Vacrothele Tang & Wu & Zhao & Yang 2022, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Tang, Ya-Ni
name: Wu, Ya-Ying
name: Zhao, Yu
name: Yang, Zi-Zhong
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Macrothelidae
Vacrothele

description: Genus Vacrothele gen. nov.
Chinese name: (ffiǖAM)
Type species: Macrothele hunanica (Zhu & Song, 2000) comb. nov., by original designation.
Etymology: The scientific name is a combination of letters inspired by Macrothele; the gender is feminine.
Diagnosis: All species have the common characteristics of Macrothelidae, such as fovea transverse; labium and maxillae provided with numerous cuspules; sternum with three pairs of sigilla. In Macrothele, some species such as M. gigas Shimojana &Haupt, 1998, M. guizhouensis Hu & Li, 1986, M. monocirculata Xu & Yin, 2000, M. raveni Zhu, Li & Song, 2000 have lateral paddle spines of basal palp coxa absent in all species of Vacrothele. Males can be easily distinguished from males of Macrothele by the possession of a trumpet-shape end of the embolus (Fig. 3G, 6H, 9H, 11H, 13H), palp tibia with stout dorsal spines (Fig. 3J–L, 6J–L, 9J–L, 11J–L, 13J–L), whereas in Macrothele, the terminal of the embolus is aciform, palp tibia with longer but no stout spines and arrangement of spines is not so regular. Additionally, in Vacrothele, male tibia II usually with 5-9 thick long ventral spines on the middle, arrangement regular (Fig. 17). Females differ from those of Macrothele by copulatory aperture is wide at base, tapering gradually from base to distal end (Fig. 18). PMS white; PLS slenderness, basal, distal end white (Fig. 3C, 4C, 6I, 7D, 9I, 10E, 11D, 12B, 13B, 14C).
Description: Male. Small. Carapace dark chestnut, smooth. Fovea transverse. Both eye rows recurved. Chelicerae light black with 12 stout promarginal teeth plus three small teeth (Fig. 16A). Palp tibia incrassate, with 10 stout dorsal spines (Fig. 3J–L), embolus thick and long, tapering from base to end (Fig. 3D–F), end trumpet-shaped (Fig. 3G); labium and maxillae chestnut with numerous cuspules (Fig. 3I). Sternum with three pairs of sigilla (Fig. 3H). Legs: coxa, trochanter, femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus chestnut, tarsus brown; no lyra spines on palp coxa. Leg II tibia with five thick long ventral spines (Fig. 17A); STC with curved row of long teeth; ITC curved (Fig. 3B); spinnerets terminal segment of posterior laterals white (Fig. 3C).
Female: Carapace dark chestnut, smooth. Fovea transverse. Both eye rows recurved. Chelicerae black; labium, maxillae, light brown with numerous cuspules (Fig. 4D). Sternum with three pairs of sigilla (Fig. 4E). Legs coxa, trochanter, femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus chestnut, tarsus brown. STC with curved row of long teeth; ITC curved, with few fine teeth (Fig. 4B). Copulatory aperture wide at base, tapering gradually from base to distal end, spermathecae finger shaped (Fig. 18A). Spinneret base and terminal segments white (Fig. 4C).
Composition: This new genus includes two new species: V. pseudohunanica sp. nov., V. uncata sp. nov. and three new transfers from Macrothele: V. hunanica (Zhu & Song, 2000) comb. nov., V. digitata (Chen & Jiang, 2020) comb. nov., V. palpator (Pocock, 1901) comb. nov..
Distribution: China (Anhui, Guangxi, Chongqing, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan, Yunnan).
description: Published as part of Tang, Ya-Ni, Wu, Ya-Ying, Zhao, Yu & Yang, Zi-Zhong, 2022, Description of a new genus and two new species of the funnel-web mygalomorph (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Macrothelidae) from China with notes on taxonomic amendments, pp. 513-535 in Zootaxa 5125 (5) on page 515, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5125.5.3, http://zenodo.org/record/6457317