Home

The spider genera Araeoncus Simon, 1884 and Diplocephalus Bertkau, 1883 (Arachnida, Araneae, Linyphiidae) of China

Yanjing SONG & Shuqiang LI

en Zoosystema 32 (1) - Pages 117-137

Published on 30 March 2010

Four erigonine species are described and illustrated: Araeoncus hyalinus n. sp., Araeoncus longispineus n. sp., Diplocephalus parentalis n. sp. and Diplocephalus mirabilis Eskov, 1988. The genus Araeoncus Simon, 1884 is reported from China for the first time. The two new Araeoncus species are closely related and differ from congeners by the presence of posterior radical process and mesal tooth of male palp, as well as by the different path of copulatory ducts of vulva. Re-examination of material studied by Fei & Gao (1996) revealed that the distribution of Diplocephalus permixtus (O. P.-Cambridge, 1871) in China is due to the misidentification of this species. Diplocephalus mirabilis is unique among congeners by the presence of lamella characteristica of male palp and unciform apophyses of epigynum. Diplocephalus parentalis n. sp. differs from congeners, except Diplocephalus hispidulus Saito & Ono, 2001, by the unique shape of radix of embolic division and presence of a tuft of thick bristles at the apex of male palpal prolateral tibial apophysis, and further distinguishes from D. hispidulus by the shape of prolateral tibial apophysis and undeveloped embolic membrane of male palp, as well as by the slightly different path of copulatory ducts of vulva.


Keywords:

Arachnida, Araneae, Linyphiidae, Erigoninae, Araeoncus, Diplocephalus, China, new record, new species.

Download full article in PDF format Order a reprint