Arabelia xizang Mu & Zhang, 2022

Mu, Yannan & Zhang, Feng, 2022, First record of the genus Arabelia Bosselaers, 2009 from China, with description of one new species (Araneae, Liocranidae), Biodiversity Data Journal 10, pp. 85436-85436 : 85436

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.10.e85436
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:18F15C6E-D302-416E-B9A1-03508981B1BF
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D096F18B-8FDC-4E4E-BCE1-A6DF4931261D
taxon LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:act:D096F18B-8FDC-4E4E-BCE1-A6DF4931261D
treatment provided by	Biodiversity Data Journal by Pensoft
scientific name	Arabelia xizang Mu & Zhang, 2022
status	sp. n.

Treatment

Arabelia xizang Mu & Zhang, 2022 sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; Taxon: scientificName: Arabelia xizang; order: Araneae ; family: Liocranidae ; genus: Arabelia ; Location : country: China; stateProvince: Xizang Autonomous Region ; county: Markam ; locality: between 3351-3352 kilometres of National Highway 318 ; verbatimElevation: 3127; verbatimLatitude: 29°44'19.18"N; verbatimLongitude: 98°49'33.57"E; Event : year: 2020; month: 7; day: 21; Record Level : institutionID: the Museum of Hebei University ; institutionCode: MHBU Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: individualCount: 4; sex: female; lifeStage: adult; Taxon: scientificName: Arabelia xizang; order: Araneae ; family: Liocranidae ; genus: Arabelia ; Location : country: China; stateProvince: Xizang Autonomous Region ; county: Markam ; locality: between 3351-3352 kilometres of National Highway 318 ; verbatimElevation: 3127; verbatimLatitude: 29°44'19.18"N; verbatimLongitude: 98°49'33.57"E; Event : year: 2020; month: 7; day: 21; Record Level : institutionID: the Museum of Hebei University ; institutionCode: MHBU GoogleMaps GoogleMaps GoogleMaps GoogleMaps

Description

Male (Holotype): total length 3.76, carapace 1.57 long, 1.42 wide (CW); abdomen 2.19 long, 1.35 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.09, ALE 0.11, PME 0.08, PLE 0.09; AME-AME 0.04, AME-ALE 0.01, ALE-ALE 0.23, PME-PME 0.11, PME-PLE 0.06, PLE-PLE 0.36, ALE-PLE 0.06. Eye area 0.51 wide (EAW), cephalic region 0.78 wide (CRW), EAW/CRW 0.65. CRW/CW 0.55. MOA 0.22 long, anterior width 0.22, posterior width 0.27. Clypeal height 0.09 (CH), CH/AME 1.00. Chelicerae with three promarginal (largest at middle) and two retromarginal teeth (Fig. 3 View Figure 3 E). Labium 0.24 long, 0.27 wide. Sternum 0.97 long, 0.93 wide. Carapace nearly round, deep brown, with darker longitudinal markings either side of fovea. Fovea distinct, longitudinal. Abdomen grey, lacking dorsal scutum, covered with black hairs, two white patterns at middle part (Fig. 2 View Figure 2 A-C). Measurement and spines of legs as in Tables 1 View Table 1 , 2 View Table 2 .

Palp as in Fig. 3 View Figure 3 (A-D). Femur longer than tibia and cymbium, femoral apophysis absent, ventrally with low hump at distal part (Fig. 3 View Figure 3 A-B). Tibia shorter than cymbium (about 0.6 times). RTA thin and short, hook-shaped (Fig. 3 View Figure 3 B-D). Cymbium two times longer than wide. Bulb narrower than width of cymbium. Tegulum oval, tegular apophysis absent. Sperm duct long, tapering from retrolateral to prolateral before entering base of embolus (Fig. 3 View Figure 3 D). Embolus thin and short, directed anteriorly. Conductor membranous, originating in middle of tegulum.

Female: One paratype total length 3.95, carapace 1.36 long, 1.24 wide (CW); abdomen 2.59 long, 1.50 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.08, ALE 0.09, PME 0.06, PLE 0.08; AME-AME 0.05, AME-ALE 0.01, ALE-ALE 0.20, PME-PME 0.09, PME-PLE 0.06, PLE-PLE 0.34, ALE-PLE 0.05. Eye area 0.44 wide (EAW), cephalic region 0.61 wide (CRW), EAW/CRW 0.72. CRW/CW 0.49. MOA 0.22 long, anterior width 0.19, posterior width 0.23. Clypeal height 0.07 (CH), CH/AME 0.88. Other characters as in male, except the slightly larger body size (Fig. 2 View Figure 2 D-E). Measurement and spines of legs as in Tables 1 View Table 1 , 2 View Table 2 .

Epigyne as in Fig. 4 View Figure 4 . Epigynal plate 1.3 times wider than long. MS wide. Semicircular hood located above MS (Fig. 4 View Figure 4 A, C). Copulatory openings large, oblique, anteriorly, separated about two times MS width. Copulatory ducts short and thick. Small, globular ST2 located at middle parts, kidney-shaped ST1 posterior (Fig. 4 View Figure 4 B). Fertilisation ducts downwards, located posteriorly of spermathecae (Fig. 4 View Figure 4 B, D).

Diagnosis

This new species is similar to the type species A. pheidoleicomes Bosselaers, 2009 in having similar-shaped palp in the male, the position of copulatory openings and the presence of an anterior hood in the female. However, it can be distinguished from A. pheidoleicomes Bosselaers, 2009 by: 1) the hook-shaped RTA (vs. straight, compare Fig. 3 View Figure 3 C and Fig. 15 in Bosmans 2011); 2) the slightly curved embolus(vs. straight, compare Fig. 3 View Figure 3 D and Fig. 16 in Bosmans 2011), 3) a large, wide and sclerotised hood (vs. small, compare Fig. 4 View Figure 4 A and Fig. 7F in Bosselaers 2009) and 4) the kidney-shaped spermathecae (vs. round, compare Fig. 4 View Figure 4 B and Fig. 7E in Bosselaers 2009).

Etymology

The specific name is derived from the type locality; noun.

Distribution

Known only from the type locality (China: Xizang).

Notes

The spiders of this new species are found under stones on the side of roads (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 A). Female matured about half a month earlier than male (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 B). We collected the adult females and subadult male, the male description being based on the adult reared from the subadult.

According to Bosselaers (2009), the type species of Arabelia show clear myrmecophily, but we did not find ants or termites when collecting this new species under gravel. Moreover, there are also differences in the colour between A. pheidoleicomes and A. xizang sp. n. in the natural state and in alcohol. The former species has brown carapace, grey abdomen in the natural state and yellow carapace, white abdomen in alcohol, while the new species is black in the natural state and has brown carapace and grey abdomen in alcohol. However, due to its similar genital characters, we placed this new species in Arabelia .