One new species of the genus Belisana Thorell, 1898 (Araneae, Pholcidae) from northern Vietnam

Dinh-Sac Pham

doi:10.3897/zookeys.480.9046

Research Article

One new species of the genus Belisana Thorell, 1898 (Araneae, Pholcidae) from northern Vietnam

Dinh-Sac Pham^‡

‡ Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

Corresponding author: Dinh-Sac Pham ( phamdinhsac@gmail.com )

Academic editor: Shuqiang Li

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Pham D-S (2015) One new species of the genus Belisana Thorell, 1898 (Araneae, Pholcidae) from northern Vietnam. ZooKeys 480: 41-47. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.480.9046

ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F1DE2C0F-1C90-468E-856B-4A0BCEC56A07

Abstract

One new species Belisana denticulata sp. n. (♂) is reported from northern Vietnam based on material collected by fogging the forest canopy. This species resembles B. scharffi Huber, 2005, but can be distinguished by relatively long distance between proximal parts of proximo-lateral apophysis and distal apophysis on male chelicerae, by presence of a nearly saddle-shaped prolateral sclerite on procursus, and by different shape of retrolateral membranous flap on procursus. Type specimens are deposited in the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology in Hanoi.

Keywords

Taxonomy, pholcid, Southeast Asia, fogging, canopy

Introduction

Belisana Thorell, 1898, the second largest genus in Pholcidae C.L. Koch, 1850, includes 110 species (World Spider Catalog 2014, Yao et al. 2015). The genus is highly diverse in Southeast Asia, including 14 species reported from Vietnam. They are: Belisana babensis Yao, Pham & Li, 2015, B. cheni Yao, Pham & Li, 2015, B. clavata Yao, Pham & Li, 2015, B. curva Yao, Pham & Li, 2015, B. decora Yao, Pham & Li, 2015, B. halongensis Yao, Pham & Li, 2015, B. limpida (Simon, 1909), B. phungae Yao, Pham & Li, 2015, B. schwendingeri Huber, 2005, B. sepaku Huber, 2005, B. pisinna Yao, Pham & Li, 2015, B. triangula Yao, Pham & Li, 2015, B. vietnamensis Yao, Pham & Li, 2015, B. zhengi Yao, Pham & Li, 2015.

During examination of the spider material collected by fogging in Tam Dao National Park, a new species of the genus Belisana was founded. In the current paper, description of the new species is provided; the detailed structure of pedipalp is photographed and illustrated.

Material and methods

Specimens were examined and measured with a Leica M205 C stereomicroscope. Details were studied with an Olympus BX51 compound microscope. Illustrations were made using a camera lucida attached to the Olympus BX51 microscope, and inked using an ink jet plotter. Male copulatory organs were examined and illustrated after they were dissected from the spiders. Type specimens were preserved in 75% ethanol solution. Photographs were taken with an Olympus C7070 wide zoom digital camera (7.1 megapixels) mounted on a Leica M205 C stereomicroscope. The images were assembled using Helicon Focus 3.10 image stacking software. All measurements are given in millimeters. Leg measurements are shown as: Total length (femur + patella + tibia + metatarsus + tarsus). Leg segments were measured on their dorsal side. Distribution map was generated with ArcView GIS 3.2. Terminology and taxonomic descriptions follow Huber (2000). Type specimens are deposited in the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The following abbreviations are used in the description: ALE = anterior lateral eye, AME = anterior median eye, PME = posterior median eye, L/d = length/diameter.

Taxonomy

Genus Belisana Thorell, 1898

Type species

Belisana tauricornis Thorell, 1898

Belisana denticulata sp. n.

http://zoobank.org/D82D1866-428A-4F07-B1F9-43E1BD589AC9

Figs 1, 2, 3, 4

Type material

Holotype: ♂, fogging, natural forest (21°31.501'N, 105°33.434'E, elevation 1060 m), Tam Dao National Park, Vinh Phuc, Vietnam, 26 July 2008, D.S. Pham leg. Paratype: 1 ♂, same data but disturbed forest (21°28.337'N, 105°38.094'E, elevation 1007 m).

Etymology

The specific name is derived from the Latin denticulatus (with small teeth), in reference to the small teeth on the prolateral sclerite of the distal procursus; adjective.

Diagnosis

This species resembles B. scharffi Huber, 2005 (see Huber 2005: 20, figs 9–10, 65, 136–153), but can be distinguished by relatively long distance between proximal parts of proximo-lateral apophysis and distal apophysis on male chelicerae (Figs 2B, 3C), by presence of a nearly saddle-shaped prolateral sclerite on procursus (arrows in Figs 1A, C, 3A), and by different shape of retrolateral membranous flap on procursus (Fig. 3B).

Figure 1.

Belisana denticulata sp. n., holotype male. A–B Pedipalp (A Prolateral view, arrow points at nearly saddle-shaped sclerite B Retrolateral view) C–D Distal part of procursus (C Prolateral view, arrow points at nearly saddle-shaped sclerite D Retrolateral view). b = bulb, ba = bulbal apophysis, e = embolus, pr = procursus.

Figure 2.

Belisana denticulata sp. n., holotype (B–E) and paratype (A) males. A Bulb, prolateral view B Chelicerae, frontal view C–E Habitus (C Dorsal view D Ventral view E Lateral view). b = bulb, ba = bulbal apophysis, da = distal apophysis, e = embolus, pa = proximo-lateral apophysis.

Figure 3.

Belisana denticulata sp. n., holotype (A–C) and paratype (D) males. A–B Pedipalp (A Prolateral view, arrow points at nearly saddle-shaped sclerite B Retrolateral view) C Chelicerae, frontal view D Bulb, prolateral view. b = bulb, ba = bulbal apophysis, e = embolus, f = membranous flap, pr = procursus.

Description

Male (holotype): Total length 1.97 (2.09 with clypeus), prosoma 0.74 long, 0.80 wide, opisthosoma 1.23 long, 0.84 wide. Leg I: – (3.72 + 0.36 + – + – + –), leg II: 10.78 (2.95 + 0.34 + 2.62 + 3.89 + 0.98), leg III: 6.96 (1.87 + 0.30 + 1.72 + 2.41 + 0.66), leg IV: 9.22 (2.60 + 0.31 + 2.34 + 3.25 + 0.72). Habitus as in Fig. 2C–E. Dorsal shield of prosoma yellowish, with brown lateral margins; sternum yellowish, without marks. Legs yellowish, without darker rings. Opisthosoma yellowish, without spots. Distance PME-PME 0.21, diameter PME 0.09, distance PME-ALE 0.02, AME absent. Ocular area not elevated. Thoracic furrow absent. Clypeus unmodified. Sternum wider than long (0.61/0.57). Chelicerae (Figs 2B, 3C) with a pair of thumb-shaped proximo-lateral apophyses and a pair of long, curved distal apophyses (distance between tips: 0.42). Pedipalps as in Figs 1A–B, 3A–B; trochanter with a short retrolatero-ventral apophysis; femur with a small dorsal apophysis; procursus simple proximally but complex distally, with a prolateral sclerite provided with small teeth, a small membranous flap retrolaterally and a curved spine; bulb with a hooked apophysis and a simple embolus. Legs with short vertical hairs on metatarsi, without spines and curved hairs.

Variation. In another male: Tibia I: 3.37; tibia I L/d: 45. Retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia I at 13% proximally; tarsus I with about 12 distinct pseudosegments.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution

Known from two nearby localities in Tam Dao National Park (Fig. 4).

Figure 4.

Distribution records of Belisana denticulata sp. n. from northern Vietnam.

Acknowledgments

The manuscript benefited greatly from comments by Zhiyuan Yao (Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences) and Feng Zhang (Hebei University, Baoding). This study was supported by the NAFOSTED grant (code 106.12.2010.18 from the M.O.S.T. of Vietnam).

References

Huber BA (2000) New World pholcid spiders (Araneae: Pholcidae): A revision at generic level. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 254: 1–348. doi: 10.1206/0003-0090(2000)254<0001:NWPSAP>2.0.CO;2

Huber BA (2005) High species diversity, male-female coevolution, and metaphyly in Southeast Asian pholcid spiders: the case of Belisana Thorell 1898 (Araneae, Pholcidae). Zoologica 155: 1–126.

World Spider Catalog (2014) World Spider Catalog, version 15.5. Natural History MuseumBern. http://wsc.nmbe.ch [accessed 30 November 2014]

Yao Z, Pham DS, Li S (2015) Pholcid spiders (Araneae: Pholcidae) from northern Vietnam, with descriptions of nineteen new species. Zootaxa 3909(1): 1–82. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3909.1.1