Research Article |
Corresponding author: Ke-Ke Liu ( liukeke_1986@126.com ) Academic editor: Miquel A. Arnedo
© 2019 Ze-Yuan Meng, Hui-Pu Luo, Yong-Hong Xiao, Xiang Xu, Ke-Ke Liu.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC0 Public Domain Dedication.
Citation:
Meng Z-Y, Luo H-P, Xiao Y-H, Xu X, Liu K-K (2019) Redescription of Borboropactus jiangyong Yin, Peng, Yan & Kim, 2004 (Araneae, Thomisidae), with the first description of the male. ZooKeys 870: 137-148. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.870.35230
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The male of Borboropactus jiangyong Yin, Peng, Yan & Kim, 2004 is described for the first time from Jinggang Mountain, Ji’an City, Jiangxi Province, China. Based on male and female specimens, the species is redescribed, comprehensively illustrated, and its geographic distribution in China is delimited and discussed.
China, digging spiders, distribution, Jiangxi Province, Jinggang Mountain, taxonomy
Species in the genus Borboropactus Simon, 1884 are digging spiders, usually living in leaf litter, woody debris, tree bark, or on the forest ground, in a wide range of habitats, including tropical forests, subtropical forests, temperate forests, and early Tertiary Baltic amber (
The genus was established based on the female specimens of B. squalidus Simon, 1884 collected from West Africa (
Currently, there are 17 nominal species within Borboropactus (
After examining spider specimens collected using the sieving method from the Jinggang Mountain National Nature Reserve in the past six years, the presumed male of B. jiangyong was found, and is here described for the first time. Additionally, female specimens belonging to this species have been identified among material collected from Yunnan, Guangdong and Hunan. The newly studied material allows for a more precise delimitation of the distribution of B. jiangyong. This study further includes photographs, SEM illustrations, and line drawings to provided more complete and detailed information of the somatic and genital morphology of this interesting species.
Specimens were examined using a Zeiss Stereo Discovery V12 stereomicroscope with Zoom Microscope System. Further details were studied using a Zeiss Axio Scope A1 compound microscope with a KUY NICE CCD. Both the male palps and female genitalia were detached from the spider body and observed in 80−85% ethanol. For SEM photographs, the specimens were kept under natural dry conditions and photographed with a ZEISS EVO LS15 scanning electron microscope. The specimens were stored in 80% ethanol after SEM.
All morphological measurements were taken using a stereomicroscope (AxioVision SE64 Rel. 4.8.3) and given in millimetres. The body length of each specimen does not include the spinnerets. Leg measurements are given as total length (femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus).
Terminology of the male and female genitalia follows
Eyes
ALE anterior lateral eye;
AME anterior median eye;
MOA median ocular area
PLE posterior lateral eye;
PME posterior median eye;
Male palp
C conductor;
E embolus;
RTA retrolateral tibial apophysis;
MA median apophysis;
CD copulatory duct;
CO copulatory opening;
Epygine
ET epigynal teeth;
LL epigynal lateral lobe;
MF median field;
S spermathecae;
Legs
fe femur;
me metatarsus;
pa patella;
ta tarsus;
ti tibia
This genus can be easily distinguished from other genera in thomisid spiders by the body covered with numerous club-shaped hairs; posterior eye row recurved in dorsal view; chelicerae toothed on both margins and with small teeth within its furrow; leg I powerful and distinctly the longest with the femur thickened prolaterally, bearing tubercles/spines, and with a depression; legs I and II with paired ventral tibial and metatarsal spines; legs III and IV without spines; metatarsal trichobothria with expansion, tarsal on sensory field with bumps in a long unexpanded area; presence of the tarsal pit organ (a special large leg sense organ); proclaw with a special patch of teeth; female epigynum teeth well developed; male palpal tibia with a retrodistal apophysis, bulbus simple and prominent, median apophysis present, conductor present or absent. See also
Borboropactus jiangyong Yin et al., 2004b: 27, figs 1–5; Yin et al., 2012: 1259, fig. 676a–e. Holotype not examined (see below in Remarks)
1 ♀, 1 ♂ (JGSU), China: Jiangxi Province, Ji’an City, Jinggangshan County Level City, Luofu Town, Xiangzhou Village, Jinggang Mountain National Nature Reserve, 26°36'10.31"N, 114°15'15.52"E, 360 m, leaf litter, 5.X.2018, Ke-ke Liu and Hui-pu Luo leg.; as previous, 1 ♀ (JGSU), 26°36'10.8"N, 114°15'28.8"E, 375 m, leaf litter, 5 July 2017, Ke-ke Liu, Zhi-wu Chen, Ze-yuan Meng and Wen-jun Xie leg.; as previous, 1 ♀ (JGSU), 26°37'19.20"N, 114°15'54"E, 460 m, leaf litter, 6 August 2015, Ke-ke Liu, Sha Wu, Ze-yuan Meng, Ce Xu and Shi-cong He leg.; 1 ♀ (HNU), Yunnan Province, Baoshan City, Tengchong Town, Shangying Village, Chuanlong, 25°0'8.65"N, 098°25'24.85"E, 2000 m, 4 June 2006, Chang-min Yin, Jia-fang Hu and Xiao-hua Yang leg.; 1 ♀ (HNU), Guangdong Province, Shaoguan City, Ruyuan Town, Nanling National Nature Reserve, Qinshuigu, 24°55'07.89"N, 113°02'30.58"E, 830 m, 25 July 2016, Hai-qiang Yin, Tie-yang Zhou, Gu-chun Zhou, Chao-min Li, Ai-lan He, Wang Liu, Jin-xin Liu, Zhuo-er Chen and Chen Zeng leg.
The male of this species resembles both B. biprocessus Tang, Yin & Peng, 2012 and B. bituberculatus by the ear-shaped median apophysis on the tegulum, but can be separated by cheliceral teeth number, 4 promarginal and 3 retromarginal, instead of 4 and 4 in species B. biprocessus and 4 and 5 in species B. bituberculatus; a strong RTA extending dorsally on palp cymbium, instead of relative thinner in species B. biprocessus and stouter in species B. bituberculatus, and the relatively narrowed membranous conductor, which is broad in species B. biprocessus and B. bituberculatus (Figs
Borboropactus jiangyong Yin, Peng, Yan & Kim, 2004, male. A Habitus, dorsal view B habitus, ventral view C left chelicera, dorsolateral view D same, ventral view E left leg I and II, ventral view F left palp, prolateral view G left palp, ventral view H left palp, retrolateral view. Scale bars: 1 mm (A, B, E), 0.1 mm (C, D, F–H).
Borboropactus jiangyong Yin, Peng, Yan & Kim, 2004, female chelicera and genitalia. A Left chelicera, dorsolateral view B same, ventral view C epigyne, ventral view D vulva, dorsal view, black arrow shows anterior part of spermathecae with a constriction E left chelicera, dorsolateral view F same, ventral view G epigyne, ventral view H vulva, dorsal view; black arrow shows anterior part of spermathecae with a constriction. Scale bars: 0.1 mm (A–H).
Borboropactus jiangyong Yin, Peng, Yan & Kim, 2004, SEMs of female and male genitalia. A Epigyne, ventral view B vulva, dorsal view, black arrow shows anterior part of spermathecae with a constriction C left palp, ventral view D detail of embolus and conductor E left palp, retrolateral view F detail of RTA, retrolateral view G left palp, dorsal view. Abbreviations: C – conductor, CD – copulatory duct, CO – copulatory opening, E – embolus, ET – epigynal teeth, LL – epigynal lateral lobe, MA – median apophysis, MF – median field, RTA – retrolateral tibial apophysis, S – spermathecae.
Male.
Habitus as in Fig.
Colouration and pattern. Prosoma pyriform, yellow brown, densely covered white feathery setae, with a longitudinal dark stripe, clustered short hairs at back of the PLE and near the posterior of the stripe, and four paired radial striae around fovea. Chelicerae, endites, and labium yellow brown. Sternum from yellow brown to orange. Legs from yellow to orange. Opisthosoma from orange to greyish black, with light longitudinal stripe and abundant dark and light spots.
Palp (Figs
Female.
Habitus as in Fig.
Colouration and pattern. Prosoma orange or red-brown, without stripe. Opithosoma without clear stripe.
Epigynum (Fig.
Known from Hunan, Yunnan, Jiangxi, and Guangdong provinces (Fig.
We conducted a survey of Borboropactus jiangyong female specimens from Hunan, Yunnan, Jiangxi, and Guangdong provinces in China available in museums. The detailed study of these specimens (Figs
Unfortunately, the holotype of this species stored at the College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University (HNU), could not be studied because it was destroyed by slime moulds. However, the female holotype had been examined by Dr Guo Tang who contributed with many papers on crab spider taxonomy in China. Based on a comparative morphology analysis, he suggested that the female from Baoshan City in Yunnan Province was conspecific with the female holotype described in Tang’s PhD dissertation in 2008.
We are grateful to Changmin Yin, Jiafang Hu, Xiaohua Yang, Haiqiang Yin, Zhiwu Chen, Wenjun Xie, Sha Wu, Ce Xu, Shicong He, Tieyang Zhou, Guchun Zhou, Chaomin Li, Ailan He, Wang Liu, Jinxin Liu, Zhuoer Chen and Chen Zeng for collecting the specimens. We also thank Dr Nathalie Yonow for improving the English of the manuscript. Miquel Arnedo and one anonymous reviewer made valuable comments on the manuscript. This study was supported by the Science and Technology Foundation of Jiangxi Provincial Department of Education (GJJ160753), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (20181BAB214008), the Natural Science Foundation of China (31560592/31772423) and by the Opening Fund of The National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Animal Peptide Drug Development (Hunan Normal University), National Development and Reform Commission.