Otacilia kao Jäger & Wunderlich, 2012

Dankittipakul, Pakawin & Singtripop, Tippawan, 2014, New species and new records of the spider genus Otacilia Thorell, 1897 (Araneae, Corinnidae) from Southeast Asia, Revue Suisse De Zoologie 121, pp. 383-394 : 383

Otacilia kao Jäger & Wunderlich, 2012 Figs 35-41 Otacilia kao Jäger & Wunderlich, 2012: 258, figs 26-36, photos 21-29, description of male and female.

NEW MATERIAL: 1♀, 1♂; Vietnam, Kien Giang Province, Phu Quoc Island, Khu Rung Nguyen Sinh Forest Reserve, stream ca. 5 km southwest of Bai Thom Beach, evergreen rainforest, 100-400 m; 14./16.VIII.2003; P.J. Schwendinger leg. (MHNG, sample SV-03/08). – 1♂; Thailand, Trat Province, Ko Chang (west side of island), forest near Kai Bae Beach, 50 m; 2.- 6.XI.2006; A. Schulz leg. (MHNG, sample AS-TH06/03).

REMARKS: Otacilia kao is a pale species with extremely elongated and slender legs. There is a modest variation between the male holotype and the newly collected spiders examined and treated in the present study. The apex of the retrolateral tibial apophysis is slightly different from that of the male holotype (Figs 35, 37). The new male’s palpal configuration closely resembles that of O. sinifera and O. kao in having a simple, curved embolus and a minute conductor (Figs 35-36), but O. sinifera can be distinguished by the apex of the retrolateral tibial apophysis being hook-shaped, in addition to its conspicuous opisthosomal pattern. The shape of the retrolateral tibial apophysis in all three species seems to be somewhat similar, so it is difficult to make a conclusion about the taxonomic value of this character. They can be considered as a rather compact group of closely related species. It is possible that O. kao is a species with strong variability within the species and within its populations. However, the variation found in the new males is well within the known limits of the species and is not sufficient to warrant the status of a new taxon.

DISTRIBUTION: Thailand (Ko Chang, Trat Province) and Vietnam (new record).