Eight new species of Otacilia (Araneae: Phrurolithidae) from southern China

Abstract Eight new Otacilia species were collected from Ji’an City, Jiangxi Province, China during a survey of the phrurolithid fauna of the region: Otacilia bizhouica Liu, sp. nov. (♂♀), O. gougunao Liu, sp. nov. (♂), O. nanhuashanica Liu, sp. nov. (♂♀), O. subfabiformis Liu, sp. nov. (♂♀), O. wugongshanica Liu, sp. nov. (♂♀), Otacilia yusishanica Liu, sp. nov. (♂♀), O. zaoshiica Liu, sp. nov. (♂♀) and O. ziyaoshanica Liu, sp. nov. (♀). All species are described and illustrated with photographs and SEM micrographs, and their distribution is also mapped.


Introduction
During the past five years, the total number of phrurolithid species recorded from China has almost doubled, with most of the newly discovered species being endemic to the country (WSC 2015-2019). All of them (47 species) were discovered in southern China and most belong to the genus Otacilia Thorell, 1897(WSC 2020. However, there are still many poorly known Otacilia species from southern China with unusual morphological characteristics. Etymology. The specific name derived from the type locality, Bizhou Town; adjective. Diagnosis. The male of the new species is similar to Otacilia liupan Hu & Zhang, 2011 in having a short retrolateral tibial apophysis bending inwards to the base of the cymbium and the sub-circular sperm duct (see Hu and Zhang 2011: 60, figs 2−5), but can be separated from it by the thick retrolateral tegular apophysis (Figs 1D, E, 2A, B) (vs. thin) and a stubby pipe-shaped retrolateral tibial apophysis in dorsal view (Figs 1E, F, 2C) (vs. finger-like). The females resemble those of O. ovoidea Liu, 2020 in having sclerotized epigynal ridges (Fig. 3C, D), but can be separated from it by the rectangular median septum (vs. funnel-shaped) and the U-shaped spermathecae (vs. globular) (see Liu et al. 2020: 22, fig. 14C, D).
Palp (Figs 1C−F, 2). Femoral apophysis well-developed, as wide as half of femoral length. Patella unmodified. Tibia with large retrolateral apophysis, as long as tibial length, apex blunt, bending inwards to base of cymbium, with a broad base and a basal apophysis, directed dorsally in dorsal view. Cymbium width less than half of its length. Bulb broad oval, with sub-circular sperm duct, apophyses absent. Embolus hook-shaped, thick, with broad triangular base. Retrolateral tegular apophysis straight, thick, submedial part covered by distal tegular apophysis. Distal tegular apophysis oval, arising from base of embolus and retrolateral sperm duct.
Distribution. Known only from the type locality in Jiangxi Province, China (Fig. 22).  fig. 6C), but can be separated from it by the retrolateral tibial apophysis with a sharp apex (Figs 9E, F, 10D) (vs. with a blunt tip), the retrolateral tegular apophysis with a thin retrolateral part (Figs 9D, E, 10A, B, E) (vs. with broad retrolateral part). The female resembles O. fabiformis in having large and touching bursae (see Liu et al. 2019: 444, fig. 7C), but can be separated from it by the slightly curved and separated connecting tubes medially located (Fig. 11D) (vs. the strongly curved and separated connecting tubes laterally located).
Distribution. Known only from the type locality in Jiangxi Province, China (Fig. 22).  Liu, 2020 in having a thick hook-shaped embolus, a C-shaped sperm duct and a fingerlike retrolateral tibial apophysis (see Liu et al. 2020: 13, fig. 7C−F), but can be separated from it by the retrolateral tibial apophysis with a straight tip in retrolateral view (Figs 15D, E, 16A, B, D) (vs. with a slightly curved tip). The females resemble O. acutangula in having small bursae and thin connecting tubes (see Liu et al. 2020: 13, fig. 8C, D), but can be distinguished from it by the rectangular median septum (Fig. 17C) (vs. triangular) and the widely separated spermathecae (Fig. 17D) (vs. proximate spermatheca).
Distribution. Known only from the type locality in Jiangxi Province, China (Fig. 22). Etymology. The specific name is derived from the type locality, Zaoshi village, which is one of the famous traditional villages; adjective.
Male unknown. Distribution. Known only from the type locality in Jiangxi Province, China (Fig. 22).

Discussion
At present, the genus Otacilia has an exclusively Asian distribution, with the highest number of species found in the subtropical and tropical areas of China. Up to now, 89 species of Otacilia are known from China, including the eight new species described above (WSC 2020). During the past six years, we focused on the sac spiders of South China, in areas such as the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guang Dong Province, Hunan Province and Jiangxi Province, and found that most Otacilia species live in mountainous regions and hills over 200 metres above sea level (Liu et al. 2019(Liu et al. , 2020. Ji'an City is located at the middle section of the Luoxiao Mountains in South China, which is mainly surrounded by hilly topography. Many new Otacilia species have been found and recorded from different mountains in this area (Liu et al. 2019(Liu et al. , 2020. It is interesting to note that these new species, including those newly described here, clearly appear on different mountains or different aspects of a single mountain. It is likely that the total number of known species of Otacilia will rapidly rise to 100 by the end of 2021, as our survey is focused on sac spiders. These results suggest that Jiangxi Province has a spectacular diversity of Otacilia and that it is necessary to continue surveying it in the future. the Science and Technology Innovation Project for College Students, the Science and Technology Foundation of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education (GJJ190543) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (31560592).