Putaoa megacantha ( Xu & Li, 2007 ) Xu & Li, 2007

Hormiga, Gustavo & Tu, Lihong, 2008, On Putaoa, a new genus of the spider family Pimoidae (Araneae) from China, with a cladistic test of its monophyly and phylogenetic placement, Zootaxa 1792, pp. 1-21 : 12

Putaoa megacantha ( Xu & Li, 2007) new combination

W. megacanthus Xu & Li, 2007: 499 , figs. 75-81.

This species was recently described and illustrated, based on a single male specimen from the Sichuan Province (type specimen deposited at Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing; not examined). Putaoa megacantha is hypothesized to be sister to P. huaping . The female remains unknown. In this paper we provide a revised diagnosis in light of the description of P. huaping new species.

Diagnosis. Males of P. megacantha can be distinguished from other pimoids by the large and conspicuous macroseta at the base of the ectal cymbial margin ( Xu & Li 2007: figs. 78 and 80-81). Both the embolus and the PEP are very different from those in P. huaping new species (compare Xu & Li 2007: figs. 79-81 to Figs. 3 A-C). In P. megacantha the embolus is rather broad and forms a right angle with its base while in P. huaping the embolus is shorter and has a broad base. In P. megacantha the PEP is rather broad and forms a deep concavity while in P. huaping it is highly bifurcated and pointed.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Putaoa huaping new species. Male pedipalp. A, ectal; B, ventral; C, dorsomesal (arrows point out to apical ends of pimoid embolic process). Scale bar, 0.2 mm.