Pholcus maxian, Lu & Yang & He, 2021

Lu, Ying, Yang, Fan & He, Qiaoqiao, 2021, Pholcus maxian sp. nov., the fifth endemic spider species of Pholcus phungiformes species-group (Araneae: Pholcidae) at the border between Jilin, China and North Korea, Biodiversity Data Journal 9, pp. 72464-72464 : 72464

Pholcus maxian sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Zhiyuan Yao; individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; Taxon : order: Araneae ; family: Pholcidae ; genus: Pholcus ; Location : country: China; stateProvince: Jilin; municipality: Tonghua , Ji’an; locality: Maxian Town ; verbatimLocality: Shanghuolong Village , roadside of G331; verbatimElevation: 213 m a.s.l.; verbatimLatitude: 41°4.43'N; verbatimLongitude: 126°6.41'E; Event: samplingProtocol: by hand; year: 2020; month: 6; day: 27; Record Level: institutionCode: SYNU-Ar00141 Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Zhiyuan Yao; individualCount: 3; sex: 1 male, 2 females; lifeStage: 3 adults; Taxon : order: Araneae ; family: Pholcidae ; genus: Pholcus ; Location : country: China; stateProvince: Jilin; municipality: Tonghua , Ji’an; locality: Maxian Town ; verbatimLocality: Shanghuolong Village , roadside of G331; verbatimElevation: 213 m a.s.l.; verbatimLatitude: 41°4.43'N,; verbatimLongitude: 126°6.41'E; Event: samplingProtocol: by hand; year: 2020; month: 6; day: 27; Record Level: institutionCode: SYNU-Ar00142-00144

Description

Male (holotype, Figs 2 , 3 ): Total length 5.10 (5.24 with clypeus), carapace 1.24 long, 1.65 wide, opisthosoma 3.86 long, 1.50 wide. Leg I: 38.76 (9.78 + 0.78 + 10.25 + 15.62 + 2.33), leg II: 26.84 (7.58 + 0.67 + 6.76 + 10.22 + 1.61), leg III: 19.20 (5.61 + 0.65 + 4.62 + 7.11 + 1.21), leg IV: 26.09 (7.79 + 0.52 + 6.79 + 9.52 + 1.47); tibia I L/d: 60. Distance PME-PME 0.24, diameter PME 0.14, distance PME-ALE 0.04, distance AME-AME 0.06, diameter AME 0.11. Sternum wider than long (1.05/0.93). Habitus as in Fig. 3 E-F. Carapace yellowish, with brown radiating marks and marginal brown band; ocular area yellowish, with median and lateral brown bands; clypeus brown; sternum yellowish, with brown marks. Legs yellowish, but dark brown on patellae and whitish on distal parts of femora and tibiae, with darker rings on subdistal parts of femora and proximal and subdistal parts of tibiae. Opisthosoma yellowish, with dorsal and lateral spots. Ocular area elevated, without eye stalks. Thoracic furrow absent. Chelicerae (Fig. 3 D) with pair of proximo-lateral apophyses, pair of distal apophyses with two teeth each and pair of frontal apophyses. Pedipalps as in Fig. 2 A-B; trochanter with long (much longer than wide), retrolaterally strongly bulged ventral apophysis; femur with retrolatero-proximal apophysis and indistinct ventral protuberance; tibia with prolatero-ventral projection; procursus simple proximally, but complex distally, with curved prolatero-distal membranous process (arrowed 1 in Fig. 2 C) with two pointed, sclerotised apophyses (arrowed 2-3 in Fig. 2 C), flat prolatero-dorsal membranous lamella (arrowed 4 in Fig. 2 C) and prolatero-ventral membranous process (arrowed 5 in Fig. 2 C); uncus with long, proximally swollen and distally slender proximal apophysis (arrowed 1 in Fig. 3 C), slender, strongly curved distal apophysis (arrowed 2 in Fig. 3 C) and scales; appendix absent; embolus weakly sclerotised, with some transparent distal projections (Fig. 3 C). Retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia I at 2% proximally; legs with short vertical setae on tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi, without spines or curved setae; tarsus I with 33 distinct pseudosegments.

Female (Fig. 3 ): Similar to male, habitus as in Fig. 3 G-H. Total length 5.08 (5.22 with clypeus), carapace 1.46 long, 1.71 wide, opisthosoma 3.62 long, 1.72 wide; tibia I: 7.44; tibia I L/d: 41. Distance PME-PME 0.21, diameter PME 0.15, distance PME-ALE 0.04, distance AME-AME 0.05, diameter AME 0.11. Sternum wider than long (1.07/0.92). External female genitalia (Fig. 3 A) simple and flat, with n-shaped median mark and knob. Vulva (Fig. 3 B) with pair of wing-like, sclerotised anterior arch and pair of elliptic pore plates.

Variation: Tibia I in another paratype male (SYNU-Ar00142): 11.16. Tibia I in another paratype female (SYNU-Ar00144): 7.89.

Diagnosis

The species resembles P. hamatus Tong & Ji, 2010 (see Tong and Ji 2010: figs. 1a-c, j, 2a-g; Yao et al. 2021: figs. 2B.7, S9A-D) with similar male chelicerae (Fig. 3 D) and external female genitalia (Fig. 3 A), but can be distinguished by procursus with large, prolatero-dorsal membranous lamella (arrowed 4 in Fig. 2 C; very small in P. hamatus ) and with prolatero-ventral membranous process (arrowed 5 in Fig. 2 C; absent in P. hamatus ), by uncus with long, proximally swollen and distally slender proximal apophysis (arrowed 1 in Fig. 3 C; proximal apophysis short and swollen in P. hamatus ) and by vulval anterior arch strongly curved posteriorly (arrowed in Fig. 3 B, arch eyebrow-shaped; posteriorly slightly curved (arch nearly trapezoidal) in P. hamatus ).

Etymology

The specific name refers to the type locality and is a noun in apposition.

Distribution

China (Jilin, type locality; Fig. 1 ).

Biology

The species was found on rock walls.

Figures

Figure 1. Distribution record and habitat of Pholcus maxian sp. nov. from the border between Northeast China and North Korea.

Figure 2. Pholcus maxian sp. nov., holotype male A Pedipalp, prolateral view; B Pedipalp, retrolateral view; C Distal part of procursus, prolateral view, arrows 1 - 5 point at curved, prolatero-distal membranous process, two pointed sclerotised apophyses, prolatero-dorsal membranous lamella and prolatero-ventral membranous process, respectively; D Distal part of procursus, dorsal view. b = bulb, e = embolus, pr = procursus, u = uncus. Scale bars: 0.20 (A-B), 0.10 (C-D).

Figure 3. Pholcus maxian sp. nov. A Paratype female, external genitalia, ventral view; B Paratype female, vulva, dorsal view, arrow points at posterior part of arch; C Holotype male, bulbal apophyses, prolateral view, arrows 1 - 2 point at proximal and distal apophysis; D Holotype male, chelicerae, frontal view; E Holotype male, habitus, dorsal view; F Holotype male, habitus, lateral view; G Paratype female, habitus, dorsal view; H Paratype female, habitus, ventral view. da = distal apophysis, e = embolus, fa = frontal apophysis, pa = proximo-lateral apophysis, pp = pore plate, u = uncus. Scale bars: 0.20 (A-D), 1.00 (E-H).