﻿Taxonomic notes on the genus Phrynarachne from China (Araneae, Thomisidae)

﻿Abstract Four new species of the genus Phrynarachne Thorell, 1869 from China are described: P.dreepy Lin & S. Li, sp. nov. (♂♀), P.xuxiake Lin & S. Li, sp. nov. (♀), P.yunhui Lin & S. Li, sp. nov. (♀), and P.zhengzhongi Lin & S. Li, sp. nov. (♀). The unknown sexes of P.brevis Tang & S. Li, 2010 (♂), P.huangshanensisLi et al., 1985 (♀), P.lancea Tang & S. Li, 2010 (♂), and P.mammillata Song, 1990 (♀) are described for the first time. Phrynarachnesinensis Peng, Yin & Kim is treated as a nomen dubium.


Introduction
The spider genus Phrynarachne Thorell, 1869 currently includes 32 species and subspecies distributed in southern Asia, the Australian region, and sub-Saharan Africa. Only five species are described by both sexes, and 10 species have been studied after their original description. Efforts have been made to find Phrynarachne types preserved in well-known European museums, but these endeavors have failed.
Seven Phrynarachne species were known from China before the current study; only two species, i.e., P. ceylonica (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1884) and P. katoi Chikuni, 1955, are described by both sexes. All endemic Chinese Phrynarachne species are only described by few single-sex specimens, and the species in the surrounding areas of China, except Japan, are not well revised and most of them have only initial descriptions WSC 2021;Yao et al. 2021).
Here, we describe four new and six known Phrynarachne species from China. Due to the lost holotype and unknown locality in the original description, we treat P. sinensis Peng et al. as nomen dubium.

Materials and methods
All specimens were preserved in 80% ethanol. Epigynes were cleared in trypsin enzyme solution to dissolve non-chitinous tissues. Specimens were examined under a LEICA M205C stereomicroscope. Photomicroscopy images were taken with an Olympus C7070 zoom digital camera (7.1 megapixels). Laboratory habitus photographs were taken with a Sony A7RIV digital camera equipped with a Sony FE 90mm Goss lens. Photos were stacked with Helicon Focus (v. 7.6.1) or Zerene Stacker (v. 1.04) and processed in Adobe Photoshop CC2019.
All measurements are in millimeters and were obtained with an Olympus SZX16 stereomicroscope with a Zongyuan CCD industrial camera. Total length is measured without chelicerae. Eye sizes are measured as the maximum diameter from either the dorsal or frontal view. Leg measurements are given as follows: total length (femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus). The terminology used in the text and figures follows Ono (1988).
Types of the new species reported here are deposited at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.  Epigyne ( Fig. 6) with M-shaped sclerotized margins; median plate obvious, with a posterior hood, anterior edge recurved and posterior edge almost straight, the ratio of length to width is 11:3; copulatory opening obvious; spermathecae kidney-shaped, the ratio of anterior edge to posterior edge length is 1:1. Fertilization duct transverse. Tang and Li (2010  Etymology. The species is named after Dreepy, a fictional character from Pokémon Sword and Shield, who has a triangular head that is reminiscent of the opisthosoma of the new species; noun (name) in apposition.

Male. See
Diagnosis. Phrynarachne dreepy sp. nov. is similar to P. brevis in that males have a long RTA; in females the epigyne has sclerotized margins and the posterior edge of the median plate has a depression. However, males of P. dreepy sp. nov. can be easily distinguished by the long VTA (vs short VTA in P. brevis), the length of embolus to the length of the embolus base (7:1 vs 18:1 in P. brevis), and the embolus separate from the tegulum (vs close to the tegulum in P. brevis). Females can be separated from P. brevis by the short, triangular tubercles on the abdomen (vs long, slender tubercles in P. brevis), the straight anterior edge of median plate (vs recurved in P. brevis), and the procurved posterior edge of the median plate (vs almost straight in P. brevis).
Distribution. Known only from the type locality.

Phrynarachne huangshanensis Li, Chen & Song, 1985
Figs 5, 9, 10, 17A, C, 18B, 21 Phrynarachne huangshanensis Li et al., 1985:  Diagnosis. Males of Phrynarachne huangshanensis can be distinguished from those of P. mammillata by the ratio of the length of the embolus to the length of the embolus base (7:1 in P. huangshanensis vs 10:1 in P. mammillata), and the ratio of the length of the RTA to the length of the VTA (3:1 in P. huangshanensis vs 2:1 in P. mammillata). Females can be differentiated by the length to width ratio of the median plate (3:1 in P. huangshanensis vs 5:1 in P. mammillata), and the V-shaped median plate (vs Mshaped in P. mammillata).

Phrynarachne katoi
Diagnosis. Phrynarachne lancea males can be easily distinguished from other species by the wide, spear-shaped RTA. Females of P. lancea are similar to P. mammillata in having an M-shaped median plate and kidney-shaped spermathecae. However, P. lancea can be distinguished by the length to width ratio of the median plate (7:1 in P. lancea vs 4:1 in P. mammillata), the straight posterior edge of the median plate (vs procurved in P. mammillata), the posterior edge of the spermathecae shorter than the anterior edge (vs of equal length in P. mammillata), and the longitudinal fertilization ducts (vs transverse in P. mammillata).
Female. See Song and Chai (1990). Distribution. China (Guizhou, Yunnan). Notes. The male is reported here for the first time. Etymology. The species is named after Xu Xiake, a Chinese travel writer and geographer of the Ming dynasty; noun (name) in apposition.

Phrynarachne sinensis
Diagnosis. Females of Phrynarachne xuxiake sp. nov. are similar to P. katoi but can be distinguished by the length to width ratio of the median plate (3:1 in P. xuxiake vs 5:1 in P. katoi) and by the rectangular median plate with its posterior edge straight (vs dumbbell-shaped with procurved posterior edge in P. katoi).

Diagnosis.
Females of Phrynarachne zhengzhongi sp. nov. are similiar to P. brevis by the shape of the spermathecae; the posterior edge of the spermathecae is as wide as the anterior edge. However, females of P. zhengzhongi sp. nov. can be distinguished by the triangular tubercles on the abdomen (vs long, slender apophysis in P. brevis), the epigyne with a hood, and the absence of sclerotized margins (vs hood absent, sclerotized margins present in P. brevis), and the straight anterior edge of the median plate (vs recurved in P. brevis).