Skip to main content

Kavanaugh sac spider (Trachelas kavanaughi) and distended stomach sac spider (Trachelas ventriosus)

Kavanaugh sac spider (Trachelas kavanaughi) and distended stomach sac spider (Trachelas ventriosus)

NEWS - Two new spider species were described from China: Kavanaugh sac spider (Trachelas kavanaughi sp. nov. ♀) and distended stomach sac spider (Trachelas ventriosus sp. nov. ♀), while a male of Gaoligong mountain sac spider (Trachelas gaoligongensis Jin, Yin & Zhang 2017) was described for the first time.

Trachelas L. Koch, 1872 is the most species-rich genus in Trachelidae with 91 species distributed worldwide, including 13 species in China (mostly distributed in southwest China). There are 7 new species of Trachelas described and 1 new record reported in China recently.

During the examination of spider specimens collected from Yunnan Province in 2007 with 2 new species, Trachelas ventriosus sp. nov. (♀) and T. kavanaughi sp. nov. (♀). The study also identified males of T. gaoligongensis.

T. gaoligongensis is named after the Gaoligong Mountains where the type site was found, with a distribution in Yunnan, China. Males resemble T. bomiensis Jin & Mi 2024, but differ in that the embolus is enlarged at the base and elongated at the tip (vs. elongated at the base and with two spirals at the tip).

The retrolateral tibial apophysis is pointed toward the dorsal side of the cymbium (vs. absent). The retrolateral patellar apophysis is longitudinally bar-shaped, covered with hairy setae distally (vs. distally bent transversely toward the tibia and without hairy setae).

Females of T. gaoligongensis resemble T. kavanaughi sp. nov., but differ in that the atrium is approximately as long as it is wide (vs. wider than long). The copulatory opening is posterior to the genitalia (vs. anterior to the genitalia). The primary spermathecae are oval (vs. round). The secondary spermathecae are more than twice as wide as the primary spermathecae (vs. narrower than the primary spermathecae).

T. kavanaughi is named in honor of the collector of the type specimen, D. H. Kavanaugh, curator emeritus of the California Academy of Sciences. Distribution is known only from the type locality. Females resemble T. gaoligongensis, but differ in that the atrium is wider than it is long (vs. approximately as long as it is wide).

The copulatory opening is anterior to the genitalia (vs. posterior). Primary spermathecae are round (vs. oval). Distance between secondary spermathecae is narrower than the primary spermathecae (vs. more than twice as wide as the primary spermathecae).

T. ventriosus is named in honor of the Latin word “ventriosus” (pot-bellied) referring to its large belly. Distribution is known only from the type locality. Females resemble T. fasciae Zhang, Fu & Zhu 2009, but differ in that the atrium occupies 3/4 of the genitalia (vs. 1/3 of the genitalia).

The copulatory opening is posterior to the secondary spermathecae (vs. anterior to the secondary spermathecae). The secondary spermathecae are inverted V-shaped (vs. V-shaped). The primary and secondary spermathecae are far apart from each other (vs. partially overlapping).

Original research

Tang G, Yan W-l, Zhao Y, Peng X-j (2024). Description of two new species of the genus Trachelas L. Koch, 1872 and the male of T. gaoligongensis Jin, Yin & Zhang, 2017 from China (Araneae, Trachelidae). ZooKeys 1215: 127-138, DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1215.130564

Dlium theDlium
Labels:

Popular Posts

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...
Read more

Broad sword fern (Nephrolepis biserrata)

Broad sword fern ( Nephrolepis biserrata ) is a species of fern in the Nephrolepidaceae, epiphytic and terrestrial, with grayish-brown stems, brown hairs, and 10–130 cm long. The leaf blades are green, 7 cm long, 1.5 cm wide, and hairy brown on the underside. The sori are attached to the underside of the leaf blade, with about 60 sori along the edge and are brown in color. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Class: Polypodiopsida Subclass: Polypodiidae Order: Polypodiales Suborder: Polypodiineae Family: Nephrolepidaceae Genus: Nephrolepis Schott in Gen. Fil. (Vindob.): t. 3 (1834) Species: Nephrolepis biserrata (Sw.) Schott in Gen. Fil. (Vindob.): t. 3 (1834) Homotypic Synonyms Aspidium biserratum Sw. in J. Bot. (Schrader) 1800(2): 32 (1801) Hypopeltis biserrata (Sw.) Bory in C.P.Bélanger, Voy. Indes Or., Bot. 2(1): 65 (1833) Lepidoneuron biserratum (Sw.) Fée in Mém. Foug., 5. Gen. Filic.: 301 (1852) Nephrodium biserratum (Sw.) C.Presl in Reliq. Haenk. 1: 31 (1825) Nephrolepis bise...
Read more

Red cotton tree (Bombax ceiba)

Randu alas or kapok alas or red silk-cotton or red cotton tree ( Bombax ceiba ) is a species in Malvaceae like other trees commonly known as cotton trees. This tropical tree has perpendicular stems and deciduous leaves in winter. Red flowers with 5 petals appear in the spring before the leaves grow new. B. ceiba produces capsules containing white fibers such as cotton. Old trees up to 60 meters in the wet tropics, but wood is too soft to use. Young stems and branches are equipped with cone spines, but eroded with age. The palate leaves have 6 leaflets radiating from the center point or the tip of the petiole, 7-10 cm wide, 13-15 cm long. Flexible leaf stalks up to 20 cm long. Solitary or clustered cup-shaped flowers, axilla or sub-terminal, follicular near the tip of the branch, on average 7-11 cm wide, 14 cm long, petel up to 12 cm long. Short staminal tube, more than 60 in 5 bundles. The stigma is bright red, 9 cm long, the ovary is pink to 1.5-2 cm long with skin covered in ...
Read more