Pholcus crypticolens Bösenberg & Strand, 1906

Zhang, Feng & Zhu, Ming-Sheng, 2009, A review of the genus Pholcus (Araneae: Pholcidae) from China, Zootaxa 2037 (1), pp. 1-114 : 23-25

Pholcus crypticolens Bösenberg & Strand, 1906

( Fig. 8 )

Pholcus zichyi Kulczyn'ski 1901: 326, pl. 12, f. 3–4 (nomen oblitum). Marusik & Koponen, 2000: 65 .

Pholcus crypticolens Bösenberg & Strand 1906: 127 , pl. 6, f. 72, pl. 15, f. 440. Schenkel 1963: 101, f. 58. Paik 1978: 223, f. 95.1–7. Yaginuma 1986: 29, f. 17.2. Song 1987: 110, f. 72. Feng 1990: 47, f. 22.1–3. Chen & Zhang 1991: 73, f. 63. Zhu & Gong 1991: 18, f. 1A–F. Song, Zhu & Chen 1999: 57, f. 23H–K. Song, Zhu & Chen 2001: 76, f. 33A–F. Namkung 2003: 46, f. 5.3a–b. Lee & Kim 2003: 108, f. 19–30.

Pholcus cryticolens Hu 1984: 77 , f. 69–70. Chen & Gao 1990: 40, f. 42a–b (lapsus for P. crypticolens ).

Pholcus minutus Oliger 1998: 111 , f. 1–12.

Diagnosis. This species is very similar to P. spilis , both with numerous black spots on legs and bodies, with nearly identical epigyna and palpal bulbs. P. crypticolens can be distinguished from P. spilis by the palpal femur with a hook-shaped bulge ( Fig. 8I ), by the shape of the appendix ( Fig. 8H ), and by the shape of the anterior sclerotized arch of the epigynum in dorsal view ( Fig. 8B ).

Redescription. Male (Mt. Xiaowutai), one male specimen total length 3.9: cephalothorax 1.2 long, 1.3 wide; abdomen 2.7 long, 1.1 wide. Leg I: 29.6 (7.9+0.5+7.7+11.7+1.8), tibia II: 5.1, tibia III: 3.6, tibia IV: 4.6; tibia I L/D: 55. Prosoma shape as in Fig. 8D . Carapace short, broad and almost circular, ochre, with brown marks broadly connecting to ocular area. Cephalic region raised, without brown marks centrally, ocular area dark yellow. Clypeus 0.40, dark ochre, with yellow marks. Distance AME–AME 0.04. Diameter AME 0.07, ALE 0.14, PME 0.12, PLE 0.13. Chelicerae as in Fig. 8F , with pair of black apophyses distally, pair of unsclerotized thumb-shaped apophyses proximolaterally and pair of small unsclerotized rounded apophyses proximocentrally. Labium and endites light yellow. Sternum with numerous irregular brown dots as in Fig. 8E . Femora, patellae, tibiae and metatarsi ochre, with many dark brown dots, and tarsi brown. Abdomen cylindrical, pale ochre, dorsum with numerous small brown patterns as in Fig. 8D . Venter pale brown. Palps as in Figs. 8H and 8I , bulb with large curved uncus, triangular appendix, and short embolus, femur with a retrolateral projection. Procursus as in Fig. 8G . Tarsal organ capsulate.

Female: in general very similar to male. One female (Mt. Xiaowutai) total length 3.6: cephalothorax 1.3 long, 1.4 wide; abdomen 2.3 long, 1.2 wide. Tibia I 6.1. Distance AME–AME 0.03. Diameter AME 0.08, ALE 0.13, PME 0.11, PLE 0.12. Epigynum roughly triangular as in Fig. 8A , with a knob-shaped apophysis on the top. Dorsal view as in Fig. 8B , with a rainbow-shaped sclerotized arch anteriorly and a pair of relatively large, oval pore plates.

Distribution. Hebei, Henan, Liaoning, Jilin; Russia; Korea; Japan.

Material. Type material. P. crypticolens : type specimen 1 ♀ near Nagasaki (” Bei Nagasaki”), Japan, 30 August, 1882, leg. Dönitz, not examined. P. minutus : holotype ♀ from Lazovsky State Nature Reserve , Maritime Province, Russia (June 22, 1981, leg. T. Oliger), deposited in ZMUM, examined by Marusik, 2000. Other type material unknown .

Material examined. CHINA: Hebei: Yu County, Mt. Xiaowutai , July 12, 1999, leg. F. Zhang, 4♂, 4♀ ( MHBU) ; August 20, 2005, leg. F. Zhang, 4♀ ( MHBU) ; July 6, 2006, leg. F. Zhang, 2♀ ( MHBU); Yi County , July 1, 1999, leg. F. Zhang, 2♂, 1♀ ( MHBU); Laiyuan County , July 25, 1999, leg. F. Zhang, 2♂, 3♀ ( MHBU); Zhuolu County, Yangjiaping Village , July 6, 2004, leg. F. Zhang, 3♂, 8♀ ( MHBU); Tang County, Mt. Damao , May 6, 2001, leg. J. X. Zhang, 1♂, 2♀ ( MHBU); Wuqiang County, Xiguan Village , October 6, 2004, 1♂ ( MHBU) . Henan: Song County, Mt. Tianchi , July 12, 2004, leg. M. S. Zhu, 2♀ ( MHBU) . Liaoning: Dalian City, July 3, 2003, leg. F. Zhang, 1♀ ( MHBU); Kuandian County, Mt. Huangyi , July 6, 2003, leg. F. Zhang, 1♀ ( MHBU) . Jilin: Jiaohe County , July 27, 2003, leg. F. Zhang, 1♀ ( MHBU) .

Remark. This species is very similar to P. spilis , both with numerous black spots on legs and bodies, with nearly identical epigyna and palpal bulbs. Both species are usually identified as P. crypticolens in China. According to the specimens we collected from China, we think P. crypticolens is distributed in north Asia, including northern China, Russia, Mongolia, Korea and Japan, while P. spilis is only distributed in the south of China.

Figures

FIGURE 8. Pholcus crypticolens Bösenberg & Strand, 1906. A. epigynum, ventral view. B. same, dorsal view. C. trochanter of male left palp, dorsal view. D. male body, dorsal view. E. male sternum, ventral view. F. male left chelicera, frontal view. G. left procursus, dorsal view. H. left palp, prolateral view. I. same, retrolateral view. Scale lines: 1.0mm (D), 0.5mm (A, B, E–I), 0.2mm (C).