Curtimeticus, Zhao, Qingyuan & Li, Shuqiang, 2014

Zhao, Qingyuan & Li, Shuqiang, 2014, A survey of linyphiid spiders from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, China (Araneae, Linyphiidae), ZooKeys 460, pp. 1-181 : 13

Taxon classification Animalia Araneae Linyphiidae

Genus Curtimeticus gen. n.

Type species.

Curtimeticus nebulosus sp. n.

Etymology.

The generic name is an arbitrary combination of letters. Gender is masculine.

Diagnosis.

This new genus is diagnosed by its prominent anterior radical process and the stout, short embolus. Its embolic division is similar to those in members of genus Tmeticus Menge, 1868, Donacochara Simon, 1884. All of them have a simple, straight embolic division with an embolus proper ( Millidge 1977: fig. 41), but it differs from the other two by having a bifurcate anterior radical process (Figs 26A, 29A), each branch with a blunt tip (Fig. 26 C–D) and an inconspicuous tailpiece. It is also clearly distinguished by the short palpal tibia with broad distal end and the short palpal patella without ventral teeth (Fig. 27 C–E). The epigyne in female resembles that in Oedothorax Bertkau, 1883 ( Roberts 1987: figs 59 b–o), but has longer copulatory ducts; The epigyne of female paratype is also quite similar to those in Paratmeticus bipunctis ( Bösenberg & Strand, 1906) and Tmeticus nigriceps ( Kulczyński, 1916) in ventral view ( Marusik and Koponen 2010: figs 14, 18), but differs by the route of copulatory ducts (Figs 28C, 29D).

Description.

Small sized Erigoninae. Carapace unmodified, reddish brown, with dark radial stripes in both sexes. Chelicerae with 5 promarginal teeth, and 4 retromarginal teeth in both sexes. Chaetotaxy: tibial spine formula: 2-2-1-1. TmI ca 0.50 in male, ca 0.60 in female, TmIV ca 0.70 in male, ca 0.50 in female. Abdomen greenish grey with a pale central patch.

Male palp: tibia with two retrolateral trichobothria and several ventral long setae; tibia with two apophyses, the retrolateral one petal-like (Fig. 26 A–B), the inner surface of which covered with inconspicuous papillae (Fig. 27A); protegular process prominent, with pointed tip (Fig. 26B). Radix small slender, with two anterior branches (Fig. 26A, C–D); embolus stout, situated between radical process and protegulum (Fig. 26B); in ventral view the tegular sac partially covering the ventral tip of anterior radical process (Fig. 27B).

Epigyne: ventral fig wide, with copulatory openings at the junction of dorsal fig and ventral fig (Fig. 28C); copulatory ducts straight and long, in the shape of cylinder (Fig. 28C); spermathecae elliptical (Fig. 28C); fertilization ducts short, following an arc route (Figs 28C, 29D).

Species composition.

Type species only: Curtimeticus nebulosus sp. n.

Distribution.

China.