Dolomedes mizhoanus Kishida, 1936

Figs 1–2, 11–24

Dolomedes mizhoanus Kishida, 1936: 120, plate X, fig. 10 (♀). Tanikawa 2003: 39 (synonymy with D. horishanus). Zhang et al. 2004: 371, figs 17–22 (♂ ♀; removal of synonymy with D. horishanus). Jäger 2007: 40, figs 18–20 (♀). Yin et al. 2012: 872, fig. 436a–f (♂ ♀).

Dolomedes mizuhoanus — Brignoli 1983: 466 (lapsus for D. mizhoanus).

Type material. Holotype ♀, TAIWAN: Mizuho, date unknown, leg. Koji Shintsuji, depository unknown, not examined (female genitalic illustrations provided in Zhang et al. 2004: figs 19–20, and Jäger 2007: figs 18–19 are diagnostic, and were used for comparison) .

Material examined. INDIA: Kerala: Malappuram, Akampadam (11°18’N, 76°12’E; 61 m a.s.l.), 15 March 2013, leg. M.S. Pradeep, resting near stream, by hand: 1♀ with egg sac (ZSI/WGRC/I R.-INV.28701) ; Tamil Nadu: Dindigul, Sirumalai Hills (10°10’58’’N, 77°58’04’’E; 1013 m a.s.l.), 15 August 2024, leg. G. Kadam, resting near small stream, by hand: 1♀ without right leg IV (ZSI/WGRC/I R.-INV.28702) .

Diagnosis. For a comparative diagnosis of the species, see Zhang et al. (2004).

Supplementary description. Female in ethanol (ZSI/WGRC/I R.-INV.28702; Figs 16–18). Carapace, clypeus pale green, the former marginally black, while the latter with black reticulate pattern (Fig. 16); thoracic striae evident, marked by black lines (Fig. 16); fovea red-brown (Fig. 16); chelicerae, endites, labium red-brown; sternum yellowish, covered with long black hairs, laterally provided with round to oval, black spots, posterior ones very small (Fig. 17); leg segments pale green to dark brown, with black patches, stripes and annulations; all coxae and femora ventrally with numerous black spots (Fig. 17); dorsum of opisthosoma black with indistinct grayish pattern (Fig. 16), sides and venter brown-black; spinnerets brownish. Fovea straight, long, longitudinal (Fig. 16). Cheliceral promargin with five teeth, two large basal, and three small apical, retromargin with four equal-sized teeth (Fig. 18). Opisthosoma oval, with distinct cardiac mark (Fig. 16). Body length 16.32. Carapace 7.04 long, 8.71 wide. Opisthosoma 9.28 long, 6.78 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: ALE 0.17, AME 0.32, PLE 0.49, PME 0.52; AME–ALE 0.13, AME–AME 0.25, AME–PME 0.28, PME–PLE 0.57, PME–PME 0.35. Clypeus height at AMEs 1.07, at ALEs 1.19. Chelicerae 4.10 long. Length of palp and legs: palp 13.68 [4.70, 2.07, 2.86, 4.05], I 38.65 [10.48, 4.83, 10.07, 9.22, 4.05], II 41.08 [11.37, 4.71, 10.30, 9.82, 4.88], III 37.09 [10.53, 4.45, 9.08, 8.62, 4.41], IV 45.09 [12.11, 4.59, 10.95, 11.69, 5.75]. Leg formula: 4213. Spination of palp: femur pld 1 do 5 rld 1, patella pld 1 do 1 rld 1, tibia pl 1 pld 1 rld 2, tarsus pl 2 pld 1 rl 1 rlv 2; legs: femora I–II pl 1 pld 4 do 3 rld 5, III pld 5 do 3 rld 5, IV pld 5 do 3 rld 3; patellae I–IV pl 1 do 1 rl 1; tibiae I–II pl 2 plv 4 do 1 rl 2 rld 1 rlv 4, III–IV pl 2 plv 3 do 1 rl 2 rld 1 rlv 4; metatarsus I pl 3 pld 1 plv 2 rld 1 rlv 3 vt 1, II pl 1 pld 3 plv 2 rl 3 rld 1 rlv 2 vt 1, III pl 3 pld 1 plv 2 rl 3 rld 1 rlv 2 vt 1, IV pl 3 pld 1 plv 2 rl 3 rld 1 rlv 3 vt 1; tarsi I–IV spineless. Genitalia (Figs 19–20, 23–24). Epigynal field slightly longer than wide, with a broad, median membranous epigynal window having a prominent convex posteromedian margin, with lateral epigynal folds, and with short, lateral lobes having rounded tips (Figs 19, 23). Copulatory openings posterolaterally positioned, slit-like (Fig. 23). Copulatory ducts long, tubular, and less sclerotised with one obliquely oriented coil (Figs 20, 24). Spermathecae long, coiled, sclerotised, and laterally oriented (Figs 20, 24). Fertilization ducts broad, flat, diverging and laterally oriented (Figs 20, 24).

Male. For description and illustrations of the male, see Zhang et al. (2004).

Measurements of the second female. Body length 16.34. Carapace 7.87 long, 8.40 wide. Opisthosoma 8.47 long, 5.69 wide.

Intraspecific variations. The prosoma of the female specimen from Kerala is overall brown in colour; in live specimen, habitus of this female has numerous white patches and spots, and dorsum opisthosoma posteriorly have four conspicuous W-shaped markings (Figs 1, 11). Its cheliceral promargin with three teeth, two large basal, and one small apical (Fig. 12). The specimen from Tamil Nadu is slightly darker in colour, and its sternum and the ventral region of all leg coxae and femora have black spots (Figs 2, 17), which are absent in the specimen from Kerala, as well as never reported in specimens described from China, Laos and Taiwan (Kishida 1936; Zhang et al. 2004; Jäger 2007). The epigynal window of the female specimen from Kerala has concave posteromedian margin (Fig. 21). The fertilization ducts of the female specimen from Tamil Nadu are larger in size (see also Jäger 2007: fig. 19), than those of the specimen from Kerala (Figs 22, 24).

Egg sac. The egg sac examined is globular, dirty gray in colour, with a diameter of 14.53 millimetres (Fig. 15).

Distribution. China (Hebei, Hunan, Guizhou, Zhejiang), Laos (Ban Keng Koung), and Taiwan ( Mizuho, now a days Ruisui). Herein recorded in India: Kerala, and Tamil Nadu (Fig. 31).