Songthela liui, Chen & Li & Li & Xu, 2021

Chen, Zhaoyang, Li, Dengqing, Li, Daiqin & Xu, Xin, 2021, Three new species of the primitively segmented spider genus Songthela (Araneae, Mesothelae) from Guizhou Province, China, ZooKeys 1037, pp. 57-71 : 57

Songthela liui sp. nov. Figure 3

Type material.

Holotype: China · 1 ♂; Guizhou Province, Tongren City, Yuping Autonomous County, Zhujiachang Town, Yutang Village; 27.30°N, 108.89°E; alt. 542 m; 17 August 2018; D. Li, F.X. Liu, X. Xu, D.Q. Li and L. Yu leg.; XUX-2018-375A (matured on 5 May 2019 at HNU). Paratypes: China · 1 ♀; same data as for the holotype; XUX-2018-381 · 9 ♀♀; Guizhou Province, Qiandongnan Autonomous Prefecture, Cengong County, Xiajiaao Village; 27.46°N, 108.83°E; alt. 552-553 m; 17 August 2018; D. Li, F.X. Liu, X. Xu, D.Q. Li and L. Yu leg.; XUX-2018-383, 383A, 385, 386, 387, 387A, 387C, 387D, 387E.

Diagnosis.

Male of S. liui sp. nov. resembles that of S. hangzhouensis , but can be distinguished from the latter by the base of the lower spine of the conductor wider and with a small spur (Fig. 3A, B, D-F ), and by the tegulum with a small terminal apophysis (Fig. 3B, C, E, G, H ); from that of S. goulouensis by the conductor with a shorter upper spine and the base of the lower spine of the conductor wider with a small spur (Fig. 3A, B, D-F ), and by the marginal tegular apophysis with a slightly helicoid edge (Fig. 3B, C, E, G, H ); from that of S. shuyuan by the contrategulum with an apophysis proximally (Fig. 3A, D ), and by the base of the lower spine of the conductor wider with a small spur (Fig. 3B, E, F ); from that of S. yuping sp. nov. by the conductor with two apical spines (Fig. 3A, B, D, E ), by the contrategulum with smaller marginal teeth (Fig. 3A, D ); from those of other Songthela species by the conductor with two conspicuous apical spines (Fig. 3A, B, D, E ). Females of S. liui sp. nov. can be distinguished from those of S. hangzhouensis by the bases of the median receptacular clusters separated from each other (Fig. 3I-P ); from those of S. shuyuan by the median receptacular clusters with shorter stalks (Fig. 3I-P ); from those of S. yuping sp. nov. by the middle receptacular clusters situated at anterior margin of the bursa copulatrix, and distinctly larger than the lateral ones, and by the middle genital stalks separated from each other basally (Fig. 3I-P ); and from those of other Songthela species by the middle receptacular clusters larger than the lateral ones and the bases of the middle ones close to the lateral ones (Fig. 3I-P ).

Description.

Male (holotype; Fig. 1E ). Carapace dark reddish brown, opisthosoma slightly reddish brown, with 12 dark reddish brown tergites, close to each other, 2-6 larger than others, and the 4th largest; sternum narrow, much longer than wide; a few pointed hairs running over ocular area; chelicerae robust with promargin of cheliceral groove with 9 denticles of variable size; legs with hairs and spines; 7 spinnerets. Measurements: BL 14.25, CL 6.33, CW 5.21, OL 6.78, OW 4.62; ALE> PLE> PME> AME; leg I 18.44 (5.26 + 2.44 + 4.01 + 4.40 + 2.33), leg II 18.95 (4.72 + 2.54 + 4.02 + 4.95 + 2.72), leg III 21.33 (5.10 + 2.22 + 4.48 + 6.48 + 3.05), leg IV 27.85 (6.44 + 2.64 + 5.65 + 9.24 + 3.88).

Palp. Paracymbium with numerous setae and spines at the tip, with an apophysis ventrally (Fig. 3B ). Contrategulum with a small apophysis and three teeth proximally, the marginal teeth arranged sparsely and gradually split into two edges distally (Fig. 3A, D ). The marginal tegular apophysis and the dorsal extension of terminal tegular apophysis with helicoid edges, and with a small triangular terminal tegular apophysis retrolaterally (Fig. 3B, C, E, G, H ). Conductor smooth, fused with embolus basally, with two apical spines and a spur at the base of the lower spine from ventral view (Fig. 3A, B, D-F ). Embolus with a flat opening distally and numerous ribbed ridges in middle and distal portion (Fig. 3A-E, G ).

Female (XUX-2018-381; Fig. 1D ). Carapace dark reddish brown, opisthosoma slightly brown, with 12 dark brown tergites, close to each other, 2-6 larger than others, and the 4th largest; sternum narrow, much longer than wide; a few pointed hairs running over ocular area; chelicerae robust with promargin of cheliceral groove with 13 denticles of variable size; legs with hairs and spines; 7 spinnerets. Measurements: BL 14.97, CL 6.81, CW 5.66, OL 7.17, OW 5.13; ALE> PLE> PME> AME; palp 10.96 (3.67 + 1.81 + 2.46 + 3.02), leg I 13.70 (4.08 + 2.33 + 2.79 + 2.74 + 1.76), leg II 13.40 (4.01 + 2.28 + 2.45 + 2.79 + 1.87), leg III 14.66 (4.17 + 2.28 + 2.73 + 3.39 + 2.09), leg IV 20.35 (5.57 + 2.74 + 3.72 + 5.57 + 2.75).

Female genitalia. Two pairs of receptacular clusters with tubular stalks. The middle pair of receptacular clusters situated at anterior margin of bursa copulatrix, separated from each other, larger than the lateral ones. The lateral ones ellipsoidal, situated dorsolaterally with short genital stalks. The bases of the middle receptacular clusters close to those of the lateral ones (Fig. 3I-P ).

Variation.

Females vary in body size. The range of measurements as follows (N = 10): BL 10.51-14.76, CL 4.84-6.24, CW 4.08-5.95, OL 4.71-7.39, OW 3.86-5.48. The number of promargin of cheliceral groove varies from 11-13 (N = 10). There are 7 or 8 spinnerets. Moreover, female genitalia are somewhat variable: the median pair of receptacular clusters are different in shape, mushroom-like (Fig. 3J, K, N, O ), triangular (Fig. 3I, M ), or ovoid (Fig. 3L, P ); the genital stalks of the middle receptacular clusters slightly vary in length (Fig. 3I-P ).

Etymology.

The specific name is dedicated to Mr Fengxiang Liu for his kind instructions on all our collection.

Distribution.

Guizhou (Tianzhu, Cengong) Province, China.

GenBank accession number.

Holotype, XUX-2018-375A: MW450989; Paratypes, XUX-2018-383: MW808998; XUX-2018-383A: MW808999; XUX-2018-385: MW809000; XUX-2018-386: MW809001; XUX-2018-387: MW809002; XUX-2018-387A: MW809003; XUX-2018-387B: MW809004; XUX-2018-381: MW809005.

Remarks.

Although liphistiid spiders are known to have a high level of endemism with the increasing number of our collected liphistiid specimens, we have found more than one species in a few localities and also a few widespread species in the genus Songthela (unpublished data). In this study, we diagnosed two new Songthela species, S. liui sp. nov. and S. yuping sp. nov., after examining the specimens collected from Yutang Village, Zhujiachang Town, Yuping Autonomous County, Tongren City, Guizhou Province, based not only on male and female genital morphology, but also the genetic distances of COI. We provide the intraspecific genetic distances of S. liui sp. nov., and the interspecific genetic distances among the three new species, as well as among the new species and other known species ( S. goulouensis , S. huangyang , S. pyriformis , S. shuyuan and S. xiangnan ) (Table 1 ). The interspecific genetic distances were estimated based on the holotype of each species, except for S. goulouensis , which was based on the publicly available COI sequence from the GenBank along with its descriptions ( Li et al. 2019, 2020).

Figures

Figure 1. Microhabitat and general somatic morphology of three new Songthela species A-E Songthela liui sp. nov.: D XUX- 2018 - 381, female E XUX- 2018 - 375 A, male F-I Songthela tianzhu sp. nov.: I XUX- 2018 - 339, female J-N Songthela yuping sp. nov.: M XUX- 2018 - 380, female N XUX- 2018 - 380 A, male A, F, J microhabitat B, C, G, H, K, L the trapdoor with the door closed and open D, E, I, M, N dorsal view. Scale bars: 3 mm (D, E, I, M, N).

Figure 3. Male and female genital anatomy of Songthela liui sp. nov. A, D palp prolateral view B, E palp ventral view C, G palp retrolateral view H palp distal view I-L vulva dorsal view M-P vulva ventral view A-H XUX- 2018 - 375 A (holotype) I, M XUX- 2018 - 381 J, N XUX- 2018 - 383 A K, O XUX- 2018 - 387 D L, P XUX- 2018 - 387. Scale bars: 0.3 mm (A-E, G-P); 0.1 mm (F).