Sinothela Haupt, 2003

Xu, Xin, Liu, Fengxiang, Chen, Jian, Ono, Hirotsugu, Li, Daiqin & Kuntner, Matjaz, 2015, A genus-level taxonomic review of primitively segmented spiders (Mesothelae, Liphistiidae), ZooKeys 488, pp. 121-151 : 132-133

Taxon classification Animalia Araneae Liphistiidae

Genus Sinothela Haupt, 2003 Figures 35-39

Sinothela Haupt, 2003a, type species Heptathela sinensis Bishop & Crosby, 1932; synonymized with Songthela by Platnick, 2011; synonymized with Heptathela by Schwendinger & Ono, 2011, P. 601. Herein removed from synonymy of Heptathela .

Diagnosis.

Sinothela males differ from all other Heptathelinae genera by the conductor with a smooth surface, its proximal portion being fairly wide, and its distal portion with more than one apical spine (Figures 35-36), and by the contrategulum with large serrations (Figure 35). Sinothela females differ from all other Heptathelinae genera by two paired receptacular clusters with the median pair close to each other situated at the basal bursa copulatrix with tubular stem, lateral ones situated on dorsal side (Figure 39).

Description.

Total length (excluding chelicerae) = 13-28 mm (N = 71); male palpal conductor smooth, proximally fairly wide, distally with more than one spine tip (Figures 35-36); contrategulum with a serrated edge (Figure 35); tegulum with three apophyses (Figures 35-37); spinose paracymbium relatively short (Figures 35-37); female genitalia with two paired receptacular clusters, median pair close to each other situated at the basal bursa copulatrix with tubular stem, lateral ones situated more dorsally (Figure 39).

Species composition.

Sinothela heyangensis (Zhu & Wang, 1984), comb. n. (8♂25♀; male previously unknown), Sinothela luotianensis ( Yin et al., 2002), comb. n. (3♀), Sinothela schensiensis (Schenkel, 1953), comb. n., Sinothela sinensis (Bishop & Crosby, 1932), comb. n. (2♂9♀).

Distribution.

China north of Yangzi River (Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Shandong, Shaanxi, and Shanxi).