Pholcus wan 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 : 222-227

Pholcus wan Yao & Li sp. nov.

Figs 17–18

Type material. Holotype: male, Cave without a name (06°59.395′N, 99°48.393′E, elevation 50 m), La-ngu District, Satun, Thailand, 4 December 2013, F. Ballarin leg. Paratypes: 2 females, same data as holotype.

Etymology. The specific name is from the Chinese pinyin for curved ( wān ), in reference to the acutely curved procursus; adjective.

Diagnosis. The species can be easily distinguished from all known congeners in the P. halabala species group by the elongate and strongly curved procursus ( Figs 17 A–B), the presence of two laterally directed, large, distal apophyses on the appendix (arrows in Fig. 18 C), and by the elongate weakly sclerotized area of the female external genitalia ( Fig. 18 A).

Description. Male (holotype): Total length 5.81 (6.15 with clypeus), carapace 1.60 long, 1.70 wide, opisthosoma 4.21 long, 1.33 wide. Leg I: 68.75 (16.41 + 0.88 + 16.41 + 31.85 + 3.20), leg II: 45.43 (11.74 + 0.81 + 11.67 +19.68 + 1.53), leg III: 29.25 (8.72 + 0.81 + 7.18 + 11.22 + 1.32), leg IV: 38.59 (10.90 + 0.81 + 9.49 + 15.51 + 1.88). Distance PME-PME 0.54; diameter PME 0.11; distance PME-ALE 0.05; distance AME-AME 0.03; diameter AME 0.06. Sternum wider than long (1.02/0.91). Habitus as in Figs 18 E–F. Carapace yellowish, with brown marks extending to ocular area; ocular area brown; sternum brown. Legs pale brown, distal parts of femora and tibiae whitish, darker rings absent. Opisthosoma pale grey, with brown spots dorsally and laterally. 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. 18 D, with a pair of proximo-lateral apophyses; a pair of dark brown distal apophyses with two teeth each. Pedipalps as in Figs 17 A–B; trochanter with a long curved posteriory apophysis; femur with a distinct ventral modification retrolaterally; procursus long and strongly curved, nearly three times longer than tibia of procursus, simple proximally but complex distally; uncus small; appendix with two large distal apophyses directed towards laterally; embolus weakly sclerotized. Retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia I at 4.4%; legs with short vertical setae on tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi; without spines and curved setae; tarsus I with approximately 16 distinct pseudosegments.

Female: Similar to male, habitus as in Figs 18 G–H. Total length 6.41 (6.64 with clypeus), carapace 1.80 long, 2.03 wide, opisthosoma 4.61 long, 1.41 wide; tibia I: 15.26; tibia I L/d: 72. Distance PME-PME 0.33; diameter PME 0.16; distance PME-ALE 0.04; distance AME-AME 0.26; diameter AME 0.06. Sternum wider than long (1.30/1.10). Ocular area without eye-stalks. External genitalia ( Fig. 18 A) with a knob. Vulva ( Fig. 18 A) with a sclerotized anterior arch and two oval pore plates.

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

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

Figures

FIGURE 17. Pholcus wan sp. nov., holotype male. A – B. Right pedipalp (A. Prolateral view; B. Retrolateral view); C – D. Distal part of procursus (C. Prolateral view; D. Retrolateral view). a = appendix, b = bulb, e = embolus, pr = procursus, u = uncus. Scale bars: 0.03 (A – B), 0.10 (C – D).

FIGURE 18. Pholcus wan 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, arrows point at two large distal apophyses on appendix; D. Chelicerae, frontal view; E – H. Habitus (E, G. Dorsal view; F, H. Ventral view). a = appendix, da = distal apophysis, e = embolus, pa = proximo-lateral apophysis, pp = pore plate, u = uncus. Scale bars: 0.20 (A – C), 0.08 (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.