Clubiona wangchengi Yu & Li, 2021

Zhang, Jianshuang, Yu, Hao & Li, Shuqiang, 2021, Taxonomic studies on the sac spider genus Clubiona (Araneae, Clubionidae) from Xishuangbanna Rainforest, China, ZooKeys 1034, pp. 1-163 : 1

Clubiona wangchengi Yu & Li sp. nov. Figs 52 , 80C , 88C , 96C

Holotype.

♀ (IZCAS-Ar 34765), China: Yunnan Province: Xishuangbanna: Mengla County: Menglun Town: XTBG, 48th km landmark in Menglun Nature Reserve, 21°58.704'N, 101°19.748'E, ca. 1088 m, 12.VIII.2011, G. Zheng et al. leg. Other material examined. 1♀ (YHCLU0087), China: Yunnan Province: Xishuangbanna: Mengla County: Menglun Town: Bubang Village, Parashorea cathayensis forest, 21°35.011'N, 101°35.013'E, ca. 680 m, 28.VII.2016, G. Zheng leg.

Etymology.

This species is named after Mr. Cheng Wang (Tongren City, China) who has helped us greatly with this research; noun (name) in genitive case.

Diagnosis.

Clubiona wangchengi sp. nov. resembles C. subkuu by the similar habitus: wide head, not much narrower than the carapace, and yellowish body (Fig. 52F, G ; Yu and Li 2019a: 164, fig. 10G, H) but is consistently separable by the epigyne. The epigynes of both species share the similarly globular spermathecae and bursae and short and curved copulatory ducts which ascend obliquely but differ in the following: (1) the epigynal plate without ridges in C. wangchengi sp. nov. (Figs 52A-C ; 80C , 88C ) (vs. with blade-shaped ridges in C. subkuu ; Figs 77B , 85B ); (2) bursae located on the lateral sides of the spermathecae in C. wangchengi sp. nov. (Figs 52D, E ; 96C ) (vs. bursae located posterior to the spermathecae in C. subkuu ; Fig. 93B ).

Remarks.

Clubiona wangchengi sp. nov. resembles some members of the C. ternatensis group by the wide head and the general shape of the vulva but can be distinguished from these species by the absence of epigynal ridges. Because all C. ternatensis group species have epigynal ridges (or hoods, or folds), there remains considerable uncertainty about placing this new species in the Clubiona ternatensis group. In addition, this new species resembles some species of Pteroneta Deeleman-Reinhold, 2001, which is most similar to the C. ternatensis group in genital morphology. This new species can be separated from all known members of the genus Pteroneta by its unpatterned yellow body ( Pteroneta has a pale green body, ventrally with lazulite blue spots). Despite the similarity of the general shape of the vulva in C. wangchengi sp. nov. and species of the Clubiona ternatensis group and the Pteroneta , it is currently impossible to discern any obvious derived features (i.e., epigynal ridges and pale green body) that could indicate placement in the Clubiona ternatensis group or the genus Pteroneta .

Description.

Female. Holotype (Fig. 52F, G ): Total length 8.25; carapace 3.41 long, 2.24 wide; opisthosoma 4.84 long, 2.89 wide. Carapace orange, slightly darker in front, without distinct pattern, cephalic region slightly narrowed, cervical groove and radial grooves indistinct; tegument smooth, anteriorly clothed with sparse setae. Eyes: AER slightly recurved, PER slightly wider than AER, almost straight in dorsal view. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.17, ALE 0.15, PME 0.15, PLE 0.13, AME-AME 0.08, AME-ALE 0.11, PME-PME 0.39, PME-PLE 0.21, MOQL 0.43, MOQA 0.42, MOQP 0.69. Chelicerae robust and brownish red, with three teeth on promargin and two on retromargin. Sternum yellowish white, 1.72 long, 1.03 wide. Labium and endites coloured as carapace. Legs light yellow, without distinct markings. Leg measurements: I 5.63 (1.64, 2.45, 0.97, 0.56), II 6.00 (1.76, 2.60, 1.06, 0.58), III - (-, 2.83, 2.36, -), IV - (1.73, 1.36, 0.46, -). Abdomen elongate, oval, uniformly cream coloured, dorsum with a narrow, heart-shaped mark and two pairs of conspicuous muscle depressions; venter medially with two longitudinal dotted lines.

Epigyne (Figs 52A-E , 80C , 88C , 96C ). Epigynal plate ca. 1.5 × wider than long, with spermathecae, bursae and ducts prominent through tegument. Copulatory openings large, located on the window (or chitinous structure) which is at the postero-lateral portion of the epigynal plate. Copulatory ducts short and curved, connected to bursae midway between epigastric fold and anterior surface of the spermathecae. Both spermathecae and bursae are globular, the former larger than the latter. Spermathecae sclerotised, close together. Fertilisation ducts acicular, relatively long, nearly equal to spermathecae diameter, located on anterolateral surface of spermathecae. Bursae located on the lateral sides of the spermathecae, separated by ca. two diameters. Bursal surface membranous and wrinkled, inside pigmented and sclerotised.

Male. Unknown.

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China.

Figures

Figure 52. Holotype female of Clubiona wangchengi sp. nov., epigyne (A-E) and habitus (F, G) A intact, ventral view B cleared, ventral view C cleared, ventral view D cleared, dorsal view E cleared, dorsal view F dorsal view G ventral view. Abbreviations: BS = bursa; CD = copulatory duct; CO = copulatory opening; FD = fertilisation duct; SP = spermatheca. Scale bars: 0.1 mm (equal for A-E); 1 mm (equal for F, G).

Figure 77. Clubiona spp. of the C. ternatensis group (A-E) and the C. trivialis group (F), epigyne, intact, ventral view A C. mii sp. nov. holotype B C. subkuu C C. theoblicki D C. tongi E C. zhengi F C. bicornis. Abbreviations: A = atrium; CO = copulatory opening; R = epigynal ridge. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

Figure 80. Clubiona spp., epigyne, intact, ventral view A C. yaoi B C. jiandan C C. wangchengi sp. nov., holotype D C. shuangsi sp. nov., paratype. Abbreviations: A = atrium; AAM = atrial anterior margin; APM = atrial posterior margin; CO = copulatory opening. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

Figure 85. Clubiona spp. of the C. ternatensis group (A-E) and the C. trivialis group (F), epigyne, cleared, ventral view A C. mii sp. nov., holotype B C. subkuu C C. theoblicki D C. tongi E C. zhengi F C. bicornis. Abbreviations: A = atrium; CO = copulatory opening; R = epigynal ridge. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

Figure 88. Clubiona spp., epigyne, cleared, ventral view A C. yaoi B C. jiandan C C. wangchengi sp. nov., holotype D C. shuangsi sp. nov., paratype. Abbreviations: A = atrium; AAM = atrial anterior margin; APM = atrial posterior margin; CO = copulatory opening. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

Figure 93. Clubiona spp. of the C. ternatensis group (A-E) and the C. trivialis group (F), vulva, cleared, dorsal view A C. mii sp. nov., holotype B C. subkuu C C. theoblicki D C. tongi E C. zhengi F C. bicornis. Abbreviations: BS = bursa; CD = copulatory duct; FD = fertilisation duct; SP = spermatheca. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

Figure 96. Clubiona spp., vulva, cleared, dorsal view A C. yaoi B C. jiandan C C. wangchengi sp. nov., holotype D C. shuangsi sp. nov., female paratype. Abbreviations: BS = bursa; CD = copulatory duct; FD = fertilisation duct; SP = spermatheca. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.