Songthela dongta Han & Xu, 2025

Han, Shoushuo, Zhang, Yan, Li, Daiqin & Xu, Xin, 2025, Two new species of the spider genus Songthela (Mesothelae, Liphistiidae) from Hunan Province, China, ZooKeys 1241, pp. 291-300 : 291-300

Songthela dongta Han & Xu sp. nov.

Figs 1 , 2

Type material.

Holotype: China • ♂; Hunan Province, Chenzhou City, Guiyang County, Dongta Park ; 25.74°N, 112.74°E; alt. 379 m; 29 July 2023; X. Xu, Y. X. Li, Y. C. Xiong, S. S. Han leg.; XUX-2023-017 . Paratypes: China • 2 ♀♀; same data as for the holotype; XUX-2023-014 , 016 .

Diagnosis.

Male palp of S. dongta sp. nov. resembles those of S. goulouensis Yin, 2001 and S. zizhu Li, Chen, Liu, Li & Xu, 2022 , by conductor with long upper apical spine, but can be distinguished from S. goulouensis by conductor with wider base (Fig. 2 B, E vs. figs 45, 46 in Xu et al. 2015), and slightly larger terminal apophysis of tegulum (Fig. 2 F vs. fig. 46 in Xu et al. 2015); from S. zizhu by contrategulum with two rows of serrated edge (Fig. 2 A, D vs. fig. 8 a, d in Li et al. 2022), and larger marginal apophysis of tegulum (Fig. 2 G vs. fig. 8 g in Li et al. 2022). Female genitalia of S. dongta sp. nov. resemble that of S. aokoulong Li, Chen, Liu, Li & Xu, 2022 by middle genital stalks slightly tilted outward, but can be distinguished from the latter by shorter middle genital stalks and the lateral receptacular clusters far away from the base of middle receptacular clusters (Fig. 2 H – K vs. fig. 4 h – o in Li et al. 2022).

Description.

Male (holotype; Fig. 1 A ). Carapace yellowish brown; opisthosoma blackish brown, with 12 dark brown tergites attached a pair of thick bristles, the 2 nd to 6 th larger than others and the 5 th largest; sternum narrow, longer than wide; ocular area slightly raised with several pointed hairs; chelicerae robust with promargin of cheliceral groove with 10 denticles of variable size; each leg with three claws and strong setae and spines; 7 spinnerets. Measurements: BL 9.37, CL 4.44, CW 3.87, OL 4.33, OW 3.30; ALE> PLE> PME> AME; leg I 13.15 (3.77, 1.73, 2.73, 3.13, 1.79), leg II 13.65 (3.63, 1.56, 2.78, 3.49, 2.19), leg III 14.59 (3.75, 1.84, 2.61, 4.20, 2.19), leg IV 19.92 (4.78, 2.09, 3.81, 6.12, 3.12).

Palp. Paracymbium unpigmented and unsclerotised in prolateral view, with several setae and spines on the tip (Fig. 2 A ). Contrategulum with two rows of small and densely serrated edge (Fig. 2 D, G ). Tegulum with a slightly helicoid marginal apophysis, a slightly helicoid dorsal extension of terminal apophysis, and a thumb-like terminal apophysis retrolaterally (Fig. 2 C, F ). Conductor smooth with two spines, the longer spine pointed to the middle of opening of embolus, the shorter spine located in the middle portion, the base fused with embolus (Fig. 2 B – E ). Embolus largely sclerotised with a wide opening, with several longitudinal ribs reaching tip in retrolateral view (Fig. 2 E – G ).

Female ( XUX-2023-014 ). Carapace yellowish brown; opisthosoma light brown, with 12 blackish-brown tergites attached a pair of thick bristles, the 2 nd to 5 th larger than others and the 4 th largest; sternum and ocular area similar as male; chelicerae robust with promargin of cheliceral groove with 12 denticles of variable size; each leg with three claws and strong setae and spines; 7 spinnerets. Measurements: BL 13.98, CL 6.55, CW 5.55, OL 6.29, OW 5.19; ALE> PLE> PME> AME; palp 11.25 (3.92, 2.25, 2.26, 2.82), leg I 12.56 (4.04, 2.31, 2.34, 2.50, 1.37), leg II 12.33 (3.69, 2.21, 2.29, 2.63, 1.51), leg III 13.67 (3.87, 2.29, 2.45, 3.35, 1.71), leg IV 19.93 (5.61, 2.98, 3.43, 5.34, 2.57).

Female genitalia. The middle receptacular clusters large, situated on the anterior margin of the bursa copulatrix; the lateral ones small, situated on the dorsal wall of the bursa copulatrix; the middle ones with obvious stalks, tilted outward; the posterior margin of the genital area slightly arc-shaped (Fig. 2 H – K ).

Variation.

Females vary in body size. Measurements for females (N = 2) are as follows: BL 13.39–13.98, CL 5.65–6.55, CW 4.82–5.55, OL 6.29–6.63, OW 5.19–5.44.

Etymology.

The species epithet, a noun in apposition, refers to the type locality.

Distribution.

Hunan (Chenzhou), China

GenBank accession number.

XUX-2023-014 : PV 330146; XUX-2023-016 : PV 330147; XUX-2023-017 : PV 330148.

Remarks.

The maximum and mean intraspecific genetic distances of S. dongta sp. nov. are 0.15 % and 0.1 %, respectively, based on both K 2 P and p - distance. The mean interspecific genetic distance between two new species is 13.71 % (K 2 P) and 12.49 % (p - distance). Among the 28 species analyzed, the closest interspecific genetic distance is 11.42 % (K 2 P) and 10.47 % (p - distance) between S. dongta sp. nov. and S. huayanxi (Table 1 ).

Figures

Figure 1. General somatic morphology and collection localities of two new Songthela species A, C male B, D female A, B Songthela dongta sp. nov. C, D Songthela lixi sp. nov. A XUX- 2023-017 B XUX- 2023-016 C XUX- 2022-240 D XUX- 2022-244 E Map showing the type localities of the two new and 23 known Songthela species (black dots) in Hunan Province, China. Scale bar: 5 mm.

Figure 2. Male palp and female genitalia of Songthela dongta sp. nov. A, D palp, prolateral view B, E palp, ventral view C, F palp, retrolateral view G palp, distal view H, I vulva, dorsal view J, K vulva, ventral view A – G XUX- 2023-017 H, J XUX- 2023-014 I, K XUX- 2023-016. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.