Meotipa Simon, 1895

Liang, Yun, Yin, Haiqiang & Xu, Xiang, 2024, Three new species of the spider genus Meotipa Simon, 1895 from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China (Araneae: Theridiidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 968, pp. 156-173 : 158-160

Genus Meotipa Simon, 1895

Key to the Chinese species of Meotipa Simon, 1895

Male

1. Conductor with a deep groove .......................................................................................................... 2

– Conductor without a distinct groove ................................................................................................. 4

2. Conductor relative thin, with a sharp top .......................................................................................... 3

– Conductor large, with a widened top ......................................................... M. picturata Simon, 1895

3. Embolus small and short, dentate-shaped ............................................... M. pseudomultuma sp. nov

– Embolus thin and long, filiform ........................................................... M. zhengguoi Lin & Li, 2021

4. Embolus mostly covered by conductor ............................................................................................. 5

– Embolus uncovered .......................................................................................................................... 9

5. Embolus extremely twisted ................................................................................ M. tortuosa sp. nov.

– Embolus not twisted ......................................................................................................................... 6

6. Conductor relatively thin, end with hook ......................................................................................... 7

– Conductor large, widened at end ...................................................................................................... 8

7. Margin of conductor smooth ..................................... M. spiniventris (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869)

– Margin of conductor unsmooth, serrated ................................................. M. luoqiae Lin & Li, 2021

8. Embolus almost as long as conductor ................................................... M. menglun Lin & Li, 2021

– Embolus about ⅓ length of conductor ................................................. M. capacifaba Li et al., 2020

9. Conductor large, with a widened end ............................................................................................. 10

– Conductor relative thin, maintaining a consistent width .......... M. argyrodiformi (Yaginuma, 1952)

10. Embolus large, triangular ........................................................ M. pulcherrima ( Mello-Leitão, 1917)

– Embolus thin, ivory-shaped ................................................................... M. vesiculosa Simon, 1895

Female

1. Atrium large ...................................................................................................................................... 2

– Atrium indistinct or absent ............................................................................................................... 9

2. Atrium divided into two parts by epigynal septum .......................................................................... 3

– Atrium not divided ............................................................................................................................ 4

3. Atrium horse hoof-shaped .................................................................................. M. tortuosa sp. nov.

– Atrium ring-shaped .............................................................................. M. capacifaba Li et al., 2020

4. Atrium with a projection ................................................................................................................... 5

– Atrium without a projection .................................................... M. argyrodiformis (Yaginuma, 1952)

5. Atrium with a rod-shaped projection ................................................................................................ 6

– Atrium with an irregular projection .................................................................................................. 7

6. Copulatory ducts connecting to spermathecae laterally ............................ M. picturata Simon, 1895

– Copulatory ducts connecting to spermathecae ventrally .................................................................... .................................................................. M. pseudopicturata Deng, Agnarsson, Chen & Liu, 2022

7. Copulatory ducts swollen ....................................................... M. pulcherrima ( Mello-Leitão, 1917)

– Copulatory ducts thin ........................................................................................................................ 8

8. Copulatory ducts long, surrounding spermathecae in a loop ............................. M. lingulata sp. nov.

– Copulatory ducts short, not twisted ......................................................... M. vesiculosa Simon, 1895

9. Copulatory ducts long, surrounding spermathecae in semi-loop ........... M. pseudomultuma sp. nov.

– Copulatory ducts short, not twisted ................................................................................................ 10

10. Spermathecae very round ......................................... M. spiniventris (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869)

– Spermathecae oval, with a narrow posterior ............ M. striata Deng, Agnarsson, Chen & Liu, 2022