﻿Hotwheels gen. nov., a new ground spider genus (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) from southwest China

﻿Abstract A new monotypic ground spider genus, Hotwheelsgen. nov., is described, with the type species H.sisyphussp. nov. (♂♀) from southwest China. This new genus is not assigned to any of the known subfamilies of Gnaphosidae, belonging only to the Echemus group of genera. It resembles Synaphosus Platnick & Shadab, but it can be differentiated by the presence of a median apophysis. Descriptions, illustrations and a records map are provided.


Introduction
Gnaphosidae is a highly diverse spider family, containing 2466 extant species in 151 genera (WSC 2023).Southwest China mostly lies within the Oriental Realm and has the highest diversity of spiders in China (Holt et al. 2013;Yao and Li 2021), including 87 species of 25 genera of gnaphosid spiders (WSC 2023).Three new ground spider genera (Meizhelan Lin & Li, 2023, Platnickus Liu & Zhang, 2023, Yuqilin Lin & Li, 2023) have been reported from southwest China in just 2023 (Lin and Li 2023;Liu and Zhang 2023).However, ground spider research in southwest China and neighbouring countries is severely limited, with a lack of regional revisions (WSC 2023).Our knowledge of the diversity of gnaphosids in southwest China is far from adequate, and many new taxa remain to be discovered.
While examining the ground spider collections from southwest China, we found several specimens of an unknown species resembling Synaphosus Platnick & Shadab, 1980 in somatic characters and genitalic structures, but it can be differentiated by the presence of a median apophysis, which indicates a new genus should be established.

Material and methods
All specimens were preserved in 75% ethanol and examined and measured under a Leica M205A stereomicroscope.Photographs were taken using an Olympus BX51 microscope equipped with a Kuy Nice CCD camera and were imported
Etymology.The generic name refers to Hot Wheels, a collectible die-cast toy car made by Mattel, as the long, coiled embolus of this new genus resembles a Hot Wheels track; neuter in gender.
Male palp and epigyne.Same as for the species.

Figure 6 .
Figure 6.Map showing type locality and other records of Hotwheels sisyphus sp.nov.
The specific name is derived from Sisyphus, a king in Greek mythology who offended Zeus and whose punishment was to repeatedly roll a huge stone up a hill only to have it roll back down, because the circular copulatory ducts are like Sisyphus's cyclic mission; noun in apposition.AME 0.15, ALE 0.16, PME 0.10, PLE 0.13; AME-AME 0.04, AME-ALE 0.01, Description.Male.Holotype (Fig.1A, B): total length 5.08; carapace 2.56 long, 1.95 wide; abdomen 2.52 long, 1.70 wide.Eye sizes and interdistances: