Oedothorax fortis 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
Oedothorax
Oedothorax fortis

description: Oedothorax fortis Irfan, Zhang & Peng, sp. n.
(ĕūsbe)
Figures 165–168, 315
Types. Holotype ♂ (HNU–HNHS–18–08), CHINA, Hunan Prov.: Hengyang City, Nanyue District, Nanyue Town, Huangzhu Vill., 27.262258°N, 112.73683°E, 160 m, 18.I.2018, G.C. Zhou & L.Y. Wang leg. Paratypes: 3♂ 7♀, with same data as for holotype (HNU–HNHS– 18–08); 1♀, Liuyang City, Mudu Vill., Daweishan NFP, 28.42459°N, 114.09753°E, 1212 m, 13.I.2018, G.C. Zhou et al. leg. (HNU–HNDWS–18–01); 2♀, Liuyang City, Mudu Vill., Daweishan NFP, 28.43567°N, 114.03376°E, 286 m, 14.I.2018, G.C. Zhou et al. leg. (HNU–HNDWS– 18–04); 1♂ 3♀, Liuyang City, Mudu Vill., Daweishan NFP, 28.43388°N, 114.03376°E, 379 m, 14.I.2018, G.C. Zhou et al. leg. (HNU–HNDWS–18–05); 1♂ 1♀, Liuyang City, Liuyang City, Daweishan Town, Zhongduan Vill., 28.45404°N, 113.96450°E, 193 m, 14.I.2018, G.C. Zhou et al. leg. (HNU–HNDWS–18–06).
Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin adjective “fortis, -e” meaning “stout” and referring to embolus being stout.
Diagnosis. The male of Oedothorax fortis sp. n. resembles that of O. unciger Tanasevitch, 2020 in having the similar embolic division, protegulum and distal arm tip of paracymbium slightly curved (Figs 165A–D, 166A, B; Tanasevitch 2020, figs 7–12), but can be distinguished by the dorsal tibial apophysis longer than wide, tip curved with blunt end in O. fortis sp. n. (Fig. 165A, B, D; vs. distal end faintly bifid apically); embolus large, knife-shaped in O. fortis sp. n. (Fig. 166A, B; vs. small, bent near middle). The female of Oedothorax fortis sp. n. can be distinguished from all other congeners by the ventral plate tapering posteriorly and dorsal plate trapezoid (Figs 167A, B).
Description. Male (holotype, Figs 168A–C): Total length: 1.70. Carapace 0.77 long, 0.58 wide, yellowish brown, cephalic region strongly elevated, with cephalic pits, fovea, cervical and radial grooves distinct. Clypeus 0.19 high. Chelicerae with four promarginal and five retromarginal teeth. Sternum shield-like, yellow with microsetae. Eyes: AER recurved, PER procurved, slightly wider than AER. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.03, ALE 0.05, PME 0.04, PLE 0.05 AME–AME 0.01, PME–PME 0.11, AME–ALE, 0.05, PME–PLE 0.06, AME–PME 0.13, ALE–ALE 0.23, PLE–PLE 0.25, ALE– PLE contiguous. Length of legs: I 1.88 (0.56, 0.66, 0.34, 0.32), II 1.72 (0.50, 0.60, 0.33, 0.29), III 1.45 (0.43, 0.49, 0.27, 0.26), IV 1.89 (0.59, 0.66, 0.36, 0.28). TmI 0.62 and TmIV 0.61. Tibial spine formula: 2-2-1-1. Opisthosoma 0.93 long, 0.66 wide, oval, dusky grey.
Palp (Figs 165A–D, 166A, B): Femur unmodified, as long as both patella and tibia. Patella as long as tibia, ventrally grooved. Tibia conical, wider at distal end, with one retrolateral and one dorsal trichobothria, dorsal tibial apophysis (DTA) longer than wide, tip slightly curved; cymbium unmodified, globular in dorsal view; paracymbium (PC) J-shaped, distal arm tip hook-shaped with blunt end, outer margin of basal part with five spines; tegulum (T) almost round, protegulum (PT) distinctly developed, membranous, almost completely covering the embolic division in retrolateral view; distal suprategular apophysis (DSA) with a small projection distally, sclerotized, apical end membranous. Radix (R) longer than wide, with round margin. Embolic membrane (EM) barely visible on undissected palp, with serrated end. Embolus (E) sclerotized, knife-shaped in prolateral view.
Female (paratype, Figs 168D, E): Total length: 1.71. Carapace 0.71 long, 0.53 wide, yellowish brown, cephalic region slightly elevated fovea, cervical and radial grooves distinct. Clypeus 0.13 high. Chelicerae with four promarginal and four retromarginal teeth. Sternum longer than wide, yellowish with grey patches and microsetae. Eyes: AER recurved, PER procurved, slightly wider than AER. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.03, ALE 0.06, PME 0.04, PLE 0.04, AME–AME 0.01, PME–PME 0.05, AME–ALE, 0.02, PME–PLE 0.04, AME–PME 0.07, ALE–ALE 0.21, PLE–PLE 0.23, ALE–PLE contiguous. Length of legs: I 1.74 (0.53, 0.61, 0.31, 0.29), II 1.59 (0.49, 0.53, 0.29, 0.28), III 1.43 (0.42, 0.48, 0.27, 0.26), IV 1.84 (0.56, 0.66, 0.35, 0.27). TmI 0.65 and TmIV 0.61. Tibial spine formula: 2-2-1-1. Opisthosoma 1 long, 0.74 wide, oval, dusky grey, with irregular light patches, ventral side with one pair of longitudinal light grey band.
Epigyne (Figs 167A–D): Ventral plate (VP) sclerotized, posterior margin narrow, beaked-shaped, prominent in lateral view; dorsal plate (DP) not covered by ventral plate, posterior margin round; copulatory opening (CO) arched, present at the junction of dorsal and ventral plate; copulatory ducts (CD) simple, fused at the beginning; spermathecae (S) globular, present dorsolaterally; fertilization ducts (FD) short, extending mesally.
Distribution. Known only from the type localities (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 pages 125-128, DOI: 10.11646/megataxa.15.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14985176