Phrynarachne gorochovi, Omelko, 2025

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 gorochovi sp. nov.

Figs 1–4 , 5–7 , 28

Type material.

Holotype. Philippines • ♀; Luzon Isl. , Nueva Ecija Prov.; 15°39'N, 121°14'E; 370 m a. s. l.; 10–18.02.1993; A. V. Gorochov leg.; ZMMU .

Etymology.

The specific epithet is after Andrei Vasil’evich Gorochov (St-Petersburg, Russia), a Russian entomologist specializing in Polyneoptera taxonomy, who collected the holotype.

Diagnosis.

By the presence of long triangular tubercles on the lateral sides of opisthosoma, the female of the new species resembles those of P. brevis Tang & Li, 2010 from southern China. Phrynarachne gorochovi sp. nov. can be easily distinguished from this species by the median plate ( MP) of the epigyne, which has an indistinct posterior margin and lateral edges directed posteriorly (vs. posterior margin distinct, lateral edges directed anteriorly; cf. Fig. 5 and Lin et al. 2022: fig. 6 A).

Description.

Female (Figs 1–4 ). Total length 15.30. Carapace 7.37 long, 7.55 wide. Opisthosoma 7.52 long, 14.36 wide. Carapace light brown with yellow median band with dark brown irregular spots; lateral sides with dark brown radial stripes; with 2 large humps at head area (Fig. 3 ) and numerous small tubercles across its surface. Clypeus yellow with dark brown irregular spots. Chelicerae yellow with numerous dark brown irregular spots. Labium’s proximal half yellow, black distally. Endites yellow with black stripe proximally. Sternum yellow with somewhat darker edges. Dorsal part of opisthosoma yellow with numerous light brown and dark brown irregular spots. Lateral sides of opisthosoma yellow with numerous small brown spots. Ventral part of opisthosoma light yellow with some tiny light brown spots. Each side of opisthosoma with c. 19 triangular tubercles, few of them with a seta on the top. Spinnerets light brown.

Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.32, ALE 0.28, PME 0.30, PLE 0.24; AME – AME 0.96, AME – ALE 0.55, PME – PME 1.46, PME – PLE 0.80, AME – PME 0.62, ALE – PLE 0.53. Clypeus height at AME 0.77, at ALE 0.86.

Leg and palp measurements: Palp: 1.83, 1.36, 1.37, 1.86 (6.42). Leg I: 5.70, 1.92, 4.14, 3.21, 2.07 (17.04). Leg II: 7.25, 3.64, 5.36, 3.78, 2.32 (22.35). Leg III: 4.26, 2.41, 3.22, 1.93, 1.54 (13.36). Leg IV: 4.22, 2.19, 2.93, 1.84, 1.50 (12.68).

Palp coloration: Fe – Ti yellow with brown and dark brown irregular spots; Ta same dorsally, black with yellow tip ventrally. Legs coloration: Fe I dark brown with irregular yellow patches dorsally and retrolaterally, prolateral surface yellow with dark brown spots, yellow with dark brown spots ventrally; Fe II same as Fe I; Fe III – IV light brown with black and yellow spots on distal part. Pa I – II dark brown with irregular yellow patches; Pa III – IV dark brown with irregular yellow patches. Ti I – II dark brown with irregular yellow patches; Ti III – IV dark brown with irregular yellow patches. Mt I – II dark brown with irregular yellow patches; Mt III – IV dark brown with irregular yellow patches. Ta I – II yellow with thin black stripe dorsally; Ta III – IV yellow. Femora I and II with number of tubercles especially large at tibiae; tibiae I and II with large ventral spines (tibia I – 7; tibia II – 11).

Epigyne as shown in Figs 5–7 , with inconspicuous margins, width / length ratio 1. Median plate ( MP) inverted V-shaped, posterior margin indistinct and lateral edges directed posteriorly (outlined with a dashed line in Fig. 5 ); hood absent, but with shallow cavity; width / length ratio 2.3. Copulatory openings ( CO) indistinct. Receptacles ( Re) kidney-shaped, touching each other anteriorly, with smooth surface; anterior / posterior edge width ratio c. 2.5. Fertilization ducts ( FD) transverse.

Notes.

This species represents the first published record of the genus in the Philippines. However, there are four Phrynarachne observations on iNaturalist (2025): one clearly belongs to P. ceylonica , and the others likely represent undescribed species. The only Asian Phrynarachne species known exclusively from a male is P. bimaculata , whose type locality is in Myanmar – nearly 3000 km away from the collection sites of Phrynarachne gorochovi sp. nov. This large geographic gap further reduces the likelihood of conspecificity.

Distribution.

Type locality only, Philippines (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 1–4. Female habitus of Phrynarachne gorochovi sp. nov. 1. Dorsal; 2. Ventral; 3. Anterior; 4. Posterior. Scale bars: 5 mm (1, 2); 2.5 mm (3, 4).

Figures 5–7. Epigyne of Phrynarachne gorochovi sp. nov. 5. Intact, ventral; 6. Macerated, ventral; 7. Macerated, dorsal. Abbreviations: FD = fertilization duct, MP = median plate, Re = receptacle. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.