Otacilia khezu Lin & Chen & Wang & Li 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Lin, Yejie
name: Chen, Haifeng
name: Wang, Xihao
name: Li, Shuqiang
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Phrurolithidae
Otacilia
Otacilia khezu

description: Otacilia khezu Lin & Li sp. nov.
Materials
Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Haolin Mo and Shanmi Zheng; sex: male; occurrenceID: E52E789E-3C2D-57AD-BA5E-258D96D79029; Taxon: scientificName: Otacilia khezu sp. nov.; Location: country: China; stateProvince: Guangxi; county: Du'an Yao Autonomous County; locality: Jingsheng Town, Unnamed Cave; verbatimElevation: 610 m; decimalLatitude: 23.9732; decimalLongitude: 108.2920; Identification: identificationID: IZCAS-Ar 43962; identifiedBy: Yejie Lin; dateIdentified: 2024; Event: year: 2024; month: 2; day: 22; habitat: Cave
Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Haolin Mo and Shanmi Zheng; sex: female; occurrenceID: 7C5E8DDA-FD40-560D-81D6-33CD4E187ED5; Taxon: scientificName: Otacilia khezu sp. nov.; Location: country: China; stateProvince: Guangxi; county: Du'an Yao Autonomous County; locality: Jingsheng Town, Unnamed Cave; verbatimElevation: 610 m; decimalLatitude: 23.9732; decimalLongitude: 108.2920; Identification: identificationID: IZCAS-Ar 43963; identifiedBy: Yejie Lin; dateIdentified: 2024; Event: year: 2024; month: 2; day: 22; habitat: Cave
Description
Male (holotype). Total length 2.77; carapace 1.37 long, 1.10 wide, opisthosoma 1.43 long, 0.91 wide. Eyes absent. Chelicerae with two promarginal and two retromarginal teeth. Leg measurements: I 8.58 (2.17, 3.07, 2.14, 1.20), II 7.59 (1.91, 2.60, 1.82, 1.26), III 7.39 (1.84, 2.20, 1.94, 1.41), IV 9.54 (2.43, 2.84, 2.57, 1.70). Leg spination: I femur 5 pv, 2 d, tibia 9-9 v, metatarsus 5-5 v; II femur 3 pv, 2 d, tibia 9-9 v, metatarsus 5-5 v, III femur 1 d, IV femur 1 d.
Colouration (Fig. 4 A). Carapace pale yellow, without any pattern, cover with separated long hair. Chelicerae yellow. Endites and labium yellow. Sternum paler yellow. Legs paler yellow without any pattern. Opisthosoma oval, grey, dorsal scutum absent. Spinnerets grey.
Palp (Fig. 2 A – D). Femur distally with an inflated hump on ventral side and a retrolateral concavity, almost as long as the width of patella, with groove. Patella longer than wide. Retrolateral tibial apophysis slightly curved, slender, almost as long as bulb. Dorsal tibial apophysis short, only one fifth of retrolateral tibial apophysis, terminus needle-shaped. Cymbium 2.5 times longer than wide. Bulb oval. Sperm duct U-shaped. Tegular apophysis semicircular. Embolus spirally, curved.
Female (paratype Ar 43963). Total length 2.79; carapace 1.42 long, 1.19 wide, opisthosoma 1.43 long, 0.78 wide. Eyes absent. Chelicerae with two promarginal and two retromarginal teeth. Leg measurements: I 8.02 (2.12, 2.98, 1.86, 1.06), II 7.18 (1.87, 2.56, 1.64, 1.11), III 7.21 (1.85, 2.21, 1.81, 1.34), IV lost. Leg spination: I femur 5 pv, 2 d, tibia 10-10 v, metatarsus 5-5 v; II femur 3 pv, 2 d, tibia 9-9 v, metatarsus 5-5 v, III femur 1 d, IV absent.
Colouration (Fig. 4 B). Similar to that of male.
Epigyne (Fig. 3 A and B). Epigynal plate oval. Copulatory openings oval, separated, at the middle of the epigynal plate. Copulatory ducts slightly curved, almost as long as spermathecae, almost two times longer than connecting tubes. Connecting tubes slightly curved. Bursae large, almost oval, 1.5 times wider than long, covering nearly half of epigynal plate. Glandular appendages obvious, located at the spermathecae anteriorly. Spermathecae oval. Fertilisation duct (left) directed at 1 o’clock position from spermathecae.
Diagnosis
The new species can be distinguished from other colleagues by the absence of eyes and dorsal scutum (Fig. 4).
In male palp, this species with the spiral embolus, slender retrolateral tibial apophysis almost as long as bulb and the needle-shaped dorsal tibial apophysis (Fig. 2 A – C). The female is similar to O. allomanubrium Mu & Zhang, 2023 by the separated copulatory openings and glandular appendage directed anteriorly (see Mu and Zhang (2023), figs. 20 E, F; figs. 21 D and E). However, the female of this new species can be distinguished from O. allomanubrium by the copulatory ducts almost as long as spermathecae (Fig. 3 B) (copulatory ducts not obvious) and glandular appendage located at spermathecae (Fig. 3 B) (at connecting tube).
Etymology
The species is named after khezu; a kind of blind flying wyvern first appearing in Monster Hunter, noun in apposition.
Distribution
Known only from the type locality (Fig. 5).
description: Published as part of Lin, Yejie, Chen, Haifeng, Wang, Xihao & Li, Shuqiang, 2024, Otacilia khezu sp. nov., a new troglobitic spider (Araneae, Phrurolithidae) from Guangxi, China, pp. e 126716 in Biodiversity Data Journal 12 on page e126716, DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.12.e126716