Khorata palace Yao & Li, 2018

Nie, Lei, Yao, Zhiyuan, Pham, Dinh-Sac & Li, Shuqiang, 2018, Five new species of the spider genus Khorata Huber, 2005 (Araneae: Pholcidae) from Vietnam, Zootaxa 4486 (4), pp. 480-496 : 487-492

Khorata palace Yao & Li sp. nov.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B77966CE-B9B7-4B37-9BA0-7B6171C5FF14

Figs 7–8

Type material. Holotype: Male, Palace Cave (20°21.350′N, 105°36.282′E, elevation 523 m), Cuc Phuong National Park , Ninh Binh, Vietnam, 19 August 2015, Q. Zhao, Y. Li and Z. Chen leg. Paratype: 1 female, same data as holotype.

Etymology. The specific name refers to the type locality, and is a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis. This species can be easily distinguished from all known congeners by combination of following characters: strong, distally swollen frontal apophyses on male chelicerae (arrows in Figs 8C–D ), presence of retrolateral spine distally on procursus (arrow in Fig. 7D ) and large, nearly semicircular pore plates ( Fig. 8B ).

Description. Male (holotype): Total length 3.32 (3.48 with clypeus), carapace 1.03 long, 1.21 wide, opisthosoma 2.29 long, 1.62 wide. Leg I: 34.68 (8.35 + 0.52 + 8.38 + 13.80 + 3.63), legs II and III missing, leg IV: 20.37 (6.10 + 0.46 + 4.83 + 7.78 + 1.20); tibia I L/d: 67. Habitus as in Figs 8E–F . Carapace yellowish, with black margins and narrow, dark median line; sternum black. Legs brownish, but slightly whitish on distal parts of femora and tibiae, with distinct darker rings on subdistal parts of femora and tibiae. Opisthosoma yellowish, with large black spots. Distance PME-PME 0.14, diameter PME 0.15, distance PME-ALE 0.04, AME absent. Ocular area slightly elevated and separated from rest of carapace. Thoracic furrow shallow, but distinct. Clypeus unmodified. Sternum slightly wider than long (0.83/0.78). Chelicerae ( Figs 8C–D ) with pair of small proximo-lateral apophyses, pair of small distal apophyses on front-lateral surface, pair of strong, distally swollen frontal apophyses (arrows in Figs 8C–D ) provided with scales each, and pair of long, hooked frontal apophyses (distance between tips: 0.03). Pedipalps as in Figs 7A–D ; trochanter with short retrolateral apophysis and small ventral apophysis; femur with retrolateral apophysis; patella large; procursus simple proximally but complex distally, with two ventral apophyses and retrolateral spine distally (arrow in Fig. 7D ); bulb simple, no other projections except for embolus. Retrolateral trichobothria of tibia I at 7% proximally; legs with short vertical setae on tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi, without spines and curved setae; tarsus I with 7 distinct pseudosegments.

Female: Similar to male, habitus as in Figs 8G–H . Total length 2.59 (2.75 with clypeus), carapace 0.89 long, 1.14 wide, opisthosoma 1.70 long, 0.99 wide; Leg I: 32.12 (7.80 + 0.49 + 7.85 + 12.58 + 3.40), leg II: 20.60 (6.05 + 0.48 + 4.95 + 7.15 + 1.97), leg III: 15.11 (4.55 + 0.43 + 3.55 + 5.15 + 1.43), leg IV: 19.45 (5.88 + 0.41 + 4.63 + 7.25 + 1.28); tibia I L/d: 68. Distance PME-PME 0.16, diameter PME 0.15, distance PME-ALE 0.03, AME absent. Sternum slightly wider than long (0.64/0.62). Epigynum ( Fig. 8A ) brown, without pockets. Vulva ( Fig. 8B ) with slightly curved anterior arch and pair of large, nearly semicircular pore plates.

Variation: Unknown.

Natural History. The species was found on its irregular web between rocks in the entrance zone of the Palace Cave.

Distribution. Vietnam (Ninh Binh, type locality; Fig. 11 ).

Figures

FIGURE 7. Khorata palace Yao & Li sp. nov., holotype male. A–B. Pedipalp (A. Prolateral view; B. Retrolateral view); C–D. Distal part of procursus (C. Prolateral view; D. Retrolateral view, arrow points at a retrolateral spine). b = bulb, e = embolus, pr = procursus. Scale bars: 0.10 (A–B), 0.05 (C–D).

FIGURE 8. Khorata palace Yao & Li sp. nov., holotype male (C–F) and paratype female (A–B, G–H). A. Epigynum, ventral view; B. Vulva, dorsal view; C–D. Chelicerae (C. Frontal view; D. Lateral view; arrow points at strong frontal apophysis); E– H. Habitus (E, G. Dorsal view; F. Lateral view; H. Ventral view). da = distal apophysis, fa = frontal apophysis, pa = proximolateral apophysis, pp = pore plate. Scale bars: 0.10 (A–D), 0.50 (E–H).

FIGURE 11. Distribution records of new species of the genus Khorata from Vietnam. 1. Khorata bachma Yao & Li sp. nov.; 2. K. cucphuong Yao & Li sp. nov.; 3. K. vinhphuc Yao & Li sp. nov.; 4. K. palace Yao & Li sp. nov.; 5. K. quangbinh Yao & Li sp. nov.