Skip to main content

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

Dlium theDlium
Labels:

Popular Posts

Black jumping spider (Hyllus diardi)

Black jumping spider ( Hyllus diardi ) is an animal species in the Salticidae, black and white spiders, long hair, round head, elongated belly, relatively small, arboreal, perched on leaves in bushes and low trees in forests and agricultural lands. H. diardi has black and white color, shiny surface and white hair all over the body. The head is round, shiny black with a linear white line in the middle. Black eyes on the front of the head. The stomach has an elongated, jointed, black cylindrical shape with black plots at the top of each segment. The legs are long, segmented, shiny black or brownish in color and hairy. Black jumping spiders live arboreal, perch on leaf surfaces, low bushes, trees in forests, agricultural land, roadsides and shade. Very sensitive to human presence and will hide behind leaves to avoid sight. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Chelicerata Class: Arachnida Order: Araneae Suborder: Araneomorphae Infraorder: Entelegynae Superfamily: Salticoi...
Read more

Java milkwort (Polygala javana)

Java milkwort ( Polygala javana ) is a species of plant in the Polygalaceae family. It has erect, woody, branched stems with brown to black stems and white hairs or powdery hairs. The leaves are opposite and alternate. The leaves are oval, up to 30 mm long and up to 9 mm wide, and green. The inflorescences are arranged in panicles, arranged in rows and radially. The flowers are butterfly-shaped, yellow, green, and purple, with white hairs, up to 8 mm wide. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fabales Family: Polygalaceae Tribe: Polygaleae Genus: Polygala Tourn. ex L. in Sp. Pl.: 701 (1753) Species: Polygala javana DC. in Prodr. 1: 327 (1824) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Polygala ceylanica B.Heyne ex Wall. in Numer. List: n.° 4183 (1831) Polygala javana var. angustifolia Thwaites in Enum. Pl. Zeyl.: 22 (1864) Polygala raoi R.N.Banerjee & L.K.Banerjee in Proc. Indian Acad. Sci., B 82: 218 (1975) PUBLICATIONS Aung, Y.L., Aung, M.H....
Read more

Cat's whiskers (Orthosiphon aristatus)

Remujung atau kumis kucing atau cat's whiskers ( Orthosiphon aristatus ) is a species of plant in the Lamiaceae, an erect herb, the lower part is rooted at the joints, 2 meters high, the stem has four corners and is somewhat grooved with short hair or bald, has joints where branches grow to the left and right and is dark purple. O. aristatus has round or oval, lanceolate, round-ovate or rhombic leaves starting from the base, 1-10 cm long, 1-5 cm wide, 4-29 cm long stalks and a main vein in the middle, leaf stalk length 7-29 cm. Glandular flower petals, veins and bases are short and sparsely hairy, while the uppermost part is bald. The terminal crown is a bunch that comes out of the end of the branch with a length of 7-29 cm. Length 13-27mm, covered with short purple hairs on the top and then turning white, tube length 10-18 mm, lip length 4.5-10mm, blunt flower strands, round. Stamens are longer than flower tubes and exceed the upper lip of the flower. Dark brown fruit, 1.75-...
Read more