Angaeus christae Benjamin, 2013

Dhiya'ulhaq, Naufal Urfi, Benjamin, Suresh P., Buchori, Damayanti, Hidayat, Purnama, Scheu, Stefan & Drescher, Jochen, 2025, Expanding the taxonomy of crab spiders (Araneae, Thomisidae) in Sumatra: a new genus, five new species, and regional records, ZooKeys 1241, pp. 205-246 : 205-246

Angaeus christae Benjamin, 2013

Figs 1 , 2

Angaeus christae Benjamin, 2013: 74, figs 3 A, B, E, 5 A – D.

Material examined.

Indonesia – Sumatra, Jambi Province • 1 ♂; Sarolangun, Air Hitam, Desa Baru ; 02°04'36.0"S, 102°46'22.4"E; elev. 54 m; 27 Jun. 2013; J. Drescher leg.; canopy fogging in rubber plantation; GOET 2013_BR 4.1_AraThom 025 N_001 (to be transferred to MZB) .

Diagnosis.

Distinguished from all other congeners by the lack of MA in males (Figs 1 D – F , 2 ), and the kidney-shaped spermatheca in females ( Benjamin 2013: fig. 5 C, D).

Description.

Male (2013_BR 4.1_AraThom 025 N_001; Figs 1 , 2 ). Total length 6.70. Carapace length 2.89; width 2.70. Abdomen length 3.81; width 2.25. Diameter of eyes: AME 0.08; ALE 0.17; PLE 0.13; PME 0.10. Interdistances between eyes: AME – AME 0.15; AME – ALE 0.08; ALE – ALE 0.44; PME – PME 0.24; PME – PLE 0.23; ALE – PLE 0.19; AME – PME 0.27; PLE – PLE 0.89. Leg measurements: leg I 9.10 (2.94, 1.19, 2.52, 1.62, 0.83); leg II 8.60 (2.84, 1.02, 2.35, 1.55, 0.84); leg III 4.26 (1.43, 0.56, 1.08, 0.67, 0.52); leg IV 4.62 (1.64, 0.54, 1.17, 0.77, 0.50). Carapace pear-shaped, dark reddish brown; AER recurved; PER recurved. Abdomen oval, yellow with streaks of red; cardiac mark drab yellow. Front legs much thicker than back legs, dark reddish brown with dark blotches; back legs lighter. Palp (Figs 1 D – F , 2 ): cymbium 1.5 × length of tibia. Conductor curved, forming a sheath for the embolus. Embolus claw-shaped with a thick base. RTA short and stout, roughly triangular.

Distribution.

Indonesia (Sumatra: Jambi Province, new record); Malaysia (Borneo) Fig. 29 .

Remarks.

Given the lack of MA and the oval abdomen shape of the males (rhomboid in females and all other congeners), it is possible that this species should belong in a different genus and that the female paratype described in Benjamin (2013) is in fact not conspecific with the holotype male. However, due to the lack of additional specimens, we refrain from making any taxonomic changes.

Figures

Figure 1. Angaeus christae Benjamin, 2013, male (2013 _ BR 4.1 _ AraThom 025 N _ 001) A, B habitus A dorsal view B ventral view C eye region, frontal view D – F left Palp D prolateral view E ventral view F retrolateral view. Scale bars: 1 mm (A, B); 0.5 mm (C); 0.2 mm (D – F).

Figure 2. Angaeus christae Benjamin, 2013, male (2013 _ BR 4.1 _ AraThom 025 N _ 001) A, B left Palp A ventral view B tibia, retrolateral view. Abbreviations: C = conductor; E = embolus; RTA = retrolateral tibial apophysis. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

Figure 29. Distribution of examined Thomisidae species from the Epidius clade (sensu Benjamin, 2011) prior to the present study, as well as the sampling location of the current study in Jambi Province, Sumatra, Indonesia (green flag). The new genus and the five new species described in the present study are all from the same study location, i. e., a replicated plot design across lowland rainforest, ‘ jungle rubber’ (rubber agroforestry), and smallholder monoculture plantations of rubber and oil palm in Jambi’s lowlands (Drescher et al. 2016).