Pholcus exceptus, Tong, Yanfeng & Li, Shuqiang, 2009

Tong, Yanfeng & Li, Shuqiang, 2009, Six new cave-dwelling pholcid spiders (Araneae: Pholcidae) from Hainan Island, with two newly recorded genera from China, Zootaxa 1988, pp. 17-32 : 25-30

Pholcus exceptus sp. nov.

Figs 16–19 , 60–64

Type material: Holotype male, 7 males and 23 females paratypes, CHINA: Hainan Province, Dongfang City, Huangdi Cave (18°57.720´N, 109°08.373´E), 20 March 2005, Y. Song, X. Han, Y. Tong and G. Deng leg.; 9 males and 2 females paratypes, CHINA: Hainan Province, Dongfang City, Donghe Town, Nanlang Village, Cave No. 1 (19°00.694´N, 109°04.027´E), 30 March 2005, collector same as holotype; 1 male and 3 females paratypes, Nanlang Village, Cave No. 2 (19°00.643´N, 109°04.530´E), other data same as the former; 2 females paratypes, CHINA: Hainan Province, Changjiang County, Qicha Town, Baoyou Cave (19°06.092´N, 109°01.208´E), 2–3 April 2005, collector same as for holotype.

Etymology: The specific name is a participium from Latin, in reference to the special male cheliceral morphology.

Diagnosis: The new species can be easily distinguished from congeners by the shape of the male cheliceral apophyses, the simple procursus and palpal appendix.

Description: Male (holotype). Total length 5.52 (6.32 with clypeus), carapace width 1.76. Leg 1: 46.57 (13.14+0.72+12.55+17.51+2.65), tibia 2: 8.36, tibia 3: 7.28, tibia 4: 7.82; tibia 1 L/d: 63. Habitus as in figs 16 and 17. Carapace yellowish, with brown marks on median; ocular area brown; clypeus yellowish, without marks; sternum yellowish, with dense small brown spots, shape as in fig.19. Opisthosoma pale gray, with some spots dorsally. Distance PME-PME 0.36; diameter PME 0.17; distance PME-ALE 0.02; diameter AME 0.07. Chelicerae as in fig. 64, with pair of unsclerotized rounded projections proximolaterally. Palps as in figs. 60 and 61; tarsal organ capsulate. Retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at 5%; Legs yellow except dark brown on patella, with darker rings on femora (subdistally) and tibiae (proximally and subdistally), without spines, curved and vertical hairs; tarsus 1 with hardly visible pseudosegments.

Variation. Spots on opisthosoma more distinctly in specimens from Nanlang. Tibia 1 in other males (n = 7) from Huangdi Cave: 10.85, 10.99, 11.42 (leg I lost in other specimens); in the males (n = 9) from Nanlang, Cave No. 1: 10.99 (leg I lost in other specimens); in the males (n = 1) from Nanlang, Cave No. 2: 11.14.

Females (paratypes). In general similar to male. Tibia 1 in females (n = 23) from Huangdi Cave: 9.56–10.28 (mean: 9.98); in the females from Nanlang cave No. 1 (n = 2): 9.71, 10.71; in the females from Nanlang cave No. 2 (n = 3): 10.28 (leg I lost in other specimens); in the females from Baoyou Cave (n = 2): 10.57 (leg I lost in one specimen). Epigynum as in figs 18 and 62, brown with distinctive pattern, strongly blackened on median area; with worm-shaped knob. Dorsal view as in fig. 63.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 23. Belisana desciscens sp. nov., 1 – 3; Belisana exian sp. nov., 4 – 6; Belisana maogan sp. nov., 7 – 9; Belisana yalong sp. nov., 10 – 12; Modisimus culicinus (Simon, 1893), 13 – 15; Pholcus exceptus sp. nov., 16 – 19; Holocneminus huangdi sp. nov., 20 – 23. (1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 20, male habitus, dorsal view; 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 21, male habitus, lateral view; 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 23, female abdomen, ventral view; 19, 22, male sternum, ventral view.)

FIGURES 60 – 64. Pholcus exceptus sp. nov. 60 – 61. Male left palp, prolateral (60) and retrolateral (61) views; 62 – 63. Cleared epigynum, ventral (62) and dorsal (63) views; 64. Male chelicerae, frontal view. Scale lines: 60 – 63 = 0.2 mm; 64 = 0.1 mm.