Lysiteles distortus Tang, Yin, Peng, Ubick & Griswold, 2008, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Tang, Guo
name: Yin, Chang-Ming
name: Peng, Xian-Jin
name: Ubick, Darrell
name: Griswold, Charles
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2008
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Thomisidae
Lysiteles
Lysiteles distortus

description: Lysiteles distortus sp. nov.
Figs 8 a–e, 22
Type material: Holotype: male, CHINA, Yunnan Province, Longling County, Zhen’an Township, Bangbie Village [N24.81333°, E98.83280°], 1545–1560 m, 24 May 2005, Charles Griswold (HNU-CGY11801).
Paratypes: 2 ɗ, same data as holotype (HNU-CGY11801). Tengchong County: 2 ɗ, Wuhe Township, Tongjiazhuang Village, Longchuanjiang River [24.89284ºN, 98.67439ºE], 1210 m, 24 May 2005, Heng-Mei Yan and Ke-Ji Guo (CAS-GKJ02007).
Etymology. The specific name comes from the Latin distortus, meaning twisted and referring to the shape of the base of the embolus, adjective.
Diagnosis. The species is similar to L. torsivus Zhang, Zhu & Tso, 2006 (Figs 18) in general appearance, but can be separated from the latter by: the embolus much longer and slender, twisted in anticlockwise (thick and twisted in clockwise in L. torsivus); embolus originated at the position of 9:00 o’clock versus 12 o’clock in L. torsivus; RTA almost as long as VTA in ventral view versus almost two times longer than VTA in L. torsivus.
Description. Male (holotype): Total length 3.15. Prosoma 1.55 long; 1.43 wide; opisthosoma 1.81 long, 1.52 wide. Dorsal shield of prosoma brown, with a large “n”-shaped black marking. Ocular area black, eye sizes and interdistances: ALE 0.20, PLE 0.14, AME 0.09, PME 0.06, AME-AME 0.18, AME-ALE 0.18, PME-PME 0.27, PME-PLE 0.32; MOA 0.29 long, front width 0.38, back width 0.40. Sternum yellow, cordiform. Chelicerae, labium and gnathocoxae blackish brown. Legs yellow, distal parts of tarsi blackish brown. Leg measurements: I: 5.60 (1.70, 1.80, 1.20, 0.90), II: 6.00 (1.80, 1.90, 1.30, 1.00), III: 4.00 (1.30, 1.40, 0.70, 0.60), IV: 4.30 (1.40, 1.50, 0.80, 0.60); formula 2, 1, 4, 3. Legs with short spines, femora I with 3 prolateral spines, femora I–IV with 4 dorsal spines, tibiae and metatarsi I, II with 2 pairs of ventral spines, tibiae and metatarsi III, IV with 1 pair of ventral spines. Opisthosoma dorsum brown; anteriorly with 3 small white medial spots and a pair of longitudinal grayish black bilateral markings; posteriorly with 2 pairs of transverse black stripes; laterally with some black lines; venter grayish yellow.
Palp (Figs 8 b–e). VTA apically curved; RTA stout with many black denticles, each denticle with a short hair, RTA with 2 sharp apophyses; cymbium wide; embolus slender, the base twisted.
Female: unknown.
Variation. Total length: males 2.50–3.30 (n = 5). Two specimens with three pairs of black transverse stripes on opisthosoma dorsum posteriorly.
Distribution. China (recorded from Longling and Tengchong Counties of Yunnan Province).
description: Published as part of Tang, Guo, Yin, Chang-Ming, Peng, Xian-Jin, Ubick, Darrell & Griswold, Charles, 2008, The crab spiders of the genus Lysiteles from Yunnan Province, China (Araneae: Thomisidae), pp. 1-41 in Zootaxa 1742 on pages 17-18, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.181540