Vacrothele baiseensis Zheng, Zhao & Yang, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Zheng, Yu-Lin
name: Zhao, Yu
name: Yang, Zi-Zhong
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Macrothelidae
Vacrothele
Vacrothele baiseensis

description: Vacrothele baiseensis sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: C500F418-A5FB-4B0C-9608-DA3E6C265B65
Figs 1, 8–11
Diagnosis
The new species is similar to Vacrothele digitata (Chen, Jiang & Yang, 2020) in having the conical spines dorsally on palpal tibia and the embolus of the same shape, but males can be distinguished by the following characters (Chen et al. 2020): embolus ends uniformly dilated into a flared shape (vs embolus ending basally thinned and then dilated into a flared shape in similar species); embolus length: 4.29 (vs 6.18); PLS length: 4.96 (vs 12.15); tibia of leg II with 5 long spines (vs 9 long spines). Females of V. baiseensis sp. nov. can be differentiated from V. digitata by copulatory duct time shorter, thick wall at the base (vs thin-walled at base).
Etymology
The specific epithet refers to the type locality.
Material examined
Holotype
CHINA • ♂; Guangxi Province, Baise City, Jiangyuan Highway Station; 23°91′29′′ N, 106°64′57′′ E; 282 m a.s.l.; 4 Nov. 2023, Zi-Zhong Yang, Yu-Lin Zheng leg.; DUIER, Specimen No. GX-VA-20231104001.
Paratypes
CHINA • 2 ♂♂; same data as for holotype; DUIER, Specimen No. GX-VA-20231104002, GX-VA-20231104003; 3 ♀♀; same data as for holotype; DUIER, Specimen No. GX-VA-20231104004 to GXVA-20231104006.
Description
Male (holotype, Figs 8–9)
MEASUREMENTS. Total length 13.39 (not including chelicerae and spinnerets): cephalothorax 5.94 long, 5.23 wide; abdomen 7.40 long, 3.96 wide (Fig. 8A).
PROSOMA. Carapace dark chestnut, gray hairy. Fovea transverse. In dorsal view, both eye rows recurved. Labium and maxillae brown and with numerous cuspules; maxillae l.62 long, cuspules area 1.0 long (Fig. 8B). Sternum black, with three pairs of sigilla.
PALP. Palp tibia with 8 stout dorsal spines (Fig. 9A–D). Embolus conical, flared at end, 4.26 long (Fig. 9E–H).
EYES. Eyes sizes and inter-distances: AME 0.277, ALE 0.375, PME 0.220, PLE 0.305; ALE–AME 0.096, AME–AME 0.117, ALE–PLE 0.071, PME–PME 0.52. Eye group 0.672 long, 1.398 wide.
CHELICERAE. Black brown, with 11 stout promarginal teeth (Fig. 8D).
LEGS. Brown, with some spines. Leg I: NPTS 2, NRTS 1, NVTS 3; NPMS 3 prolateral and NVMS 9; NPTaS 3. Leg II: NPTS 2, NVTS 5 (Fig. 8E); NPMS 1, NVMS 7; NPTaS 6, NVTaS 4. Leg III: NPTS 6, NVTS 1; NVMS 4, NPMS 9; NPTaS 4, NVTaS 8. Leg IV: NPTS 3, NVTS 5, NDTS 1; NPMS 11, NDMS 3, NVMS 5; NDTaS 1, NPTaS 15. Measurement of legs: I 16.31 (4.55, 2.43, 3.30, 3.74, 2.26); II 17.16 (4.84, 2.44, 3.47, 3.79, 2.62); III 15.2 (3.35, 2.40, 3.03, 3.88, 2.54); IV 18.94 (4.08, 2.69, 4.05, 5.21, 2.91). Leg formula: 4321.
SPINNERETS. PMS grayish white; PLS slenderness, basal, distal end white; PMS 1.335 long, 0.335 wide; PLS 4.96 long (1.54, 1.63, 1.79); PMS–PMS 1.0 4 (Fig. 8C).
Female (Fig. 10)
MEASUREMENTS. Total length 17.16 (not including chelicerae and spinnerets), cephalothorax 7.3 long, 5.70 wide; abdomen 10.04 long, 6.55 wide (Fig. 10A).
EYES. Eyes sizes and inter-distances: AME 0.28, ALE 0.39, PME 0.30, PLE 0.33; AME–AME 0.18, ALE–AME 0.14, ALE–PLE 113, PME–PME 0.53. Eye group 0.758 long, 1.5 wide.
CHELICERAE. Brownish, with 11 stout internal teeth, basomesally with 20 tiny teeth, with 11 smaller external teeth (Fig. 10B).
LEGS. Brown, with numerous spines. Leg I: NPMS 4, NVMS 3; NPTaS 4 and NVTaS 3. Leg II: NVPS 2; NPTS 1; NPMS 4 and NVMS 2; NVTaS 5. Leg III: NPTS 2, NVTS 1; NVMS 5, NPMS 8, NDMS 1; NVTaS 5, NPTaS 4. Leg IV: NPTS 4, NDTS 1; NPMS 7, NDMS 3, NVMS 5; NDTaS 1. Measurement of legs: I 14.59 (3.95, 2.67, 2.98, 3.11, 1.88); II 13.78 (3.51, 2.60, 2.87, 3.10, 1.70); III 12.78 (3.20, 2.32, 2.69, 2.76, 1.81); IV 16.73 (3.71, 2.58, 3.41, 4.77, 2.26). Leg formula: 4321.
SPERMATHECAE. Receptacula nearly finger-like. Copulatory ducts broad at base, slightly curled in the middle, gradually tapering posteriorly (Fig. 10C).
SPINNERETS. PMS 1.80 long; PLS 6.09 long (2.4, 1.68, 2.01); PMS–PMS 1.375.
Natural history
This species primarily inhabits existing soil slopes and crevices in tree bark along roadways (Fig. 11).
Distribution
Baise City, Guangxi Province, China.
description: Published as part of Zheng, Yu-Lin, Zhao, Yu & Yang, Zi-Zhong, 2025, Description of three new species of genus Vacrothele (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Macrothelidae) from China with notes on two taxonomic amendments, pp. 92-107 in European Journal of Taxonomy 976 (1) on pages 100-104, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2025.976.2779, http://zenodo.org/record/14834010