Clubiona flammaforma Li & Liu & Li & Peng 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Li, Li-Fen
name: Liu, Ping
name: Li, Bing
name: Peng, Xian-Jin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Clubionidae
Clubiona
Clubiona flammaforma

description: Clubiona flammaforma sp. nov.
Figs 1, 2, 7
Type material. Holotype: ♁, CHINA: Hubei Province, Enshi City, Badong county, Yanduhe Town, Songziyuan Village, 31.35279°N, 110.39937°E, 1836 m, 27.IV.2016, W. Liu, T. Tian & C. Zeng leg. (HNU-HB-IV-1607). Paratypes: 1♁, same data as holotype (HNU-HB-IV-1607); 2♀, same place as holotype, 31.35067°N, 110.42625°E, 1340 m, 28.IV.2016, W. Liu et al. leg. (HNU-HB-IV-1608).
Etymology. The specific epithet is the combination of the Latin flamma (fire) and formis (form), referring to the flame-shaped RTA, adjective.
Diagnosis. Clubiona flammaforma sp. nov. resembles C. rostrata Paik, 1985 (see Zhu & Zhang 2011: fig. 266A–E) in having similar course of both embolus in male and copulatory ducts in female, but can be distinguished by: (1) the RTA trifurcate (Fig 1F) (vs. uniramous, with a ventral protuberance in C. rostrata); (2) the embolic base with a stronger dentiform process extended upwards distally in ventral view (Fig 1D) (vs. with a weak tooth extended horizontally in C. rostrata); (3) the posterior margin of epigyne recurve, without median excavation (Fig 2C) (vs. margine procurve, with oblong excavation in C. rostrata); (4) the proximal portion of copulatory ducts separated from each other and arc-shaped (Fig 2D) (vs. close to each other and straight in C. rostrata).
Description. Male (holotype) (Fig. 1A, B). Total length 3.91; carapace 1.98 long, 1.35 wide; abdomen 2.15 long, 1.12 wide. Carapace dark yellow; fovea reddish and longitudinal, cervical groove inconspicuous, radial grooves visible. Eyes: AER slightly recurved, PER slightly precurved in dorsal view. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.11, ALE 0.13, PME 0.12, PLE 0.10, AME–AME 0.04, AME–ALE 0.03, PME–PME 0.17, PME–PLE 0.10, MOQL 0.20, MOQA 0.26, MOQP 0.42. Chelicerae yellowish, with five promarginal teeth and seven retromarginal teeth. Endites and labium yellow. Sternum yellow, almost oval. Legs yellow; tibiae I and II with two pairs of ventral spines, metatarsus I and II with a pair of ventral spines. Leg measurements: I 4.04 (1.13, 1.76, 0.77, 0.45), II 4.22 (1.19, 1.77, 0.81, 0.45), III 3.59 (1.14, 1.25, 0.78, 0.42), IV 5.84 (1.91, 1.88, 1.59, 0.46). Abdomen elongate oval, dorsum yellowish white, with brown pinnate pattern posteriorly and two pairs of muscular depressions; venter yellowish white. Spinneret yellowish white.
Palp (Fig. 1C–G). Femur and patella without apophysis. Tibia as long as patella and about 1/3 length of cymbium, RTA longer than tibia, sclerotized and trifurcated, flame-shaped, ventral branch tuberculate with blunt tip, lateral branch strongest with pointed tip, dorsal branch spiniform with pointed tip. Cymbium longer than wide. Tegulum relatively flattened, longer than wide. Conductor groovelike, membranous, located distally on retrolateral side of tegulum. Embolus slender, angled across the distal end of tegulum and extended to about 2/3 length of tegulum; embolic base broad with a stronger dentiform process extended upwards distally. Sperm duct slender and twisted in ventral view.
Female (one of HNU-HB-IV-1608) (Fig. 2A–B). Total length 4.82. Carapace 2.09 long, 1.50 wide; abdomen 2.71 long, 1.58 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.13, ALE 0.14, PME 0.14, PLE 0.12, AME–AME 0.08, AME–ALE 0.06, PME–PME 0.22, PME–PLE 0.13, ALE–PLE 0.07, MOQL 0.27, MOQA 0.32, MOQP 0.47. Leg measurements: I 3.76 (1.14, 1.54, 0.70, 0.38), II 4.06 (1.26, 1.66, 0.72, 0.42), III 3.73 (1.14, 1.30, 0.90, 0.39), IV 5.77 (1.88, 1.77, 1.63, 0.49). Darker than male, patterns same as in male.
Epigyne (Fig.2C, D).With trapezoid epigynal plate.Copulatory openings united at postmedian potion of epigyne. Copulatory ducts longitudinally arc-shaped and extended upwards, then twisted into oval loops. Spermathecae with two oval chambers respectively, interior chambers smaller than lateral chambers. Fertilization ducts located anteriorly inserted on spermathecal interior chambers.
Distribution. Known only from the type locality (Fig. 7).
description: Published as part of Li, Li-Fen, Liu, Ping, Li, Bing & Peng, Xian-Jin, 2023, Two new species of the sac-spider genus Clubiona Latreille, 1804 (Araneae, Clubionidae) and the female of C. subcylindrata from China, pp. 520-530 in Zootaxa 5263 (4) on pages 521-523, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5263.4.3, http://zenodo.org/record/7835794