Psechrus kunmingensis Yin, Wang & Zhang 1985
Creators: name: Bayer, Steffen
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Psechridae
Psechrus
Psechrus kunmingensis

description: Psechrus kunmingensis Yin, Wang & Zhang, 1985
Figs 60a–g, 81i, 86m –o, 89f, 92f
Psechrus kunmingensis Yin, Wang and Zhang 1985: 25, figs 5A–D (Description of ♀, illustration of ♀). [Holotype ♀ (SB 192) from CHINA: Yunnan Province: Kunming; J.F. Wang leg. 05.IV.1979; HBI; Paratypes: 2 ♀♀ (one of which SB 193), CHINA: Yunnan Province: Kunming; M. Liu leg. VII.1983; HBI, holotype and one female paratype (SB 193) examined, other paratype not available on request, thus not examined]. Song et al. 1999: 397, figs 232C–D, O–P (Illustration of ♀, illustration of ♂). Wang and Yin 2001: 334: figs 9–10 (Description of ♀, illustration of ♀).
Note on holotype female: Posterior part of median septum cut, due to vulva preparation for the study published in Yin et al. (1985).
Additional material examined. CHINA: Yunnan Province: Kunming Prefecture, Kunming – Heilongtan District, Kunming Institute of Botany, botanical gardens, N25°08'20'', E 102°44'28'', 1950 m; D. Kavanaugh & C. Griswold leg. 21.–23. IV.2000; 1 ♀ (SB 953), CAS 9032233.
Additional doubtful material examined. CHINA: Yunnan Province: Kunming Prefecture, Xi Shan, N 24°58'00'', E 102°37'30'', 2000–2300 m, forest, between rocks; P. Jäger leg. 02.IV.1999; 1 s.a. ♀ (SB 843), SMF. Xi Shan, Dragon Gate, ca. N 24°57'45'', E 102°37'30'', 2000–2400 m; P. Beron leg. 26.XII.1988; 1 s.a. ♀ (SB 1029), Deeleman Coll. in RMNH.
Revised diagnosis (see also diagnosis for sinensis -group above). Male with longer embolus (E) (even without embolus base [EB] more than half as long as width of tegulum [T]) than in the remaining species of sinensis -group and with a long, apically bifurcated apophysis on EB (Figs 86m –o). Females with complex epigyne. Median septum (MS) and lateral lobes (LL) with complex, interleaved folds. Posterior margin of MS with two lobes (Figs 60e, 89f). Vulva with infolded parts of lateral lobes partially covering the round receptacula (Figs 60b,d). Spermathecal heads (SH) arising anteriorly at spermathecae.
Description. Male: No male specimen was available for the present study. However, Ping Feng, Zi-Zhong Yang (both Dali, China) and colleagues found 6 males and 14 females of this species (partly males and females together at the same site) at Kunming (N 24°57'12'', E 102°37'59''; material deposited in DUY). Ping Feng prepared male palps and provided photos of one palp (Figs 86m –o). He and Prof. Yang kindly gave their permission to include these photos in the present work. They enable me to give a brief description of the male palp:
Copulatory organ (see also diagnosis and general description for sinensis -group). Embolus (E) distally perpendicularly curved (Fig. 86o). EB basally with broad and rounded apophysis, sperm duct with broad U-shaped course and palpal tibia short (Figs 86m, o). Cymbium dorsally with very dense scopula, covering slightly more than 1/3 of cymbium (Fig. 86n). Palpal femur ventrally modified with rounded bulge (not illustrated), similar to that of P. triangulus (Fig. 54d).
Female (measurements of holotype and paratype ♀ [SB 193] almost identical, so those of the latter are not listed; those of holotype are given first, those of ♀ SB 953 in parentheses behind; the same with leg measurements; the spinations of paratype SB 193 are given at first positions in parentheses, those of SB 953 at second positions): Body and eye measurements. Carapace length 8.7 (8.8), carapace width 6.0 (6.1), anterior width of carapace 4.1 (4.1), opisthosoma length 12.5 (12.9), opisthosoma width 8.8 (6.1). Eyes: AME 0.45 (0.41), ALE 0.49 (0.52), PME 0.48 (0.52), PLE 0.52 (0.49), AME–AME 0.21 (0.19), AME–ALE 0.03 (0.07), PME–PME 0.31 (0.28), PME–PLE 0.38 (0.44), AME–PME 0.63 (0.66), ALE–PLE 0.54 (0.54), clypeus height at AME 1.02 (1.26), clypeus height at ALE 1.00 (1.14).
Cheliceral furrow with three promarginal and five (holotype) or four (remaining ♀♀ examined) retromarginal teeth.
Measurements of palp and legs. Leg formula: 1423. Palp: 10.8 (10.9) [3.8 (3.8), 1.5 (1.5), 1.9 (2.0), 3.6 (3.6)]; Legs: I 45.6 (49.1) [12.5 (13.6), 3.7 (3.9), 12.7 (13.8), 11.4 (12.1), 5.3 (5.7)], II 36.8 (39.6) [10.2 (11.3), 3.3 (3.5), 9.6 (10.4), 9.4 (10.0), 4.3 (4.4)], III 27.4 (28.5) [8.3 (8.6), 2.6 (2.7), 6.5 (6.9), 6.9 (6.9), 3.1 (3.4)], IV 37.2 (40.0) [10.7 (11.9), 3.1 (3.1), 9.7 (10.4), 9.2 (10.0), 4.5 (4.6)].
Palpal claw with 14 [holotype] (14 [paratype SB 193], 16 [other female]) teeth.
Spination. Palp: 131 (131,131), 110 (110,110), 1101 (1101,1101), 1023 (1023,1014); legs: femur I 525{526} (526,526), II 525 (526,535), III 628 (435,535), IV 524 (423,534); patella I–IV 000; tibia I 3038 (3036,3038), II 3036 (3036,3036), III 3034 (2026,2036), IV 2035 (3026,2025); metatarsus I– II 3035 (3035,3035), III 3037 (3035,3036), IV 3036 (3035,3036).
Copulatory organ (see also diagnosis and general description of sinensis -group). Anterior border of epigynal field (EF) hard to recognise as such (Figs 60a,e, 89f), epigynal muscle sigilla (MS) and slit sense organs outside EF. Epigyne anterior to MS also quite strongly sclerotised and with long, partly curved ridges and wrikles (Figs 60a,e). Copulatory ducts similar to P. sinensis, but more strongly curved (Figs 60b,d).
Colouration of female (see also description for sinensis -group and Psechrus). Median bands on carapace slightly serrated. Lateral bands narrow to medium sized (at most diameter of PME) and serrated. Light longitudinal line ventrally on opisthosoma broken subdistally or strongly constricted subdistally and broad (Fig. 81i). If measured centrally on opisthosoma, its width is 0.7–1.2 of one half of the cribellum. Distal part (patch) broader than main section.
Variation of copulatory organs. Females: Some specimens with MS slightly broader (Fig. 89f). Copulatory ducts may be less curved and SH slightly smaller (Fig. 92f).
Remarks: Song et al. (1999) were the first to illustrate the male of Psechrus kunmingensis. Unfortunately, in that publication there was neither any information about the material examined given, nor a reason for assigning that type of male to P. kunmingensis. A comparison of the photos of the male P. kunmingensis from Kunming (Figs 86m –o) with the illustrations in Song et al. (1999) indicate that they did indeed examine P. kunmingensis.
The two subadult females (SB 843, 1029) examined in the present study could not be definitely identified as P. kunmingensis, as they were collected without additional adult material. The pre-epigyne and pre-vulva of SB 843 are shown in Figs 60f and 60g. As the localities (see above) are very close to the type locality of P. kunmingensis, it is at least possible that they belong to this species.
As the holotype female is partly damaged (see note on holotype above) I have included additional illustrations of the epigyne (Fig. 60e) and vulva (Figs 60c–d) of paratype ♀ SB 193.
Distribution. China (Fig. 96).
description: Published as part of Bayer, Steffen, 2012, The lace-sheet-weavers — a long story (Araneae: Psechridae: Psechrus), pp. 1-170 in Zootaxa 3379 (1) on pages 110-112, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3379.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6039832