Chorizopes albus, Mi, Xiao-Qi, Wang, Cheng & Peng, Xian-Jin, 2016

Mi, Xiao-Qi, Wang, Cheng & Peng, Xian-Jin, 2016, Two new species of the orb-weaver genus Chorizopes from Yunnan, China (Araneae, Araneidae), ZooKeys 626, pp. 45-55 : 46

Taxon classification Animalia Araneae Araneidae

Chorizopes albus sp. n. Figs 1-2, 3-4, 5-8, 9-12

Type material.

Holotype: male, China: Yunnan Province, Jingdong County, Huashan Township, Wengang Village, 24.3389°N, 101.1410°E, 1728 m, 16 August 2015, Cheng Wang, Zhaolin Liao, Peng Luo and Gaotao Liu leg (MTU-WC20150816). Paratypes: 1 male and 2 females, same data as holotype (MTU-WC20150816); 1 male and 2 females, Yunnan Province, Jingdong County, Huashan Township, Yingpan Village, 24.2788°N, 101.0979°E, 1273 m, 15 August 2015, Cheng Wang, Zhaolin Liao, Peng Luo and Gaotao Liu leg (MTU-WC20150815); 1 female, Yunnan Province, Fugong County, Shangpa Township, 26.8620°N, 98.8714°E, 1177 m, 19-27 August 2005, Tang Guo leg (HNU-Tang0509).

Etymology.

The specific name comes from the Latin albus , meaning whitish, referring to the large white spots on lateral abdomen; adjective.

Diagnosis.

The new species can be distinguished from all known congeneric species by the presence of a pair of white spots on lateral abdomen (Figs 1-2), median apophysis C-shaped and widest at the middle part (Figs 5, 9), copulatory ducts short and twisted between the spermathecae, and the epigastric furrow (Figs 7-8, 11-12).

Description.

Male (holotype): Carapace dark brown, hairy, elevated in cephalic region. Chelicerae dark brown, have seven promarginal teeth. Sternum triangular, pointed posteriorly, yellowish brown. Legs yellowish brown, with wide darker grey annuli. Abdomen with one pair of lateral tubercles and two vertically arranged caudal tubercles. Dorsal abdomen greyish with two white spots, ventral yellowish brown, one pair of big white spots situated on the posterior lateral (Figs 1, 3). Spinnerets yellowish brown, palp with one patellar bristle; paracymbium flattened, basally located; median apophysis prominent, widest at the middle part, with a spur at distal end; membranous conductor narrow and long, guiding the embolus; embolus slender and twisted; terminal apophysis large, pointed distally (Figs 5-6, 9-10). Total length 2.90. Carapace length 1.25, width 1.00; abdomen length 1.65, width 1.30. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.13, ALE 0.08, PME 0.10, PLE 0.08, AME–AME 0.10, AME–ALE 0.48, PME–PME 0.20, PME–PLE 0.50, MOA length 0.30 with front width 0.30 and back width 0.35. Leg measurements: I 2.95 (0.90, 1.05, 0.60, 0.40), II 2.90 (0.90, 1.00, 0.60, 0.40), III 1.90 (0.60, 0.65, 0.35, 0.30), IV 2.85 (0.90, 1.05, 0.55, 0.35).

Female (based on one of WC20150816): Colouration and body shape same as in male (Figs 2, 4). Epigynum is a slightly convex plate, copulatory openings posteriorly situated; copulatory ducts thick and twisted; spermathecae spherical and almost touched (Figs 7-8, 11-12). Total length 4.05. Carapace length 1.50, width 1.30; abdomen length 2.60, width 1.56. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.15, ALE 0.08, PME 0.10, PLE 0.08, AME–AME 0.13, AME–ALE 0.60, PME–PME 0.25, PME–PLE 0.65, MOA length 0.35 with front width 0.35 and back width 0.43. Leg measurements: I 2.80 (0.85, 1.00, 0.55, 0.40), II 2.85 (0.90, 1.00, 0.55, 0.40), III 2.15 (0.65, 0.75, 0.40, 0.35), IV 3.15 (1.05, 1.10, 0.60, 0.40).

Variation.

Males, total length 2.65-2.90, females, total length 3.35-4.05.

Distribution.

China (Yunnan Province).