. 2H .

Etymology. – The specific name is an adjective from Latin, in reference to the wing-shaped dark structure visible through the epigynal cuticle.

Distribution. – Hainan, China (present study).

Figures

Fig. 1. A–C, Belisana aliformis, new species; D–F, Belisana huberi, new species; G–I, Belisana lamellaris, new species; J–L, Khorata diaoluoshanensis, new species. A, D, G, J, male habitus, dorsal view; B, E, H, K, male habitus, lateral view; C, F, I, L, female abdomen, ventral view.

Fig. 2. A, Belisana aliformis, new species, anterior part of male prosoma (arrow shows the duck-beak shaped apophysis), dorsal view; B– C, male left palp, prolateral (B) and retrolateral (C) views; D, male left procursus, prolateral view; E, apical part of cheliceral frontal apophysis, internal view; F, male chelicerae, frontal view; G–H, cleared epigynum, ventral (G) and dorsal (H) views. Scale bars: A–D, F–H = 0.2 mm; E = 0.05 mm.