Pholcus babao Tong & Li 2010, sp. nov.

Pholcus babao sp. nov.

Figs 1A–C, 3A–F

Type material: Holotype male, CHINA: Hebei Province, Chengde City, Fengning County, Baiyungudong Scenic Area, Babao Cave (41°02.266ʹN , 116°54.358ʹE, alt. 530 m), 2 April 2005, S. Li, K. Meng, X. Xu, Y. Zheng & Q. Wang leg. Paratypes: 1 male and 1 female, same data as for holotype.

Etymology: The species name is a noun in apposition, taken from the type locality.

Diagnosis: The new species is similar to P. datan sp. nov., but can be distinguished by the shapes of uncus and procursus, the long frontal prominences on chelicerae, and the chitinized triangular plate of the epigynum.

Description: Male (holotype). Total length 4.48 (4.82 with clypeus), carapace width 1.76. Leg 1: 39.68 (10.28+0.71+10.56+15.99+2.14), tibia 2: 7.14, tibia 3: 4.85, tibia 4: 6.56; tibia 1 L/d: 84. Habitus as in figs 1A, B. Carapace yellowish, with brown radiated stripes and brown marginal band; ocular area yellowish, with brown band at median and laterally; clypeus yellowish, without marks; sternum brown (fig. 1C). Opisthosoma pale gray, with some spots dorsally and laterally. Distance PME–PME 0.25; diameter PME 0.15; distance PME–ALE 0.06; diameter AME 0.06. Chelicerae as in figs 3C, D, with pair of black apophyses distally, pair of unsclerotized apophyses proximolaterally, and pair of long up-directed prominences frontally. Palps as in figs 3A, B, uncus submedially with a narrow process, without appendix. Legs yellow, but dark brown on basal part of tibiae and patellae, with darker rings on femora (subdistally) and tibiae (proximally and subdistally), without spines, curved and vertical hairs; tarsus 1 with hardly visible pseudosegments distally.

Females: In general similar to males. Tibia 1 lost. Epigynum as in fig. 3E, brown with distinctive pattern; with a long worm-shaped cylindrical outgrowth. Dorsal view as in fig. 3F.

Distribution: Only known from type locality at present.

Remark: Most species of Pholcus have an appendix, which usually hook-shaped, sclerotized and originates from the palpal bulb. Pholcus babao sp. nov. has a narrow, long sclerotized process on the uncus (arrow in fig. 3A). It is very similar to the appendix, but apparently originates from the uncus. The other three species, Pholcus datan sp. nov., Pholcus exilis sp. nov. and Pholcus wuling sp. nov., have a similar structure. All the four species were collected from Hebei Province, seem to form a species group within the genus Pholcus.