Pholcus tangyuensis Yao & Li

Dong, Tingting, Zheng, Guo, Yao, Zhiyuan & Li, Shuqiang, 2016, Thirteen new species of the spider genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 (Araneae: Pholcidae) from China, Zootaxa 4170 (1), pp. 1-40 : 30

Pholcus tangyuensis Yao & Li sp. nov.

Figs 21–22

Type material. Holotype: male, Tangyu National Forest Park (33°55.955′N, 109°15.300′E, elevation 1137 m), Tangyu Town , Lantian County, Xian, Shaanxi, China, 2 October 2013, Y. Li and J. Liu leg . Paratypes: 1 male and 1 female, same data as holotype .

Etymology. The specific name refers to the type locality; adjective.

Diagnosis. This species resembles P. alpinus Yao & Li, 2012 (see Yao & Li 2012: 8, figs 15–18) in with male chelicerae ( Fig. 22 D), procursus ( Figs. 21 C–D), uncus ( Fig. 22 C) and vulva ( Fig. 22 B) but can be distinguished by the absence of apophyses subdistally on the male pedipalpal trochanteral apophyses ( Fig. 21 B), by the distally swollen appendix ( Fig. 22 C) and by the nearly triangular epigynum ( Fig. 22 A).

Description. Male (holotype): Total length 4.66 (4.91 with clypeus), carapace 1.52 long, 1.58 wide, opisthosoma 3.14 long, 1.54 wide. Leg I: 34.23 (8.31 + 0.67 + 8.43 + 14.44 + 2.38), leg II: 21.82 (6.28 + 0.62 + 5.59 + 8.06 + 1.27), leg III: 16.12 (4.76 + 0.61 + 3.88 + 5.88 + 0.99), leg IV: 19.30 (6.43 + 0.58 + 5.31 + 5.75 + 1.23); tibia I L/d: 53. Distance PME-PME 0.25; diameter PME 0.11; distance PME-ALE 0.05; distance AME- AME 0.06; diameter AME 0.11. Sternum wider than long (1.06/0.81). Habitus as in Figs 22 E–F. Carapace yellowish, with brown radiating marks and brown bands marginally; ocular area yellowish; sternum brown with yellowish marks medially. Legs yellowish, femora (subproximally and subdistally) and tibiae (subproximally and subdistally) with darker rings. Opisthosoma yellowish, with small spots dorsally and laterally. Ocular area elevated, without eye-stalks (as in P. gonggarensis sp. nov., cf. Fig. 27 C). Thoracic furrow absent. Chelicerae as in Fig. 22 D, with a pair of proximo-lateral apophyses; a pair of dark brown distal apophyses and a pair of indistinct frontal apophyses. Pedipalps as in Figs 21 A–B; trochanter with a ventral apophysis provided with a retrolateral projection; femur with a distinct ventral ridge; tibia with a projection prolaterally; procursus simple, with a retrolateral spine-like apophysis (arrow in Fig. 21 D) and some nearly transparent process distally; uncus with a scaly edge; appendix hooked, swollen distally, with a branch subdistally; embolus weakly sclerotized, with some transparent projections distally. Retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia I at 1%; legs with short vertical setae on tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi; without spines and curved setae; tarsus I with 34 distinct pseudosegments.

Female: Similar to male, habitus as in Figs 22 G–H. Total length 4.35 (4.57 with clypeus), carapace 1.29 long, 1.56 wide, opisthosoma 3.06 long, 1.55 wide; tibia I: 6.83; tibia I L/d: 38. Distance PME-PME 0.20; diameter PME 0.15; distance PME-ALE 0.05; distance AME-AME 0.04; diameter AME 0.09. Sternum wider than long (0.98/ 0.75). Ocular area with brown marks. Epigynum ( Fig. 22 A) with a long knob. Vulva ( Fig. 22 B) with a sclerotized anterior arch and two nearly rounded pore plates.

Distribution. China (Shaanxi, type locality; Fig. 28 ).

Natural History. The species was found on the rock walls.

Figures

FIGURE 21. Pholcus tangyuensis sp. nov., holotype male. A – B. Pedipalp (A. Prolateral view; B. Retrolateral view); C – D. Distal part of procursus (C. Prolateral view; D. Retrolateral view, arrow points at retrolateral spine-like apophysis distally). a = appendix, b = bulb, e = embolus, pr = procursus, u = uncus. Scale bars: 0.15 (A – B), 0.05 (C – D).

FIGURE 22. Pholcus tangyuensis sp. nov., holotype male (C – F) and paratype female (A – B, G – H). A. Epigynum, ventral view; B. Vulva, dorsal view; C. Bulbal apophyses, prolateral view; D. Chelicerae, frontal view; E – H. Habitus (E, G. Dorsal view; F, H. Ventral view). a = appendix, da = distal apophysis, e = embolus, fa = frontal apophysis, pa = proximo-lateral apophysis, pp = pore plate, u = uncus. Scale bars: 0.10 (A – D), 0.50 (E – H).

FIGURE 27. Male and female ocular area, frontal view. A – B. Pholcus yanjinensis sp. nov., holotype male (A) and paratype female (B). C – D. P. gonggarensis sp. nov., holotype male (C) and paratype female (D). E – F. P. zhongdongensis sp. nov., holotype male (E) and paratype female (F). Scale bars: 0.10 (A – F).

FIGURE 28. Distribution records of new Pholcus species from China. 1. Pholcus yanjinensis sp. nov. from P. bidentatus species group (pink); 2. P. jingyangensis sp. nov., 3. P. langensis sp. nov. and 4. P. longus sp. nov. from P. crypticolens species group (light blue); 5. P. huoxiaerensis sp. nov. from P. ponticus species group (green); 6. P. difengensis sp. nov., 7. P. gonggarensis sp. nov., 8. P. hamaensis sp. nov., 9. P. lingguanensis sp. nov., 10. P. qingyunensis sp. nov., 11. P. tangyuensis sp. nov.; 12. P. tianmuensis sp. nov. and 13. P. zhongdongensis sp. nov. from P. yichengicus species group (red).