Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 2508 No. 1: 16 Jun. 2010
Type: Articles
Published: 2010-06-16
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2508.1.4
Page range: 56–64
Abstract views: 40
PDF downloaded: 1

Huntsman spiders (Araneae: Sparassidae) from Xishuangbanna Rainforest, China

Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, Hubei, China
Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Senckenberg Research Institute, Senckenberganlage 25, D-60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Araneae Taxonomy fauna new species new record Yunnan

Abstract

An extensive faunal survey of spiders from Xishuangbanna was carried out over one year (July 2006–August 2007) using various collecting techniques (ground pitfall traps, trunk pitfall traps, fogging and hand collecting). Three known Sparassidae species were collected: Heteropoda tetrica Thorell, 1897, Pseudopoda songi Jäger, 2008, and Pseudopoda namkhan Jäger, Pathoumthong & Vedel, 2006, the latter reported for the first time from China. Thelcticopis zhengi sp. nov. is described and illustrated based on males and females. All specimens are deposited in the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing (IZCAS) and Research Institute Senckenberg in Frankfurt am Main (SMF).

References

  1. Eusemann, P. & Jäger, P. (2009) Heteropoda tetrica Thorell, 1897 — variation and biogeography with emphasis on copulatory organs (Arachnida: Araneae: Sparassidae). In: Kropf, C. & Horak, P. (Eds), Towards a natural history of arthropods and other organisms. In memoriam Konrad Thaler. Contributions to Natural History, Bern, 12, 499–516.

    Jäger, P. (2001) Diversität der Riesenkrabbenspinnen im Himalaya — die Radiation zweier Gattungen in den Schneetropen (Araneae, Sparassidae, Heteropodinae). Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, 232, 1–136.

    Jäger, P. (2005) New large-sized cave-dwelling Heteropoda species from Asia, with notes on their relationships (Araneae: Sparassidae: Heteropodinae). Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 112, 87–114.

    Jäger, P. (2007) Spiders (Araneae) from Laos with descriptions of new species. Acta Arachnologica, 56, 29–58.

    Jäger, P. (2008) Sparassidae from China 5. Pseudopoda songi sp. n. from Yunnan Province (Arachnida, Araneae, Sparassidae, Heteropodinae). Senckenbergiana biologica, 88, 45–48.

    Jäger, P., Pathoumthong, B. & Vedel, V. (2006) First record of the genus Pseudopoda in Laos with description of new species (Arachnida, Araneae, Sparassidae). Senckenbergiana biologica, 86, 219–228.

    Jäger, P. & Praxaysombath, B. (2009) Spiders from Laos: new species and new records (Arachnida: Araneae). Acta Arachnologica, 58. 27–51.

    Li, S. & Wang, X. (2010) Endemic spiders in China. Available from: http://www.ChineseSpecies.com (accessed 17 January 2010).

    Myers, N. (1988) Threatened biotas: “Hot spots” in tropical forests. The Environmentalist, 8, 1–20.

    Nyffeler, M. (2000) Ecological impact of spider predation: a critical assessment of Bristowe’s and Turnbull’s estimates. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society, 11, 367–373.

    Sørensen, L.L. (2004) Composition and diversity of the spider fauna in the canopy of a montane forest in Tanzania. Biodiversity and Conservation, 13, 437–452.

    Thorell, T. (1897) Araneae paucae Asiae australis. Bihang till Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps-Akademiens Handlingar, 22, 1–36.

    Wise, D.H. (1993) Spiders in Ecological Webs. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, 328 pp.

    Yan, L. & Chen L. (Eds) (1992) Xishuangbanna: A Nature Reserve of China. China Forestry Publishing House, Beijing, 136 pp.

    Zhu, H., Cao, M. & Hu, H.B. (2006) Geological History, Flora, and Vegetation of Xishuangbanna, Southern Yunnan, China. Biotropica, 38, 310–317.