Pholcus ballarini Yao & Li

Dong, Tingting, Zheng, Guo, Yao, Zhiyuan & Li, Shuqiang, 2016, Fifteen new species of the spider genus Pholcus (Araneae: Pholcidae) from Southeast Asia, Zootaxa 4136 (2), pp. 201-246 : 219

Pholcus ballarini Yao & Li sp. nov.

Figs 13–14

Type material. Holotype: male, Cave without a name (07°03.692′N, 99°50.666′E, elevation 38 m), Thung wa District, Satun, Thailand, 1 December 2013, F. Ballarin leg. Paratypes: 1 male and 2 females, same data as holotype.

Etymology. The specific name is a patronym in honor of the collector F. Ballarin; noun (name) in genitive case.

Diagnosis. The species resembles P. kuhapimuk Huber, 2016 (see Huber et al. 2016: 17, figs 49–51, 58–62, 96–98), in having a similar uncus ( Fig. 14 C), appendix ( Fig. 14 C), and female genetalia ( Figs 14 A–B) but can be easily distinguished by the presence of a large, blunt dorsal flap subdistally on the procursus (arrow in Fig. 13 A) and by the absence of sclerotized ventral apophyses subproximally on the procursus ( Fig. 13 B).

Description. Male (holotype): Total length 3.83 (4.09 with clypeus), carapace 1.14 long, 1.25 wide, opisthosoma 2.69 long, 0.94 wide. Leg I, leg II and leg III missing, leg IV: 28.15 (8.33 + 0.52 + 6.54 + 11.67 + 1.09). Distance PME-PME 0.28; diameter PME 0.11; distance PME-ALE 0.06; distance AME-AME 0.03; diameter AME 0.07. Sternum wider than long (0.84/0.66). Habitus as in Figs 4 E–F. Carapace yellowish, with brown marks; sternum yellowish, with brown marks posteriorly, ocular area yellowish. Legs yellowish, patellae, distal parts of tibiae and proximal parts of metatarsi dark brown, darker rings absent. Opisthosoma pale brown dorsally, yellowish ventrally. Ocular area elevated; each eye triad on top of a short, laterally directed eye-stalk (as in P. zhuchuandiani sp. nov., cf. Fig. 31 E). Thoracic furrow absent. Chelicerae as in Fig. 14 D, with a pair of proximo-lateral apophyses, a pair of black distal apophyses, each with two teeth, and a pair of indistinct frontal apophyses. Pedipalps as in Figs 13 A–B; trochanter with a long ventral apophysis; femur with a dorsal apophysis retrolaterally; procursus simple proximally but complex distally, with a large, blunt dorsal flap subdistally (arrow in Fig. 13 A); uncus sclerotized proximally but membranous distally; appendix curved with scales; embolus sclerotized, with some transparent projections distally. Legs with short vertical setae on tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi; without spines and curved setae.

Female: Similar to male, habitus as in Figs 14 G–H. Total length 3.68 (3.92 with clypeus), carapace 1.09 long, 1.16 wide, opisthosoma 2.59 long, 1.09 wide; leg I missing in all females. Distance PME-PME 0.22; diameter PME 0.09; distance PME-ALE 0.04; distance AME-AME 0.03; diameter AME 0.06. Ocular area without eyestalks. Sternum wider than long (0.75/0.63). External genitalia ( Fig. 14 A) with a long, weakly sclerotized knob. Vulva ( Fig. 14 B) with a sclerotized anterior arch and two nearly rounded pore plates.

Distribution. Thailand (Satun, type locality; Fig. 32 ).

Natural history. The species was found in the entrance zone of the cave.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Pholcus tharnlodensis sp. nov., holotype male (C – F) and paratype female (A – B, G – H). A. External genitalia, ventral view; B. Vulva, dorsal view; C. Bulbal apophyses, prolateral view; D. Chelicerae, frontal view; E – H. Habitus (E, G. Dorsal view; F, H. Ventral view). a = appendix, e = embolus, pa = proximo-lateral apophysis, pp = pore plate, u = uncus. Scale bars: 0.07 (A – C), 0.10 (D), 0.50 (E – H).

FIGURE 13. Pholcus ballarini sp. nov., holotype male. A – B. Pedipalp (A. Prolateral view, arrow points at large, blunt dorsal flap on procursus; B. Retrolateral view, arrow points at indistinct retrolatero-dorsal apophysis); C – D. Distal part of procursus (C. Prolateral view; D. Retrolateral view). a = appendix, b = bulb, e = embolus, pr = procursus, u = uncus. Scale bars: 0.10 (A – B), 0.03 (C – D).

FIGURE 14. Pholcus ballarini sp. nov., holotype male (C – F) and paratype female (A – B, G – H). A. External genitalia, ventral view; B. Vulva, dorsal view; C. Bulbal apophyses, prolateral view; D. Chelicerae, frontal view; E – H. Habitus (E, G. Dorsal view; F, H. Ventral view). a = appendix, da = distal apophysis, e = embolus, fa = frontal apophysis, pa = proximo-lateral apophysis, pp = pore plate, u = uncus. Scale bars: 0.05 (A – C), 0.10 (D), 0.50 (E – H).

FIGURE 31. Male and female ocular area, frontal view. A – B. Pholcus tharnlodensis sp. nov., holotype male (A) and paratype female (B). C – D. P. hinsonensis sp. nov., holotype male (C) and paratype female (D). E – F. P. zhuchuandiani sp. nov., holotype male (E) and paratype female (F). Scale bars: 0.10 (A – F).

FIGURE 32. Distribution records of new Pholcus species from Southeast Asia. ® Pholcus anaiensis sp. nov.; P. ballarini sp. nov.; P. cenranaensis sp. nov.; P. chiangmaiensis sp. nov.; P. gou sp. nov.; © P. hinsonensis sp. nov.; P. kaebyaiensis sp. nov.; P. kottawagamaensis sp. nov.; P. krachensis sp. nov.; P. musensis sp. nov.; © P. songkhonensis sp. nov.; ® P. taptaoensis sp. nov.; © P. tharnlodensis sp. nov.; ® P. w a n sp. nov.; ® P. zhuchuandiani sp. nov.