Flexicrurum minutum, Tong & Li, 2007

Tong, Yanfeng & Li, Shuqiang, 2007, First Records Of The Family Ochyroceratidae (Arachnida: Araneae) From China, With Descriptions Of A New Genus And Eight New Species, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 55 (1), pp. 63-76 : 65-69

Flexicrurum minutum , new species

( Figs. 1I–L , 4A–E , 10 )

Material examined. – Holotype: male ( IZCAS), Bawangling National Natural Reserve (19 ° 04'N 109 ° 08'E), Changjiang County, Hainan Island, China, coll. G. Deng, 22 Mar.2005.

Diagnosis. – The new species can be distinguished from F. flexicrurum , new species, and F. longispina , new species, by the different patterns of ventral and dorsal abdomen, the differences of male palp details, and the shorter legs and the smaller body size.

Description. – Male: Total length 1.39. Carapace 0.85 long, 0.74 wide; abdomen 0.88 long, 0.46 wide. Pattern of carapace as F. flexicrurum , new species, but without the light round patch before thoracic anterior margin that presented in F. flexicrurum , new species. Clypeus as F. flexicrurum , new species, the ratio of carapace to clypeus is about 3: 1. Chelicerae creamy. Cheliceral promargin without teeth, retromargin with 2 small teeth. The posterior surface of fang provided with 13 small denticles. Maxillae light pigmented, labium dark. Sternum dark. Abdomen is nearly perpendicular to carapace in lateral view, and with complicated patterns on dorsal and ventral surfaces. Legs light brown, tibia with one white ring distally. Leg measurements: I 7.64 (2.05, 0.25, 2.28, 2.10, 0.96); II 5.71 (1.58, 0.25, 1.65, 1.53, 0.70); III 4.53 (1.31, 0.23, 1.21, 1.21, 0.57); IV 6.92 (1.93, 0.23, 2.03, 1.98, 0.75). Leg formula: 1 4 2 3. Palp measurements: 1.14 (0.50, 0.18, 0.30, 0.16), bulb 0.33 long. Palpal femur, patella and tibia modified as F. flexicrurum , new species. Tibia and tarsus light pigmented. Tarsus with a strong lateral protrusion. Bulb with a slender apophysis. Conductor complicated.

Female: Unknown.

Etymology. – The specific name is from the Greece “ minutus = small”, refers to the relatively smaller body and shorter legs than the other species of the genus.

Figures

Fig. 1. Flexicrurum flexicrurum, new species: A–D; Flexicrurum longispina, new species: E–H; Flexicrurum minutum, new species: I–L. A, E, F, carapace of male; B, F, J, male in lateral view; C, G, K, abdomen of male in dorsal view; D, H, L, abdomen of male in ventral view.

Fig. 4. Flexicrurum minutum, new species: A, maxillae and labium, anterior view; B, left palp, prolateral view (the arrow refers to the bulbal apophysis); C, left palp, retrolateral view (the arrow refers to the embolus); D, chelicerae, posterior view (the arrow refers to the small denticles); E, left palpal bulb, dorsal view. Scale bars: A–C = 0.2 mm, D, E = 0.1 mm.

Fig. 10. Collection localities of Chinese Ochyroceratidae.