Khorata qiyunshanensis Zhou 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Zhou, Guchun
name: Lu, Jian
name: Deng, Yutong
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Pholcidae
Khorata
Khorata qiyunshanensis

description: Khorata qiyunshanensis Zhou sp. nov.
Materials
Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Zhou Guchun; individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: B957B1D7-21CE-5E2B-B862-EF7D13799596; Taxon: kingdom: Animalia; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Arachnida; order: Araneae; family: Pholcidae; genus: Khorata; Location: country: China; stateProvince: Jiangxi; county: Chongyi; locality: Sishun Township, Qiyunshan National Nature Reserve, Xiangluba; verbatimElevation: 344; verbatimLatitude: 25°47′52.4″N; verbatimLongitude: 114°5′24.2″E; Event: samplingProtocol: by hand; year: 2024; month: June; day: 22; Record Level: institutionCode: JXQYS-24-43-01
Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Zhou Guchun; individualCount: 5; sex: 1 male, 4 females; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: 901112B9-04D7-526A-9DEA-31BD0FAA76E9; Taxon: kingdom: Animalia; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Arachnida; order: Araneae; family: Pholcidae; genus: Khorata; Location: country: China; stateProvince: Jiangxi; county: Chongyi; locality: Sishun Township, Qiyunshan National Nature Reserve, Xiangluba; verbatimElevation: 344; verbatimLatitude: 25°47′52.4″N; verbatimLongitude: 114°5′24.2″E; Event: samplingProtocol: by hand; year: 2024; month: June; day: 22; Record Level: institutionCode: JXQYS-24-43-02-06
Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: recordedBy: Zhou Guchun; individualCount: 1; sex: 1 females; lifeStage: adult; occurrenceID: F78B8BD2-0A51-5712-8C2A-F9FBAF0562C5; Taxon: kingdom: Animalia; phylum: Arthropoda; class: Arachnida; order: Araneae; family: Pholcidae; genus: Khorata; Location: country: China; stateProvince: Jiangxi; county: Chongyi; locality: Sishun Township, Qiyunshan National Nature Reserve, Xiangluba; verbatimElevation: 344; verbatimLatitude: 25°47′52.4″N; verbatimLongitude: 114°5′24.2″E; Event: samplingProtocol: by hand; year: 2024; month: October; day: 1; Record Level: institutionCode: JXQYS-24-82-01
Description
Male (holotype, JXQYS- 24-43 - 01): Total length 2.23 (2.46 with clypeus), carapace 0.92 long, 0.93 wide, opisthosoma 1.31 long, 0.97 wide. Leg I: 20.59 (5.18, 0.42, 5.16, 7.47, 2.36), leg II: 13.97 (3.95, 0.42, 3.39, 4.79, 1.42), leg III 10.59 (3.11, 0.37, 2.58, 3.58, 0.95), leg IV: 13.02 (3.74, 0.42, 3.23, 4.74, 0.89); tibia I L / d: 49. Eye interdistances and diameters: PME – PME 0.13, PME 0.12, PME – ALE 0.04, AME absent. Sternum width / length: 0.67 / 0.62. Habitus as in Fig. 2 E and F. Both sides of carapace greyish-brown, the middle sides pale white; 6 white eyes, black around the eyes; sternum black with long black fine hairs. Legs brownish, but pale white on distal parts of femora and tibiae. Retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia I at 27 % proximally; legs with short vertical setae on tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi, without spines or curved setae; tarsus I with 60 distinct pseudosegments. Chelicerae with pair of proximo-lateral apophyses (pa in Fig. 2 C and D), pair of distal apophyses (da in Fig. 2 C and D) on front-lateral surface middle, pair of strong frontal apophyses (cattle-horn shape, Fig. 2 C and D), inward bending hooked frontal apophyses (fa in Fig. 2 C and D; medial lower half and distance between tips: 0.05). Palp as in Fig. 3 A and B; trochanter with width retrolateral apophysis (as long as wide, arrow 1 in Fig. 3 B) and trochanter with dorsal apophysis (small, arrow 2 in Fig. 3 B); femur with retrolateral apophysis (semi-circular ring, arrow 3 in Fig. 3 B); patella large; procursus proximal slightly curved, odontoid protuberance on the lateral distally bearing scales and three small angular apophyses (arrows 1, 2 and 3 in Fig. 3 C); bulb oval shape and fawn, embolus curved long strip and back end bent downwards and becomes blunt tip, its length equal to bulb.
Female (paratype, JXQYS- 24-43 - 03): Similar to male, habitus as in Fig. 1 A and B and Fig. 2 G and H. Total length 2.35 (2.44 with clypeus), carapace 0.83 long, 0.93 wide, opisthosoma 1.52 long, 1.07 wide. Leg I: 18.32 (4.58, 0.37, 4.58, 6.37, 2.42), leg II: 11.80 (3.11, 0.32, 2.84, 4.11, 1.42), leg III 11.25 (3.05, 0.37, 2.68, 3.89, 1.26), leg IV: 12.05 (3.63, 0.37, 3.05, 4.16, 0.84); tibia I L / d: 43.5. Eye interdistances and diameters: PME – PME 0.12, PME 0.11, PME – ALE 0.02, AME absent. Sternum width / length: 0.57 / 0.64. Epigyne (Fig. 3 A) brownish and posteromedian apophysis patent defect, outer edge black long hairs, without pockets; posteromedian apophysis (ma in Fig. 2 A) long rod-shaped, its length about equal to the length of epigyne. Vulva with relief anterior arch (aa in Fig. 2 B) and concave on both sides of the middle and posteriorly pointed pore plates (semi-arc, pp in Fig. 2 B).
Variation
Tibia I in the male paratype (JXQYS- 24-43 - 02): 3.74. Tibia I in another female paratype (JXQYS- 24-43 - 04, 05, 06; JXQYS- 24-82 - 01): 4.68, 4.69, 4.47; 4.71.
Diagnosis
This species can be easily distinguished from all known congeners by combination of the following characters: (1) bulb oval shape and fawn, embolus length equal to bulb (Fig. 3 A); (2) procursus proximal slightly curved, odontoid protuberance on the lateral distally bearing scales and three small angular apophyses (Fig. 3 C); (3) chelicerae with pair of proximo-lateral apophyses (Fig. 2 C and D), pair of distal apophyses (Fig. 2 C and D) on front-lateral surface middle, pair of strong frontal apophyses (Fig. 2 C and D), inward bending hooked frontal apophyses (Fig. 2 C and D); (4) posteromedian apophysis long rod-shaped, its length about equal to the length of epigyne (Fig. 2 A); (5) vulva with relief anterior arch (Fig. 2 B) and concave on both sides of the middle and posteriorly pointed pore plates (Fig. 2 B).
Etymology
The specific name refers to the type locality, adjective.
Distribution
China (Jiangxi, type locality; Fig. 4).
Biology
The species was found in the twilight zone of an artificially excavated unnamed cave or between the cliffs of Xiangluba (netting between stones).
description: Published as part of Zhou, Guchun, Lu, Jian & Deng, Yutong, 2024, A new species of Khorata Huber, 2005 (Araneae, Pholcidae) from Jiangxi Qiyunshan National Nature Reserve, southern China, pp. e 141018 in Biodiversity Data Journal 12 on page e141018, DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.12.e141018