Xizangiana plankton Liu & Zhang, 2024

Liu, Bo & Zhang, Feng, 2024, A new species of the genus Xizangiana Sherwood, Li & Zhang, 2022 (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) from Xizang, China, Biodiversity Data Journal 12, pp. 116569-116569 : 116569

Xizangiana plankton Liu & Zhang sp. nov.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Bo Liu; individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: 970D06DF-F671-5D97-9060-6EB2A16F2915; Taxon : scientificName: Xizangiana plankton; Location : country: China; stateProvince: Xizang; county: Renbu ; locality: Padang Town ; verbatimElevation: 3856 m; verbatimCoordinates: 30°20.56'N 119°26.03'E; decimalLatitude: 29.3137; decimalLongitude: 90.2677; Identification: identifiedBy: Bo Liu; dateIdentified: 2023; Event: year: 2023; month: 8; day: 12; Record Level: institutionID: the Museum of Hebei University; institutionCode: MHBU-ARA-2023-906- 1 Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Bo Liu; individualCount: 1; sex: female; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: F4ECB603-04DB-5BA6-B3A9-6DFD8D11C46B; Taxon : scientificName: Xizangiana plankton; Location : country: China; stateProvince: Xizang; county: Renbu ; locality: Padang Town ; verbatimElevation: 3856 m; verbatimCoordinates: 30°20.56'N 119°26.03'E; decimalLatitude: 29.3137; decimalLongitude: 90.2677; Identification: identifiedBy: Bo Liu; dateIdentified: 2023; Event: year: 2023; month: 8; day: 12; Record Level: institutionID: the Museum of Hebei University; institutionCode: MHBU-ARA-2023-906- 2 Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Bo Liu; individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: F1A51DD7-D1E0-5429-B8E5-8AEA19D46968; Taxon : scientificName: Xizangiana plankton; Location : country: China; stateProvince: Xizang; county: Renbu ; locality: Padang Town ; verbatimElevation: 3856 m; decimalLatitude: 29.3137; decimalLongitude: 90.2677; Identification : identifiedBy: Bo Liu ; dateIdentified: 2023; Event : year: 2023; month: 8; day: 12; Record Level : institutionID: the Museum of Hebei University ; institutionCode: MHBU-ARA-2023-906-3

Description

Male. Total length 3.38-3.85. Holotype: total length 3.38; carapace 1.87 long, 1.43 wide; abdomen 1.51 long, 1.16 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.06, ALE 0.10, PME 0.07, PLE 0.08; AME-AME 0.05, AME-ALE 0.01, PME-PME 0.05, PME-PLE 0.05, ALE-PLE 0.05. Leg measurements: I 5.08 (1.48, 0.65, 1.32, 0.87, 0.76), II 4.14 (1.20, 0.56, 0.94, 0.76, 0.68), III 3.72 (1.08, 0.45, 0.74, 0.82, 0.63), IV 5.95 (1.60, 0.74, 1.25, 1.51, 0.85). Cheliceral promargin with 4 teeth, retromargin with 2 (Fig. 1 B). Anterior lateral spinnerets with 4 enlarged piriform gland spigots (Fig. 3 C). Colour in alcohol (Fig. 3 A-B): carapace dark brown, legs yellow-brown. Abdomen black-grey with 2 large white markings anterolaterally, 2 small white markings medially, several chevron-like white stripes posteriorly and two longitudinal black stripes ventrally.

Palp (Figs 2 , 3 D). Femur and patella unmodified. Tibia with retrolateral apophysis, almost the length of tibia, slightly curved distally; and triangular membranous projection retro-dorsally. Cymbium pear-shaped, with length twice than width. Median apophysis twisted and wide at base, kidney-shaped in retrolateral view. Embolar radix relatively broad posteriorly. Embolar base with short, branched, distolateral projection. Embolus long and twisted, almost length of tegulum, with uneven prolateral edges and distal process.

Female. Paratype: total length 3.99; carapace 2.20 long, 1.62 wide; abdomen 1.79 long, 1.50 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.07, ALE 0.12, PME 0.08, PLE 0.09; AME-AME 0.05, AME-ALE 0.01, PME-PME 0.06, PME-PLE 0.06, ALE-PLE 0.05. Leg measurements: I 5.15 (1.46, 0.84, 1.24, 0.81, 0.80), II 4.49 (1.40, 0.68, 0.95, 0.73, 0.73), III 4.35 (1.18, 0.57, 0.74, 1.02, 0.84), IV 6.22 (1.74, 0.76, 1.21, 1.57, 0.94). Cheliceral promargin (Fig. 1 A) and colour in alcohol (Fig. 4 ) as in male.

Epigyne (Fig. 5 ). Epigynal plate elongated oval, with length/width ratio almost 6/5. Atrium almost elongate-diamond-shaped, with eight weakly-sclerotised transversal folds. Anterior fold well sclerotised. Scape long and wide, with a ratio of length to width more than 1.5, hollow inside, opening at the end. Lateral folds V-shaped, well sclerotised, approximately 4/5 width of anterior fold. Secondary spermathecae oval, small. Copulatory duct curved inwards. Primary spermathecae globular, large.

Diagnosis

Male resembles X. rigaze (Song, Zhu & Zhang, 2004) in palp structures, but can be distinguished by the relatively broad embolar base projection and posterior embolar radix; and the presence of a distal embolar process (Fig. 2 ; vs. the relatively narrow embolar base projection and posterior embolar radix; and the distal embolar process absent in X. rigaze , (see Liu et al. (2023): fig. 14; Song et al. (2004): figs. 143C-D). Female resembles X. longlin Liu & Zhang, 2023 in epigyne structures, but can be distinguished by the almost elongate-diamond-shaped atrium; the relatively broad lateral folds, approximately 4/5 width of anterior fold; and the copulatory duct curved inwards (Fig. 5 ; vs. the almost trapezoidal atrium; the relatively narrow lateral folds, with approximately 1/2 width of anterior fold; and the copulatory duct curved outwards in X. longlin , see Liu et al. (2023): fig. 17).

Etymology

The species is named after Sheldon J. Plankton, the main character in SpongeBob SquarePants, as the scape and anterior fold of epigyne of this new species resemble the body and flagellum of Plankton; noun (name) in apposition.

Distribution

China (Xizang).

Figures

Figure 1. Left chelicerae of Xizangiana plankton sp. nov. A female, retrolateral view; B male, retrolateral view.

Figure 2. Male palp of Xizangiana plankton sp. nov. A prolateral view; B ventral view; C retrolateral view. Abbreviations: E = embolus, EBP = embolar base projection, EP = embolar process, MA = median apophysis, MP = membranous projection, R = embolar radix, SD = sperm duct, ST = subtegulum, T = tegulum.

Figure 3. Xizangiana plankton sp. nov., male. A, B habitus, dorsal and ventral view; C spigots on anterior lateral spinneret; D retrolateral tibial apophysis, retrolateral view. Abbreviations: Pi = piriform gland spigots.

Figure 4. Habitus of Xizangiana plankton sp. nov., female. A dorsal view; B ventral view.

Figure 5. Epigyne of Xizangiana palnkton sp. nov. A oblique ventral view, with arrow pointing to copulatory opening; B ventral view; C dorsal view. Abbreviations: AF = anterior fold, BG = Bennett's gland, CD = copulatory duct, FD = fertilisation ducts, LF = lateral fold, PS = primary spermathecae, SC = scape, SS = secondary spermathecae, TF = transversal folds.