Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5760 No. 3: 24 Feb. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-02-24
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5760.3.3
Page range: 349-360
Abstract views: 33
PDF downloaded: 2

A new species of Phlogiellus Pocock, 1897 from China (Araneae: Theraphosidae)

Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Biological Invasion and Biosecurity; College of Life Science; Jinggangshan University; Ji’an 343009; Jiangxi; China.
Jinshan College of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University; Fuzhou 350007; Fujian; China.
Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Biological Invasion and Biosecurity; College of Life Science; Jinggangshan University; Ji’an 343009; Jiangxi; China.
College of Bee Science and Biomedicine; Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University; Fuzhou 350007; Fujian; China.
Biological Control Research Institute of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University; Fuzhou 350007; Fujian; China.
Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Biological Invasion and Biosecurity; College of Life Science; Jinggangshan University; Ji’an 343009; Jiangxi; China.
Araneae Tarantula spiders Fujian Province taxonomy new species

Abstract

A new species of theraphosid spider, Phlogiellus hakka Yao, Gong, Yu & Liu, sp. nov., is described from Fujian Province, southern China, based on both male and female specimens. This represents the first record of the genus Phlogiellus Pocock, 1897 from Fujian Province. Detailed morphological descriptions, supported by digital images (including SEM), and information on its natural habitat are provided. The discovery of P. hakka sp. nov. fills a significant distributional gap along the southeastern coast of China and is discussed in relation to the known biogeography of the genus in the region.

 

References

  1. Bertani, R. (2000) Male palpal bulbs and homologous features in Theraphosinae (Araneae, Theraphosidae). Journal of Arachnology, 28, 29–42. https://doi.org/10.1636/0161-8202(2000)028[0029:MPBAHF]2.0.CO;2
  2. Bond, J.E. & Opell, B.D. (2002) Phylogeny and taxonomy of the genera of south-western North American Euctenizinae trapdoor spiders and their relatives (Araneae: Mygalomorphae, Cyrtaucheniidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 136 (3), 487–534. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1096-3642.2002.00035.x
  3. Briggs, E.J. & Hamilton, C.A. (2024) What does the history of Theraphosidae systematics tell us about the future of tarantula taxonomy?. Frontiers in Arachnid Science, 3, 1445731. https://doi.org/10.3389/frchs.2024.1445731
  4. Costa, F.G. & Pérez-Miles, F. (2002) Reproductive biology of Uruguayan theraphosids (Araneae, Mygalomorphae). The Journal of Arachnology, 30 (3), 571–587. https://doi.org/10.1636/0161-8202(2002)030[0571:RBOUTA]2.0.CO;2
  5. CITES (2025) Appendices I, II and III. Available from: https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php (accessed 13 September 2025)
  6. Ferretti, N.E. (2020) Communication and reproductive biology of tarantulas. In: New World Tarantulas. Springer, Cham, pp. 389–410. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48644-0_14
  7. Ferretti, N., Cavallo, P., Chaparro, J.C., Ríos-Tamayo, D., Seimon, T.A. & West, R. (2018) The Neotropical genus Hapalotremus Simon, 1903 (Araneae: Theraphosidae), with the description of seven new species and the highest altitude record for the family. Journal of Natural History, 52 (29–30), 1927–1984. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2018.1506521
  8. Ferretti, N., Copperi, S., Schwerdt, L. & Pompozzi, G. (2015) First record of Vitalius longisternalis Bertani, 2001 (Araneae, Theraphosidae) in Argentina and notes on its natural history in Misiones province. Check List, 11, 1748–1748. https://doi.org/10.15560/11.5.1748
  9. Foley, S., Lüddecke, T., Cheng, D.Q., Krehenwinkel, H., Künzel, S., Longhorn, S.J., Wendt, I., Wirth, V.von, Tänzler, R., Vences, M. & Piel, W.H. (2019) Tarantula phylogenomics: A robust phylogeny of deep theraphosid clades inferred from transcriptome data sheds light on the prickly issue of urticating setae evolution. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 140 (106573), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106573
  10. Foley, S., Krehenwinkel, H., Cheng, D.Q. & Piel, W.H. (2021) Phylogenomic analyses reveal a Gondwanan origin and repeated out of India colonizations into Asia by tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae). PeerJ, 9, e11162. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11162
  11. Guadanucci, J.P.L. & Weinmann, D. (2014) The spider genera Euthycaelus Simon and Schismatothele Karsch (Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae). Zootaxa, 3795 (3), 275–288. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3795.3.3
  12. Hamilton, C.A., Hendrixson, B.E. & Bond, J.E. (2016) Taxonomic revision of the tarantula genus Aphonopelma Pocock, 1901 (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae) within the United States. ZooKeys, 560, 1. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.560.6264
  13. Hendrixson, B.E., DeRussy, B.M., Hamilton, C.A. & Bond, J.E. (2013) An exploration of species boundaries in turret-building tarantulas of the Mojave Desert (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae, Aphonopelma). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 66 (1), 327–340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2012.10.004
  14. Hendrixson, B.E., Guice, A.V. & Bond, J.E. (2015) Integrative species delimitation and conservation of tarantulas (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae) from a North American biodiversity hotspot. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 8 (2), 120–131. https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12089
  15. Hirst, A.S. (1909) On some new or little-known mygalomorph spiders from the Oriental Region and Australasia. Records of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, 3 (4), 383–390. https://doi.org/10.26515/rzsi/v3/i4/1909/163298
  16. Kishida, K. (1920) Netes [sic] on Yamia watasei, a new spider of the family Aviculariidae. Zoological Magazine, Tokyo, 32, 299–307.
  17. Lapinski, W. (2020) Tarantulas and Their Habitats. In: New World Tarantulas: Taxonomy, Biogeography and Evolutionary Biology of Theraphosidae. Springer Nature Switzerland AG, Cham, pp. 191–236. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48644-0_7
  18. Lüddecke, T., Krehenwinkel, H., Canning, G., Glaw, F., Longhorn, S.J., Tänzler, R., Wendt, I. & Vences, M. (2018) Discovering the silk road: Nuclear and mitochondrial sequence data resolve the phylogenetic relationships among theraphosid spider subfamilies. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 119, 63–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2017.10.015
  19. Longhorn, S.J. & Hamilton, C.A. (2020) A molecular approach to the phylogeny of Theraphosidae and their kin. In: New World Tarantulas: Taxonomy, Biogeography and Evolutionary Biology of Theraphosidae. Springer Nature Switzerland AG, Cham, pp. 25–75. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48644-0_2
  20. Lin, Y.J., Marusik, Y.M., Gao, C.X., Xu, H., Zhang, X.Q., Wang, Z.Y., Zhu, W.H. & Li, S.Q. (2021a) Twenty-three new spider species (Arachnida: Araneae) from Asia. Zoological Systematics, 46 (2), 91–152. https://doi.org/10.11865/zs.2021201
  21. Lin, Y.J., Li, S.Q. & Chen, H.F. (2021b) A new species of the spider genus Phlogiellus (Araneae, Theraphosidae) from Hainan, China. Zootaxa, 4915 (2), 289–293. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4915.2.9
  22. Lin, Y.J., Li, S.Q. & Xie, C.Y. (2022a) A new species of Chilobrachys (Araneae, Theraphosidae) from Guangdong, China. Biodiversity Data Journal, 10 (e96467), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.10.e96467
  23. Lin, Y.J., Chen, H.F. & Yan, X.Y. (2022b) A new species of the spider genus Selenocosmia (Araneae, Theraphosidae) from Fujian, China. Biodiversity Data Journal, 10 (e82406), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.10.e82406
  24. Mendoza, J. & Francke, O. (2017) Systematic revision of Brachypelma red-kneed tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae), and the use of DNA barcodes to assist in the identification and conservation of CITES-listed species. Invertebrate Systematics, 31 (2), 157–179. https://doi.org/10.1071/IS16023
  25. Nunn, S.C., West, R.C. & Wirth, V.von (2016) A revision of the selenocosmiine tarantula genus Phlogiellus Pocock 1897 (Araneae: Theraphosidae), with description of 4 new species. International Journal of Zoology, 2016 (9895234), 1–54. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/9895234
  26. Pérez-Miles, F. (2020) Introduction to the Theraphosidae. In: New World Tarantulas: Taxonomy, Biogeography and Evolutionary Biology of Theraphosidae. Springer Nature Switzerland AG, Cham, pp. 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48644-0_1
  27. Pickard-Cambridge, F.O. (1897) Arachnida - Araneida and Opiliones. In: Biologia Centrali-Americana, London, Zoology, 2, 1–40, pls. 1–3.
  28. Raven, R.J. (1985) The spider infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): cladistics and systematics. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 182, 1–180.
  29. Raven, R.J. (2000) Taxonomica Araneae I: Barychelidae, Theraphosidae, Nemesiidae and Dipluridae (Araneae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 45, 569–575.
  30. Simon, E. (1877) Etudes arachnologiques. 5e Mémoire. IX. Arachnides recueillis aux îles Philippines par MM. G.-A Baer et Laglaise. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, (5) 7, 53–96, pl. 3.
  31. Simon, E. (1891) Etudes arachnologiques. 23e Mémoire. XXXVIII. Descriptions d'espèces et de genres nouveaux de la famille des Aviculariidae. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 60, 300–312.
  32. Turner, S.P., Longhorn, S.J., Hamilton, C.A., Gabriel, R., Pérez-Miles, F. & Vogler, A.P. (2018) Re-evaluating conservation priorities of New World tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae) in a molecular framework indicates non monophyly of the genera, Aphonopelma and Brachypelma. Systematics and Biodiversity, 16, 89–107. https://doi.org/10.1080/14772000.2017.1346719
  33. Valdez-Mondragón, A. & Francke, O.F. (2015) Phylogeny of the spider genus Ixchela Huber, 2000 (Araneae: Pholcidae) based on morphological and molecular evidence (CO1 and 16S), with a hypothesized diversification in the Pleistocene. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 175, 20–58. https://doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12265
  34. West, R.C., Nunn, S.C. & Hogg, S. (2012) A new tarantula genus, Psednocnemis, from west Malaysia (Araneae: Theraphosidae), with cladistic analysis and biogeography of Selenocosmiinae Simon 1889. Zootaxa, 3299 (1), 1–43. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3299.1.1
  35. Yu, K., Zhang, S.Y., Zhang, F., Li, Z.M. & Yang, Z.Z. (2021) Taxonomic studies on five species of Selenocosmiinae from China (Araneae, Theraphosidae). Faunitaxys, 9 (33), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.10.e96467
  36. Zhu, M.S. & Zhang, R. (2008) Revision of the theraphosid spiders from China (Araneae: Mygalomorphae). Journal of Arachnology, 36 (2), 425–447. https://doi.org/10.1636/CA07-94.1

How to Cite

Wang, Z., Yao, Y., Huang, S., Gong, J., Yu, H. & Liu, K. (2026) A new species of Phlogiellus Pocock, 1897 from China (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Zootaxa, 5760 (3), 349–360. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5760.3.3