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Six species Camaricus, Monaeses, Sinothomisus, Spilosynema, Thomisus added to crab spiders (Thomisidae)

Six species Camaricus, Monaeses, Sinothomisus, Spilosynema, Thomisus were added to crab spiders (Thomisidae)

NEWS - Six species from Medog, Xizang, China, were added to the crab spiders (Thomisidae) of Medog, Xizang, China: Camaricus medog sp. nov. (♂♀),Monaeses xizang sp. nov. (♂♀),Sinothomisus beibeng sp. nov. (♂♀),Sinothomisus dawai sp. nov. (♂♀),Spilosynema motuo sp. nov. (♂♀) and Thomisus yarang sp. nov. (♂♀).

Medog is located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, a major transition zone between the Eastern Himalayas and the Hengduan Mountains region. The topography is very complex and has various types of vegetation ranging from tropical valley monsoon rainforest to cold ice sheets between the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon and the Nangabawa peak.

The unique geographical and climatic environments have contributed to the rich biodiversity of Medog. However, due to the remote location, complex environment and inconvenient transportation, the research on spider diversity in Medog has not been achieved until now.

According to preliminary statistics, only 34 species have been recorded from Medog, most of which were published since 2017. The research team has been investigating the spider diversity of Medog since 2018 and has found more than 300 species, including many undescribed species.

Medog crab spider (Camaricus medog Wang, Lu & Zhang, sp. nov.) resembles C. formosus Thorell 1887 in having the embolus origin in the same position, but C. medog differs from the latter by the short and blunt ventral tibial apophysis end (vs long and sharp in C. formosus), a bifurcated retrolateral tibial apophysis (vs single), a broad embolus (vs slender), and a distinct copulatory atrium (vs indistinct).

Xizang crab spider (Monaeses xizang Wang, Lu & Zhang, sp. nov.) resembles M. aciculus (Simon, 1903) in having the ventral tibial apophysis of the same shape and compressed spermathecae, but the new species differs from M. aciculus in having the ventral tibial apophysis shorter than retrolateral tibial apophysis (vs. as long as retrolateral tibial apophysis in M. aciculus), a short embolus originating at approximately 11-o'clock (vs. long and originating at approximately 8-o'clock), and comma-like copulatory ducts (vs. U-shaped).

Beibeng crab spider (Sinothomisus beibeng Wang, Lu & Zhang, sp. nov.) resembles S. liae Tang, Yin, Griswold & Peng 2006 in having a similar shaped retrolateral tibial apophysis, but it differs from the latter by the retrolateral tibial apophysis which is shorter than the bulb (vs. equal in length to the bulb in S. liae), the long, thin apical tegular apophysis (vs. short and wide), and the C-like spermathecae (vs. caterpillar-like). This new species also resembles S. dawai.

Mr Dawa crab spider (Sinothomisus dawai Wang, Lu & Zhang, sp. nov.) resembles S. beibeng in having the same shaped bulb and same position of embolus origin, but differs from the latter by the long and large retrolateral tibial apophysis (vs short and C-like in S. beibeng), the small spine between the retrolateral tibial apophysis and the dorsal tibial apophysis (vs absent), the fingernail-like protuberance at epigynal plate (vs absent).

Motuo crab spider (Spilosynema motuo Wang, Lu & Zhang, sp. nov.) male resembles S. comminum Tang & Li 2010 in the bulb of the same shape and the embolus origin in the same position, but it differs from the latter by the absence of an intermedial tibial apophysis (vs. presence in S. comminum), the conical tutacular apophysis (vs. hook-shaped). The female of this new species can be distinguished from all other Spilosynema species in having the epigynal plate with a hood.

Yarang crab spider (Thomisus yarang Wang, Lu & Zhang, sp. nov.) resembles T. labefactus Karsch 1881 in having a similar long and curved embolus, but it differs from the latter by the long, digitiform ventral tibial apophysis (vs short and conical in T. labefactus), the groove-shaped retrolateral tibial apophysis (vs base stretches), and the arc-shaped copulatory ducts (vs semicircular).

Six new species were collected during the day from flower beds along the roadside, except for M. xizang which was also collected from a roadside fence. This may be due to the abundant rainfall that made the forest too dense and humid, so they came out of the forest to live on the roadside.

Original research

Wang L-Y, Mu Y-N, Lu Q-L, Xu Y-Q, Bu H-T, Zhang F, Zhang Z-S (2024). Description of six new crab-spider species and first description of the male of Pharta xizang Liu & Yao, 2023 from Medog, Xizang, China (Araneae, Thomisidae). ZooKeys 1217: 195-213, DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1217.127555

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