Skip to main content

Three new species of Huntsman spider (Pseudopoda Jäger 2000) from Qizimeishan National Nature Reserve

Three new species of Huntsman spider (Pseudopoda Jäger 2000) from Qizimeishan National Nature Reserve

NEWS - A spider survey in Qizimeishan National Nature Reserve in Xuan’en County, southwest Hubei Province, adjacent to the northeastern edge of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, discovered three new species: arc huntsman spider (Pseudopoda arcuata ♀), Qizimeishan huntsman spider (Pseudopoda qizimeishanensis ♂ ♀) and Mian Wei huntsman spider (Pseudopoda weimiani ♂ ♀).

The reserve covers a total area of 345.5 km2 and the highest peak is about 2010 meters. It mainly protects the central subtropical mountain evergreen broadleaf forest and subalpine sphagnum swamp wetland area. The reserve is rich in wildlife resources and has been listed as a key biodiversity area in the China Biodiversity Conservation Action Plan.

Pseudopoda Jäger 2000 is the largest genus of the Sparassidae Bertkau 1872 with 256 species. Currently, 155 species of Pseudopoda are known in China. This genus is a small to large spider that lives mainly in leaf litter and less frequently in plants.

P. arcuata derives its specific epithet from the Latin word meaning "arch-shaped" referring to the curved LL. Females resemble P. allantoides Zhang, Jäger & Liu 2023, but P. arcuata can be recognized by its horizontally elongated S and FD appearing anterior to the S (vs. S elongated longitudinally and FD appearing medial to the S).

P. qizimeishanensis derives its specific epithet from the type locality, Mount Qizimeishan. Males resemble P. baoshanensis Zhang, Jäger & Liu 2023, but P. qizimeishanensis can be recognized by the long RTA and occurs in the basal part of Ti, T without prolateral growth and E tip pointing towards 11 o'clock (vs. short RTA, occurs in the medial part of Ti, T with prolateral growth, E tip pointing towards 7 o'clock).

Females resemble P. nanyueensis Tang & Yin 2000, but P. qizimeishanensis can be recognized by the long S, with wrinkles, almost parallel to the anterior edge of LL (vs. S without wrinkles and extending horizontally).

P. weimiani is named after one of the collectors, Mian Wei. Males resemble P. hongqi Deng, Zhong, Irfan & Wang 2023, but P. weimiani can be recognized by the short-smooth RTA and twisted EP (vs. RTA long and gradually narrowing towards the tip, EP without twists, terminal not exceeding E).

Females resemble P. taipingensis Zhang, Jäger & Liu 2023, but P. weimiani can be recognized by the nearly straight posterior margin of the LL, parallel to the anterior margin and the S with a clear bend in ventral view (vs. the W-shaped posterior margin of the LL, the S with a tube-like structure).

Pseudopods are widely distributed throughout China with 155 species accounting for about 61% of the world's total species. The majority are found in the southwest region, especially in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, with 84 species highlighting the rich biodiversity and varied topography.

Qizimeishan National Nature Reserve, part of the northeastern extension of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, has a diverse landscape with elevations ranging from 650 to 2010 meters. This variation creates a variety of microclimates and habitats that support a variety of species. However, research on spiders in this area is still limited.

Original research

Chang J, Zhang H, Liu J, Zhu Y, Liu C, Chen K, Hu C (2024) Three new species of Pseudopoda Jäger, 2000 (Araneae, Sparassidae, Heteropodinae) from Qizimeishan National Nature Reserve of Hubei, China. ZooKeys 1214: 143-160, DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1214.130101

Dlium theDlium

Popular Posts

Elephant bell gourd (Trichosanthes tricuspidata)

Elephant bell gourd ( Trichosanthes tricuspidata ) is a plant species in the Cucurbitaceae, stems grow elongated to propagate or climb, many branches, cylindrical in shape and green in color. T. cochinchinensis has stem tips or branches that twist to attach themselves to a support or other plant. It grows to climb to cover a support, usually on another plant, up to several meters and creeps along the ground to reach another support. Arrow-shaped leaves, split base, sharp apex and two wings at an acute angle, have many veins ending at a sharp edge, green and have a long petiole. Single flower is white. The fruit is round to oval, ends with a tail, young green and turns red with maturity, thin skin, thick flesh and reddish yellow, has a short stalk and hangs. The seeds are in the middle of the fruit. Seeds are white, oval and flat. Black coated seeds. Elephant bell gourd grows wild in primary and secondary forests, agricultural land, roadsides, watersheds, especially on slopes, damp a

Dazzling rove beetle (Apecholinus speciosus) from Mangshan, Hunan, has similarity to Apecholinus imitator

NEWS - Dazzling rove beetle ( Apecholinus speciosus Sun & Liu, sp. nov.) from Mangshan, Hunan, China, has similarity to Apecholinus imitator Smetana & Hu 2019 and phylogenetic analysis based on mitochondrial genome showed the two species form a sister clade to Ocypus and Dinothenarus, all belonging to the Ocypus lineage. Apecholinus Bernhauer 1933 was established with Apecholinus kaiseri Bernhauer 1933 as the type species established by monotypy. So far, 7 species have been described and are found only in East Asia. Of these, 6 species are in mainland China and Taiwan, only one species is native to North Korea. They are A. aglaosemanticus (He & Zhou, 2017), A. canifer Smetana & Hu 2019, A. fraternus (Fairmaire, 1891), A. imitator Smetana & Hu 2019, A. kaiseri Bernhauer 1933, A. liui (He & Zhou, 2017) and A. septentrionalis Senda & Han 2023. Apecholinus is recognized by mandibles each having one simple tooth on the medial edge, no subdental mandibul

Soft scale insect, repens scale (Pulvinaria rhododendri), on Rhododendron spp. in Northern Europe

NEWS - Repens scale ( Pulvinaria rhododendri Kahrer & Hodgson, Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) was discovered in Rhododendron spp. (Ericaceae) in Denmark and Norway which appears taxonomically close to P. camelicola Signoret and P. floccifera Westwood with an uncertain geographic origin, but is likely to have been introduced to northern Europe via imported live plants. P. rhododendri is distinguished from P. floccifera , P. camelicola and all other Pulvinaria species by a combination of characters-a medial band of large conical spinous setae extending from the anal plate anterior to the head and simple pores with strongly sclerotic margins present in a narrow medial band between the large conical spinous setae. The new species also differs from P. floccifera by the presence of a type III tubular canal submarginally between the lateral stigmatic clefts (vs. absent). The species is named after the genus of the host plant from which it is most commonly collected, Rhododendron