Pholcus clavatus Schenkel, 1936

Zhang, Feng & Zhu, Ming-Sheng, 2009, A review of the genus Pholcus (Araneae: Pholcidae) from China, Zootaxa 2037 (1), pp. 1-114 : 18-20

Pholcus clavatus Schenkel, 1936

( Fig. 5 )

Pholcus clavatus Schenkel 1936: 32 , f. 8. Zhang 1987: 59, f. 43.1–6. Song Zhu & Chen 1999: 57. Hu 2001: 85, f. 9.1–6. Song, Zhu & Chen 2001: 75, f. 32A–G.

Pholcus sinicus Zhu & Wang 1963: 464 , f. 11–17. Zhu, Tu & Shi 1986: 120, f. 3.1–7.

Pholcus sinensis Hu 1984: 78 , f. 72.1–3. Chen & Zhang 1991: 75, f. 66.1–3 (lapsus for P.sinicus ).

Diagnosis. Very similar to P. qinghaiensis , but can be distinguished from it by the appendix with a longer branch centrally ( Fig. 5E ); by the tip shape of the procursus ( Figs. 5H–J ); and by the longer ventral apophysis of the trochanter ( Fig. 5I ).

Redescription. Male (Mt. Huashan), body length: 5.2–5.7, one male total length 5.7: cephalothorax 1.5, long, 1.7 wide; abdomen 4.2 long, 1.8 wide. Leg I: 43.5 (10.4+0.6+10.9+18.7+2.9), tibia II: 7.7, tibia III: 6.0, tibia IV: 7.1; Tibia I L/D: 63. Prosoma shape as in Fig. 5C . Carapace short, broad and almost circular, ochre, with pair of brown mark broadly connecting to ocular area. Cephalic region raised, clothed with short, erect and black hairs, without brown slender marks centrally, ocular area dark yellow. Clypeus 0.56, unmodified, slightly ochre, with yellow marks. Eyes ringed with black. Distance AME–AME 0.07. Diameter AME 0.10, ALE 0.18, PME 0.15, PLE 0.16. Chelicerae as in Fig. 5F , with pair of black serrated apophyses distally, pair of unsclerotized thumb-shaped apophyses proximolaterally and pair of small unsclerotized rounded apophyses proximocentrally. Labium light yellow. Endites gray. Sternum dark ochre, with a central pale brown bar at the front margin and three pairs of distinct marginal pale spots on each side as in Fig. 5G . Femora, patellae and tibiae ochre, with dark rings, metatarsi and tarsi brown. Abdomen cylindrical, pale ochre, dorsum with numerous brown spots as in Fig. 5C . Venter pale brown. Palps as in Figs. 5I and 5J , bulb with a broad uncus, elbow-shaped appendix with a pointed branch centrally, trochanter with a long ventral apophysis. Procursus as in Fig. 5H . Tarsal organ capsulate.

Variation. Tibia I in other males: 9.8–10.8 (mean 10.4).

Female: in general very similar to male. Female (Mt. Huashan), total body length 6.6–7.5, one specimen total length 5.4: cephalothorax 1.5 long, 1.7 wide; abdomen 3.9 long, 1.7 wide. Tibia I in four females: 7.5, 6.8, 7.3, 7.0. Distance AME–AME 0.06. Diameter AME 0.09, ALE 0.17, PME 0.16, PLE 0.16. Epigynum roughly triangular as illustrated in Fig. 5A , with a short finger-shaped apophysis on the top. Dorsal view as in Fig. 5B , with a slightly M-shaped sclerotized arch anteriorly and a pair of oval pore plates.

Distribution. Known from several localities in northern China.

Material: Type material. Pholcus clavatus : type specimen one juvenile from Dangchang , Gansu Province, China, the type specimen may be lost; not examined. Pholcus sinicus : type specimens 7♂ 6♀ from Mt. Huashan, Shaanxi Province, June 1, 1957, No. 3024, leg. by C. D. Zhu ( BMU), not examined .

Material examined. CHINA: Shaanxi: Mt. Huashan, Qingkeping , May 11, 1981, leg. M. S. Zhu, 7♂, 4♀ ( MHBU) .

Note. This species was originally described by Schenkel (1936) based on a juvenile (holotype) specimen collected from Dangchang, Gansu Province, China; we did not examine it. Zhu & Wang (1963) described P. sinicus as new to science according to the specimens collected from Mt. Huashan, Shaanxi Province (June 1, 1957, No. 3024, By C. D. Zhu); later P. sinicus was synonymized by Zhang (1987) as P. clavatus . Judging from the specimens we collected (four females and seven males, Qingkeping, Mt. Huashan, Shaanxi Province, May 11, 1981), from the type locality of P. sinicus and which bear the same patterns and genital structures of P. sinicus , we think they are conspecific.

The species P. clavatus , P. dali sp. nov., P. harveyi sp. nov., P. huberi sp. nov., P. kangding sp. nov., P. kunming sp. nov., P. parayichengicus sp. nov., P. qingchengensis , P. qinghaiensis , P. saaristoi sp. nov., P. shangrila sp. nov., P. songi sp. nov., P. songxian sp. nov., P. subwuyiensis sp. nov., P. taibaiensis , P. yangi sp. nov., P. yichengicus , P. zhangae sp. nov. seem to form a species group within the genus Pholcus , all with the following characters: epigynum has a short (or long) club-shaped apophysis; male palpal procursus tip of nearly uniform type and palpal bulb with appendix; other similar characters including femur of male palp without retrolateral apophysis (except P. qingchengenisi and P. saaristoi sp. nov.); chelicerae have pair of apophyses distally, pair of apophyses proximolaterally and pair of apophyses proximocentrally; pattern of carapace is ‘butterfly’ or ‘Peking-opera-mask’ type.

All these species are mainly distributed in the south, central and west of China; from Sichuan Province P. kangding sp. nov., P. qingchengensis and P. zhangae sp. nov. are known, from Yunnan Province P. dali sp.nov., P. kunming sp. nov., P. saaristoi sp. nov., P. shangrila sp. nov. and P. yangi sp. nov., from Fujian Province P. subwuyiensis sp. nov., from Henan Province P. harveyi sp. nov., P. huberi sp. nov., P. parayichengicus sp. nov. and P. songxian sp. nov., from Hubei Province P. songi sp. nov., from Shanxi Province P. yichengicus , from Shaanxi Province P. taibaiensis , from Qinghai Province P. qinghaiensis , from both Shaanxi Province and Gansu Province P. clavatus . Since these species share both a morphology and geographic distribution, we believe they may have a relatively close phylogenetic relationship.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Pholcus clavatus Schenkel, 1936. A. epigynum, ventral view. B. same, dorsal view. C. male body, dorsal view. D. trochanter of male left palp, dorsal view. E. tip of left appendix, retrolaterodorsal view. F. male left chelicera, frontal view. G. male sternum, ventral view. H. left procursus, dorsal view. I. left palp, prolateral view. J. same, retrolateral view. Scale lines: 1.0mm (C), 0.5mm (A, B, F–J), 0.2mm (D, E).