Phrynarachne ceylonica (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1884 )

Omelko, Mikhail M., 2025, New species and new records of Phrynarachne crab spiders (Araneae, Thomisidae) from Southeast Asia, ZooKeys 1257, pp. 55-70 : 55-70

Phrynarachne ceylonica (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1884)

Figs 14–19 , 26 , 28

Phrynarachne ceylonica : Zhu and Song 2006: 549, f. 1–5 ( ♂ ♀).

P. ceylonica : Ono 2009: 504, f. 50–55 ( ♂ ♀).

P. ceylonica : Dash and Sivaperuman 2021: 50, f. 2 a – d, 3 a – b ( ♀). 1

Material examined.

Laos • 1 ♀; Vientiane Province, environs of Nam-Lik Eco-Village ; 18°36'N, 102°24'E; 7. 07. 2017; M. M. Omelko leg.; hand-picking from vegetation; IBSS .

Diagnosis.

By the dark coloration of the prosoma and opisthosoma, combined with the white femora and patellae of the walking legs, the female of P. ceylonica resembles those of P. katoi Chikuni, 1955 and P. xuxiake Lin & Li, 2022 . It can be easily distinguished from the former by the presence of an epigynal hood (H) (vs. absent; cf. Fig. 19 and Ono 1988: fig. 23). From P. xuxiake , it differs by the width / length ratio of the median plate, which is 2.9 (vs. 2.5; cf. Fig. 17 and Lin et al. 2022: fig. 14 A).

Description.

Female (Figs 14–16 , 26 ). Total length 7.28. Carapace 3.85 long, 3.69 wide. Opisthosoma 4.22 long, 4.80 wide. Carapace brown without pattern, with yellow edges anteriorly. Clypeus labium yellow and endites yellow. Chelicerae yellow. Sternum light brown with yellow spot. Dorsal part of opisthosoma brown without pattern. Lateral sides of opisthosoma yellowish with small brown spots. Ventral part of opisthosoma brown anteriorly, black posteriorly. Each side of opisthosoma with c. 15 triangular tubercles, each with a long seta on the top. Spinnerets light brown.

Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.15, ALE 0.18, PME 0.11, PLE 0.17; AME – AME 0.32, AME – ALE 0.18, PME – PME 0.39, PME – PLE 0.36, AME – PME 0.33, ALE – PLE 0.33. Clypeus height at AME 0.31, at ALE 0.46.

Leg and palp measurements: Palp: 1.07, 0.49, 0.67, 1.09 (3.32). Leg I: 4.87, 2.10, 4.00, 2.63, 1.46 (15.06). Leg II: 5.04, 1.98, 3.69, 2.48, 1.45 (14.64). Leg III: 2.71, 1.20, 1.64, 0.96, 0.95 (7.46). Leg IV: 2.79, 1.16, 1.81, 1.12, 0.93 (7.81).

Palp coloration: Fe and Pa yellowish white; Ti light brown; Ta light brown. Legs coloration: Fe I – II yellowish white with somewhat darker dorsal side, III – IV light brown. Pa I – II yellowish white; III – IV light brown. Ti I – II black half distally, yellowish-white proximally; III – IV light brown. Mt I – II black with tiny, irregular yellow spots; III – IV light brown. Ta I – IV yellow with light brown proximal part. Femora I and II with small tubercles; tibiae I and II with very long, slightly curved ventral spines (tibia I – 16; tibia II – 16).

Epigyne as shown in Figs 17–19 , plate with M-shaped sclerotized margins, width / length ratio 1.3. Median plate ( MP) broad and transversely elongate, with smoothly concave anterior edge and slightly arched posterior edge, lateral edges widened and directed anteriorly; hood (H) bell-shaped, clearly visible; width / length ratio 2.9 Copulatory openings ( CO) distinct. Receptacles ( Re) kidney-shaped, anterior portions narrow and forward-directed, widely separated from each other anteriorly, with uneven surface; anterior / posterior edge width ratio c. 1.25. Fertilization ducts ( FD) diagonal.

Notes.

This species has the widest distribution range in Asia, extending for about 5000 kilometers from Sri Lanka in the west to Ishigaki Island ( Japan) in the east.

Distribution.

India ( Assam, Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Sri Lanka, China ( Guangxi, Yunnan), Taiwan, Japan (Iriomote-jima and Ishigaki islands), Laos (new record) (Fig. 28 ).

Figures

Figure 28. Distribution records of Phrynarachne spp. in Asia and Australasia: P. fatalis (1), P. rothschildi (2), P. ceylonica (3), P. tuberosa (4), P. decipiens (5), P. peeliana (6), P. bimaculata (7), P. papulata (8), P. brevis (9), P. lancea (10), P. aspera (11), P. dreepy (12), P. mammillata (13), P. zhengzhongi (14), P. kannegieteri (15), P. dissimilis (16), P. yunhui (17), P. katoi (18), P. coerulescens (19), P. huangshanensis (20), P. storozhenkoi sp. nov. (21), P. xuxiake (22), P. gorochovi sp. nov. (23), P. cucullata (24), P. jobiensis (25), P. tuberculata (26), P. cheesmanae (27). New species are marked with squares; new records with asterisks; dubious records with question marks.

Figures 14–19. Female habitus (14–16) and epigyne (17–19) of Phrynarachne ceylonica. 14. Dorsal; 15. Ventral; 16. Anterior; 17. Intact, ventral; 18. Macerated, ventral; 19. Macerated, dorsal. Abbreviations: CO = copulatory opening, FD = fertilization duct, H = hood, MP = median plate, Re = receptacle. Scale bars: 5 mm (14, 15); 2.5 mm (16); 0.2 mm (17–19).

Figures 26–27. Living female of Phrynarachne ceylonica (26) and P. decipiens (27) in situ.