Vacrothele jiangkouensis 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 jiangkouensis

description: Vacrothele jiangkouensis sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 58085DAA-6B1F-47ED-AD50-3640ECBECA99
Figs 1, 5–7
Diagnosis
The new species is similar to V. emei Lin & Li, 2021 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 (Lin et al. 2021): palpal tibia with 11 short spines visible in dorsal view (vs 7 short spines on the palpal tibia). Females of Vacrothele jiangkouensis sp. nov. can be differentiated from receptacula nearly teardrop shaped (vs receptacula finger-like in V. emei).
Etymology
This new species name is derived after the type locality of the specimen.
Material examined
Holotype
CHINA • ♂; Guizhou Province, Jiangkou County, Walnut Ping; 108°47′38′′ E, 27°55′35′′ N; 700 m a.s.l.; 15 Sep. 2016; Zi-Zhong Yang, Cheng-Gong Li leg.; DUIER, Specimen No. GZ-VA-20160915001.
Paratypes
CHINA • 3 ♂♂; same data as for holotype; DUIER, Specimen No. GZ-VA-20160915002 to GZ-VA-20160915004 • 2 ♀♀; same data as for holotype; DUIER, Specimen No. GZ-VA-20160915005, GZVA-20160915006.
Description
Male (holotype, Figs 5–6)
MEASUREMENTS. Total length 12.23 (not including chelicerae and spinnerets), cephalothorax 5.91 long, 5.13 wide; abdomen 5.78 long, 4.07 wide (Fig. 5A).
PROSOMA. Carapace hirsute, brown and gray. Fovea transverse. Dorsal view of both eyes concave posteriorly. Labium basally and terminally brown; maxillae inner and outer chestnut color. Labium and maxillae with numerous cuspules; maxillae 1.77 long, cuspules area 1.26 long (Fig. 5B). Sternum chestnut color, with three pairs of sigilla (Fig. 5B).
EYES. Eyes sizes and inter-distances: AME 0.28, ALE 0.33, PME 0.18, PLE 0.20; ALE–AME 0.17, AME–AME 0.15, ALE–PLE 0.15, PLE–PME 0.08, PME–PME 0.57. Eye group 0.91 long, 1.42 wide.
CHELICERAE. Brown, with 12 stout internal teeth, 8 smaller external teeth, basomesally with 16 tiny teeth (Fig. 5D).
PALP. Palpal tibia with 1 anterolateral spine and 11 stout dorsal spines (Fig. 6A–C). Embolus conical, flared at end, embolus 5.43 long (Fig. 6D–E).
LEGS. Brown, with numerous spines. Leg I: NVTS 4; NPMS 1, and NVMS 26. NVTaS 5. Leg II: NPFS 2; NPTS 3, NVTS 7 (Fig. 5E); NDMS 1, NVMS 7; NVTaS 5. Leg III: NVFS 6; NPPS 1; NVTS 6, NRTS 2, NVMS 8, NRMS 2; NPTaS 10, NRTas 10. Leg IV: NPFS 3; NPPS 1, NRPS 1; NRTS 3, NVTS 5; NPMS 6, NRMS 8, NDMS 2; NPTaS 11, NRTaS 14. Measurement of legs: I 14.10 (3.13, 1.82, 3.83, 3.40, 1.92); II 15.01 (3.87, 1.15, 3.84, 3.86, 2.29); III 15.75 (4.39, 1.19, 3.42, 4.08, 2.67); IV 15.84 (3.98, 1.60, 4.18, 3.35, 2.73). Leg formula: 4321.
SPINNERETS. PMS grayish white; PLS, slenderness, basal, distal end white (Fig. 5C). PMS 1.43 long, 0.37 wide; PLS 6.93 long (2.34, 2.14, 2.45); PMS–PMS 1.48 (Fig. 6B).
Female (Fig. 7)
MEASUREMENTS. Total length 15.08 (not including chelicerae and spinnerets), cephalothorax length: 4.94, width: 5.06; abdomen width: 8.17, width: 5.60 (Fig. 7A).
EYES. Eyes sizes and inter-distances: AME 0.25, ALE 0.34, PME 0.30, PLE 0.32; AME–AME 0.20, ALE–AME 0.15, ALE–PLE 0.19, PME–PME 0.63, PLE–PME 0.02. Eye group 0.79 long, 1.35 wide.
CHELICERAE. Brownish, with 11 stout internal teeth, basomesally with 20 tiny teeth, with 15 smaller external teeth (Fig. 7B).
LEGS. Brown, with some spines. Leg I: NPMS 3; NVTaS 2, NRTaS 8. Leg II: NDTS 1; NVMS 10; NVTaS 12. Leg III: NVMS 4; NRTas 10. Leg IV: NVMS 4; NRTaS 8. Measurement of legs: I 11.68 (3.53, 1.27, 2.48, 2.50, 1.89); II 12.77 (3.70, 1.84, 2.44, 2.86, 1.93); III 12.91 (3.75, 1.80, 2.51, 2.96, 1.89); IV 13.28 (3.82, 1.95, 2.67, 2.79, 2.05). Leg formula: 4321.
SPERMATHECAE. Receptacula nearly teardrop shaped, copulatory ducts long, broad at base and outward bending (Fig. 7C).
SPINNERETS. PMS white; PLS, slenderness, basal, distal end white. PMS 1.68 long, 0.36 wide; PLS 7.08 long (2.01, 2.54, 2.53); PMS–PMS 1.13.
Natural history
This species primarily inhabits existing rock crevices or caves, dirt slopes, and under leaf litter along highways.
Distribution
Jiangkou County, Guizhou 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 98-100, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2025.976.2779, http://zenodo.org/record/14834010