Habrocestoides tibialis (Zabka, 1985) Zabka, 1985

Peng Xian-jin & Xie Li-ping, 1995, Spiders of the genus Habrocestoides from China (Araneae: Salticidae), Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 10, pp. 57-64 : 57

Habrocestoides tibialis (Zabka, 1985) comb. nov. (Figs. 29-34)

Phintella tibialis Zabka, 1985: 430 , figs. 442-443 (♂).

Phintella tibialis: Peng et al., 1993: 161 , figs. 565-568 (♂).

Material: 4♀ 1♂ ‘, Mt. Huping, Shimen , Hunan, July 1992, leg. Peng Xian-jin & Xie Li-ping ; 4♀ 5♂ ‘, Daoxian , Hunan, 3 October 1987, leg. Gong Lian-su ; 1♀ 2♂ ‘, Daoxian , Hunan, 6-7 April 1992, leg. Gong Lian-su ; 1♀, Zhangjiajie, Dayong , Hunan, 18 October 1984, leg. Zhang Yong-jing ; 2♀, Congan, Fujian , 21 June 1986, leg. Peng Xian-jin ; 1♀, Zhangjiajie, Dayong , Hunan, August 1981, leg. Wang Jia-fu .

Diagnosis: This species is allied to H. szechwanensis , but can easily be distinguished from the latter by: (1) embolus much thinner and shorter, spine-shaped; (2) a twisted lamellar outgrowth (arrowed in Fig. 30) surrounding embolus; (3) two larger tibial apophyses (Figs. 31,32); (4) posterior plate of epigyne without a round internal structure; (5) spermatheca with two chambers (Fig. 34).

Male: TL 3.0-3.5. Specimen of TL 3.0 measured: CL 1.5, CW 1.25, AEW 1.15, PEW 1.1, EFL 0.6, AL 1.35, AW 1.05. Carapace yellowish brown, blackbrown in eye field and on posterior and lateral margins. Chelicerae and endites yellowish brown, 2 promarginal teeth, 1 retromarginal. Legs slender, yellowish brown; black brown on distal part of femur and mesal sides of patella and tibia of leg I. Abdomen oval, dorsum dark brown with white pattern (Fig. 29); ventrally yellowish white, no pattern. Palpal organ (Figs. 30-32): two large tibial apophyses; embolus spine-shaped, very short, surrounded by a twisted lamellar outgrowth; two parts of sperm duct clearly visible.

Female: TL 3.25-4.2. Specimen of TL 3.3 measured: CL 1.5, CW 1.3, AEW 1.2, PEW 1.15, EFL 0.65,

AL 1.8, AW 1.4. Carapace brown, fovea distinct; anterior four eyes equidistant, diameter of AME about twice that of ALE, ALE = PLE. Sternum oval, light brown, darker at edge. Clypeus low, light brown. Paturon with a black longitudinal stria along promargin. Endites and labium brown, distal ends with dense fine hairs. Legs light brown, with long ventral spines, lateral spines sparse; three pairs of ventral spines on tibia I, five ventral spines on tibia II, two pairs of ventral spines on metatarsi I and II. Formula: 4, 3, 1, 2. Measurements:

Abdomen oval, dorsum greyish black; one light grey arc on anterior margin, six light coloured arcs on median area of posterior half, three pairs of muscle depressions; ventrally yellow, with three obscure longitudinal black striae in median area and black inclined striae in two lateral areas. Spinnerets greyish brown. Some specimens with three prominent wide longitudinal black bands. Epigyne and vulva (Figs. 33-34): posterior plate narrow, without round internal structure; spermatheca with two chambers; spermatheca and copulatory canal widely separated from posterior plate (arrowed in Fig. 34).

Discussion." This species was first described as Phintella tibialis by Zabka based on a single male palpal organ, without body (Zabka, 1985: 430, figs. 442-443). Peng, Xie & Xiao redescribed the male in 1993 (Peng et al., 1993; 161, figs. 565-568), including a figure of the body and detailed description. Recently, while examining our collections, we found many males together with

females collected by the same collector at the same time and place (see material); both sexes have the same eye arrangements and ratios of eye sizes and length/width of cephalothorax. We therefore consider that the male and female are correctly matched, and transfer Phintella tibialis Zabka, 1985 to Habrocestoides as H. tibialis (Zabka, 1985) , new combination.

Distribution: Vietnam, China (Hunan, Fujian).