Hitobia xiaoxi Liu sp. nov.

Figs 4, 5

Material examined.

Holotype: ♂, China: Jiangxi Province, Ji’an City, Jinggangshan County Level City, Jinggang Mountain National Nature Reserve, Huangao Town, Fuxi Village, Xiaoxi Forest Farm, 26°28'22.92"N, 114°11'53.07"E, 413 m, 14.XI.2020, Liu et al. leg.

Etymology.

The specific name derived from the type locality is a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis.

The male of this new species is similar to Hitobia shaohai Yin & Bao, 2012 and H. taiwanica Zhang, Zhu & Tso, 2009 in having a short RTA and retrolaterally oriented embolus (Em), but it differs from them in the subtriangular RTA (vs beak-like in H. shaohai and H. taiwanica) and the embolus with twisted apex (vs twisted apex absent in H. shaohai and H. taiwanica) (cf. Figs 4E, 5C-F vs Yin et al. 2012: fig. 631d and Zhang et al. 2009: fig. 1E, F).

Description.

Male. Habitus as in Fig. 4A, B. Total length 4.97. Carapace: 2.18 long, 1.74 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.09, ALE 0.09, PME 0.08, PLE 0.08, AME-AME 0.06, AME-ALE 0.21, PME-PME 0.1, PME-PLE 0.07, AME-PME 0.12, AME-PLE 0.21, ALE-ALE 0.23, PLE-PLE 0.42, ALE-PLE 0.12. MOA 0.3 long, front width 0.2, back width 0.27. Chelicera with 2 promarginal and 1 retromarginal teeth. Abdomen: 2.64 long, 1.29 wide. Abdomen covered with numerous setae dorsally. Scutum covers more than 2/3 of abdomen. Leg measurements: I 5.09 (1.47, 0.71, 1.21, 1.01, 0.69); II 4.99 (1.47, 0.68, 1.13, 0.98, 0.73); III 5.15 (1.37, 0.74, 1.05, 1.27, 0.72); IV 6.74 (1.78, 0.93, 1.46, 1.91, 0.66). Leg spination: I Fe: d3, p2; Pa: r1; Ti: p2, v6; Mt: v2; II Fe: d3, p2, r1; Ti: p2, v5; Mt: v2; III Fe: d3, p2, r2; Pa: d1, p1, r1; Ti: d1, p3, r2, v5; Mt: d2, p3, r3, v2; IV: Fe: d2, p1, r1; Pa: p1, r1; Ti: p3, r2, v5; Mt: d2, p3, r3, v6.

Colouration (Fig. 4A, B). Carapace, sternum, chelicerae, labium, and maxillae yellow-brown. Legs brown. Palps yellow, cymbium brown. Abdomen dark brown, with one transverse white stripe posteriorly. Spinnerets yellow grey.

Palp as in Figs 4C-F, 5. Femur with three strong spines dorsally. Patella with single spine dorsally. RTA subtriangular, slightly shorter than tibia, apex directed dorsally. Cymbium 2.5 × longer than wide. Tegulum simple and smooth, tapers anteriorly. Conductor (Co) membranous. Sperm duct (SD) U-shaped. Embolus longer than conductor (Em), cone-shaped and twisted.

Female. Unknown.

Comments.

The new species together with H. shaohai and H. taiwanica clearly belongs to the same group based on configuration of their male palps. Unfortunately, only one male of H. xiaoxi sp. nov. was found and several Hitobia species from southern China are known only from females: H. chayuensis Song, Zhu & Zhang, 2004, H. shimen Yin & Bao, 2012, and H. yunnan Song, Zhu & Zhang, 2004. Thus, H. xiaoxi sp. nov. may be a junior synonym of any of the above-mentioned species. However, it should be noted that the new species differs from all females by the abdominal pattern of a broad arc-shaped white stripe subposteriorly (vs wavy wite stripe in H. yunnan, thin transverse white stripe in H. chayuensis, and herringbone-pattern in H. shimen). For this reason, we consider H. xiaoxi sp. nov. as a separate species. This hypothesis will be confirmed or rejected in the future when both sexes of the new species are collected together.

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality, Jiangxi Province, China (Fig. 9).