Pholcus alloctospilus Zhu & Gong, 1991

Zhang, Feng & Zhu, Ming-Sheng, 2009, A review of the genus Pholcus (Araneae: Pholcidae) from China, Zootaxa 2037 (1), pp. 1-114 : 11-13

Pholcus alloctospilus Zhu & Gong, 1991

( Fig. 1 )

Pholcus alloctospilus Zhu & Gong 1991: 18 , f. 2A–G. Song, Zhu & Chen 1999: 52, f. 22P–S. Song, Zhu & Chen 2001: 72, f. 29A–G.

Diagnosis. This species resembles P. fengcheng sp. nov. in the shapes of the palpal bulb and epigynum, both without appendices, and both with a knob-shaped epigynal apophysis. It can be distinguished from it by the smaller epigynal pore plates and shape of the anterior sclerotized arch of epigynum in dorsal view ( Fig. 1B ), by the shape of the uncus of the palpal bulb ( Fig. 1F ), and by the shape of the tip of the procursus ( Figs. 1F–G ).

Redescription. Male (holotype), total length 4.3: cephalothorax 1.2 long, 1.5 wide; abdomen 3.1 long, 1.6 wide. Leg I: 36.1 (9.2+0.6+9.4+14.6+2.3), tibia II: 6.6, tibia III: 4.3, tibia IV: 5.8; Tibia I L/D: 59. Prosoma shape as in Fig. 1C . Carapace short, broad and almost circular, ochre, with pair of brown marks broadly connecting to ocular area. Cephalic region raised, with brown stripe centrally and a pair of spots laterally, ocular area dark yellow. Clypeus 0.46, unmodified, slightly ochre, with brown marks. Distance AME–AME 0.06. Diameter AME 0.08, ALE 0.14, PME 0.14, PLE 0.13. Chelicerae as in Fig. 1E , with pair of black apophyses distally, pair of unsclerotized thumb-shaped apophyses proximolaterally and pair of small unsclerotized rounded apophyses proximocentrally. Labium dark yellow. Sternum wider than long, ochre, with some irregular small yellow marks on it. Femora, patellae and tibiae ochre, with dark rings, metatarsi and tarsi brown. Abdomen cylindrical, pale ochre, dorsum with numerous brown spots. Venter pale brown. Palps as in Figs. 1F and 1G , tip of procursus simple and pointed; bulb with cap-shaped uncus and transparent embolus, without appendix; trochanter with short ventral and retrolateral apophyses.

Variation. Total body length 4.0–4.4. Tibia I in six other males: 9.2–9.9 (mean: 9.5).

Female: in general very similar to male. Female (‘allotype’), total length 5.3: cephalothorax 1.4 long, 1.4 wide; abdomen 3.9 long, 2.4 wide. Distance AME–AME 0.05. Diameter AME 0.08, ALE 0.16, PME 0.14, PLE 0.15. Tibia I in five females: 7.3, 5.2, 6.7, 6.5, 5.8. Epigynum roughly oval as in Fig. 1A , with a small knob-shaped apophysis on the top of it, margin of anterior plate recurved. Dorsal view as in Fig. 1B , with a Vshaped sclerotized arch anteriorly and a pair of tear-drop-shaped pore plates.

Variation. Abdomen cylindrical or nearly globose in female.

Distribution. Known from type locality and one neighboring locality in Pingshan County, Hebei Province, China.

Material examined. CHINA: Hebei: Lingshou County, Mt. Manshan , May 26, 1986, leg. M. S. Zhu, male holotype, female ‘allotype’ , 3♂, 1♀ paratypes ( MHBU); Pingshan County, Mt. Tuoliang , June 2, 1999, leg. F. Zhang , 3♀, 3♂ ( MHBU) .

Remark. Certain species, i.e. P. alloctospilus , P. beijingensis , P. clavimaculatus , P. fengcheng sp. nov., P. gaoi , P. pennatus , P. phoenixus sp. nov., P. zhuolu sp. nov., P. triangulatus , P. lingulatus , and P. sublingulatus sp. nov., seem to form a species group within the genus Pholcus , all with the following characters: epigynum with knob-shaped apophysis (‘scape’); palpal bulb with no appendix; femur of male palp with no retrolateral apophysis; chelicerae with pair of apophyses distally, pair of apophyses proximolaterally and pair of apophyses proximocentrally (except P. triangulatus , chelicerae with no pair of apophyses proximocentrally); pattern of carapace is ‘Peking-opera-mask’ type.

All these species are distributed in northeastern China: from Hebei Province P. alloctospilus , P. pennatus , P. zhuolu sp. nov. and P. triangulates are known, from Beijing municipality P. beijingensis , from Liaoning Province P. fengcheng sp. nov., P. gaoi , P. phoenixus sp. nov., P. lingulatus and P. sublingulatus sp. nov., and from both Hebei and Liaoning Provinces P. clavimaculatus . As these species share both similar morphology and a restricted regional distribution, we suggest they have a relatively close phylogenetic relationship.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Pholcus alloctospilus Zhu & Gong, 1991 (illustrations modified from Zhu & Gong 1991). A. epigynum, ventral view. B. same, dorsal view. C. male prosoma, dorsal view. D. trochanter of male left palp, retrolaterodorsal view. E. male left chelicera, frontal view. F. left palp, prolateral view. G. same, retrolateral view. Scale lines: 1.0mm (C), 0.5mm (A, B, E–G), 0.2mm (D).