Platnickina yoshidai Hu & Liu, 2025

Huang, Guolong, Liu, Jie & Hu, Changhao, 2025, Taxonomic notes of the cobweb spider genus Platnickina Koçak & Kemal, 2008 (Araneae, Theridiidae, Theridiinae), with descriptions of two new species from southern China, ZooKeys 1250, pp. 135-154 : 135-154

Platnickina yoshidai Hu & Liu sp. nov.

Figs 10 , 11 , 12

Type material.

Holotype male ( PWFJ 2024015 ): China – Fujian Province • Fuzhou City, Jin’an District, Qingyangzuo ; 26.0861°N, 119.4012°E; elev. 672 m; 19 July 2024; Chao Liu, Hailun Chen, Jingwei Kang and Yunhe Wang leg.

Etymology.

This species is named after the late Japanese arachnologist Dr Hajime Yoshida, who made many important contributions to the taxonomy of theridiid spiders; noun in genitive case.

Diagnosis.

The male of Platnickina yoshidai Hu & Liu , sp. nov. is similar to P. adamsoni (Berland, 1934) in having a pointed and retrolaterally elongate tegular apophysis, and a membranous retrolateral margin of the embolic base (cf. Fig. 10 A – E and figs 59–61 in Ono 2011, fig. 5 in Suzuki and Nakama 2021) but can be distinguished from the latter by the shorter embolus, not coiled at the tip (vs longer, tip with horizontal coiling).

Description.

Male: total length 1.90; carapace length 0.96, width 0.82; opisthosoma length 1.01, width 0.80; eye diameters: AME 0.11, ALE 0.07, PME 0.08, PLE 0.08; eye interdistances: AME – AME 0.10, ALE – AME 0.03, PME – PME 0.06, PLE – PME 0.09, AME – PME 0.08, ALE – PLE 0.00; leg measurements: I 5.08 (1.59, 0.32, 1.52, 1.21, 0.44), II 4.03 (1.25, 0.29, 1.12, 0.95, 0.42), III 2.82 (0.91, 0.23, 0.59, 0.74, 0.35), IV 2.87 (0.90, 0.31, 0.58, 0.72, 0.36). Leg formula 1243. Chelicerae with one promarginal tooth, without retromarginal tooth (Fig. 4 F ).

Palp (Fig. 10 A – E ): tibia almost half length of cymbium. Subtegulum with narrow prolateral part and wide retrolateral part. Tegulum small. Median apophysis narrow. Tegular apophysis thin and pointed, elongate retrolaterally. Conductor membranous, with slightly sclerotized distal part pointing ventrally. Embolus curving clockwise, embolic base with broad membranous retrolateral margin, embolic tip pointing ventrally.

Colouration (Fig. 11 ): carapace yellow, with black median furrow and lateral margins. Sternum yellow, with black margins and a black longitudinal line. Chelicerae, endites, and labium brown. Legs yellow, with black markings. Opisthosoma yellow; dorsum with white and black spots, and black flecks; venter laterally with black lines. Spinnerets light brown.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution.

Known only from type locality ( China, Hubei Province) (Fig. 12 ).

Figures

Figure 4. Platnickina obscuratum (Zhu, 1998), comb. nov. A. Left male palp, prolateral view; B. Same, ventral view; C. Same, retrolateral view; D. Same, expanded, prolateral view. Abbreviations: C = conductor; E = embolus; MA = median apophysis; ST = subtegulum; T = tegulum; TA = tegular apophysis. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

Figure 10. Platnickina yoshidai Hu & Liu, sp. nov. A. Left male palp, prolateral view; B. Same, ventral view; C. Same, retrolateral view; D. Same, expanded, prolateral view, arrow points to the pit on tegulum; E. Same; F. Right male chelicera, retrolateral view, arrow points to the promarginal tooth. Abbreviations: C = conductor; E = embolus; MA = median apophysis; ST = subtegulum; T = tegulum; TA = tegular apophysis. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

Figure 11. Male habitus of Platnickina yoshidai Hu & Liu, sp. nov. A. Dorsal view; B. Ventral view; C. Lateral view. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

Figure 12. Type localities of the two new Platnickina species from southern China. 1 P. submaculata Hu & Liu, sp. nov. 2 P. yoshidai Hu & Liu, sp. nov.