Acanoides cornutus Irfan, Zhang & Peng, sp. n.
Creators: name: Irfan, Muhammad
name: Zhou, Gu-Chun
name: Peng, Xian-Jin
name: Zhang, Zhi-Sheng
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Linyphiidae
Acanoides
Acanoides cornutus

description: Acanoides cornutus Irfan, Zhang & Peng, sp. n.
(ssäx刺me)
Figures 2, 3, 315
Types. Holotype ♀ (HNU–HN– IV–1767), CHINA, Hunan Prov.: Huaihua City, Huitong Co., Tuanhe Town, Diaotang Vill., Yingzuijie NNR, 26.90186°N, 109.93529°E, 390 m, 29.X.2017, G.C. Zhou et al. leg. Paratypes: 3♀, with same data as for holotype (HNU– HN– IV–1767).
Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin adjective “cornutus, -a, -um” meaning “horned” and referring to the horn-shaped spermathecae in the vulva.
Diagnosis. Acanoides cornutus sp. n. resembles A. beijingensis and A. cultellifer in having the similar ventrally folded extensible epigynal basal part, ventral and dorsal plates longer than wide in epigyne (Figs 2A– D; Sun et al. 2014, figs 2F–H; Han et al. 2015, figs 7, 8, 11, 12), but can be distinguished by its horn-shaped spermathecae in A. cornutus sp. n. (Fig. 2D; vs. U-shaped in A. beijingensis and kidney-shaped in A. cultellifer); somewhat triangular posteriorly ventral part of anterior wall in A. cornutus sp. n. (Figs 2C, 2D; vs. somewhat tongue-shaped posteriorly both in A. beijingensis and A. cultellifer); posterior median plate not covered by ventral part of anterior wall in A. cornutus sp. n. (Fig. 2D; vs. partly covered by ventral part of anterior wall both in A. beijingensis and A. cultellifer).
Description. Female (holotype, Figs 3A–B): Total length: 1.91, carapace 0.83 long, 0.67 wide, cephalic region slightly elevated, yellowish brown; fovea, cervical and radial grooves distinct. Clypeus 0.18 high. Chelicerae with four promarginal and three retromarginal teeth. Sternum longer than wide, brown. Eyes: AER recurved, PER slightly recurved and slightly wider than AER. Eye sizes and interdistances:AME 0.03, ALE 0.08, PME 0.07, PLE 0.07, AME–AME 0.03, PME–PME 0.04, AME– ALE, 0.05, PME–PLE 0.04, AME–PME 0.09, ALE–ALE 0.30, PLE–PLE 0.32 ALE–PLE 0.02. Length of legs: I 3.48 (1.06, 0.96, 0.81, 0.65), II 2.97 (0.92, 0.84, 0.68, 0.53), III 2.31 (0.69, 0.70, 0.48, 0.44), IV 3.1 (0.90, 0.92, 0.73, 0.55). Tibial spine formula: 2-2-2-2. TmI 0.46 and TmIV absent. Opisthosoma 1.21 long, 0.74 wide, oval, dorsally with distinct black pattern extending to base of spinnerets and on lateral sides; ventral side light brown.
Epigyne (Figs 2A–D): Epigynal plate two times longer than wide. Anterior wall (AW) longer than wide, narrowing posteriorly. Posterior median plate (PMP) longer than wide, tongue-shaped; epigynal cavity present. Copulatory openings (CO) situated dorso-posteriorly at the apical end of anterior wall. Spermathecae (S) touches each other.
Male. Unknown.
Distribution. Known only from the type locality (Hunan Province, Fig. 315).
description: Published as part of Irfan, Muhammad, Zhou, Gu-Chun, Peng, Xian-Jin & Zhang, Zhi-Sheng, 2025, Survey of Linyphiidae spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) from some Oriental Regions of China, pp. 1-248 in Megataxa 15 (1) on page 7, DOI: 10.11646/megataxa.15.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14985176