Saturday, June 24, 2023

[Arachnida • 2023] Stiphropus qianlei • Notes on Two Stiphropus Species (Araneae, Thomisidae) from China


Stiphropus qianlei Lin & Li,

in Li, Lin & Li, 2023. 

Abstract
Background: The spider genus Stiphropus Gerstaecker, 1873 currently includes 21 extant species that are distributed in Africa (12) and Asia (9). Four species, S. falciformus Yang, Zhu & Song, 2006, S. myrmecophilus Huang & Lin, 2020, S. ocellatus Thorell, 1887 and S. soureni Sen, 1964, are currently known from China.

New information: The mismatched female of S. falciformus is reported as a new species: S. qianlei sp. n. (♂♀). The unknown male of S. soureni Sen, 1964 is described for the first time. Photos and morphological descriptions are provided.

Keywords: diagnosis, new species, misidentification, taxonomic, myrmecophilous

Stiphropus qianlei sp. n., alive and host ant. 
 a: Holotype male; b: Paratype female;
c: Holotype male with ant; d: Host ant Aphaenogaster smythiesii.
Photos by Qianle Lu (A, B, C).

Stiphropus qianlei Lin & Li, 2023, sp. n.
 
Diagnosis: The male is similar to S. ocellatus Thorell, 1887 by the curved and wide embolus and long, terminal sharp dorsal tibial apophysis (see Ono 1980, figs. 22–27). However, the new species can be distinguished from S. ocellatus by the embolus strongly curved as C-shaped and widest at the middle [vs. no significant change in the width of the embolus in S. ocellatus (Ono 1980, figs. 22 and 25) and dorsal tibial apophysis pointed dorsally [vs. point anteriorly in S. ocellatus (Ono 1980, figs, 23, 24, 26 and 27). For diagnosis of females, see Li et al. (2010).

Etymology: The species is named after one of the collectors.


 Fengyuan Li, Yejie Lin and Shuqiang Li. 2023. Notes on Two Stiphropus Species from China (Araneae, Thomisidae). Biodiversity Data Journal. 11: e105695. DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.11.e105695