ancoralis- group

Diagnosis (after Bayer 2012): Males with an elongated, filiform embolus arising retrolaterally on the tegulum and with a fleshy or membranous conductor (Bayer 2012, figs. 21b–c, 25b–c) and an unmodified palpal femur.

Females are distinguished from those of all other species groups except the himalayanus -group by the following combination of characters: Epigyne without tegimentum (Bayer 2012, figs 69a, 89m) or strongly sclerotised epigynal field (Bayer 2012, figs 87c–d), with small, slit-like copulatory openings (Bayer 2012, fig. 37d) and mostly converging anterior sections of epigynal slits (Bayer 2012, figs 27e, 36a). Median septum mostly broader than long; receptacula not distinctly round, copulatory ducts without distinctly rough surface (Bayer 2012, fig. 80b) and bulbous (Bayer 2012, fig. 63b) or twisted (Bayer 2012, fig. 59b) sections and at most 1.5 times broader than diameter of one receptaculum. Females are distinguished from those of the himalayanus -group by the spermathecal heads located upon the copulatory ducts (Bayer 2012, figs 21e, 29b); the latter longer than the diameter of receptaculum.

The ancoralis -group includes 6 species (Psechrus ancoralis Bayer & Jäger, 2010, P. antraeus Bayer & Jäger, 2010, P. l a os Bayer, 2012, P. r a ni Wang & Yin, 2001, P. steineri Bayer & Jäger, 2010, and P. khammouan Jäger, 2007) and is distributed in China, Vietnam, Thailand and Laos. It is not unlikely that representatives of this group also occur in Myanmar. This species group is closely related to the himalayanus -group (currently including 11 species, see below) (Bayer & Schönhofer 2013; Bayer 2012). The females show the basic patterns of the copulatory organs of the females of the himalayanus -group. However, several male and female copulatory organ characters that are typical of the representatives of the himalayanus -group strongly indicate that these species very likely had a common ancestor. The same argument can also be applied to the ancoralis -group. Nevertheless, as mentioned above, all the 17 currently known representatives of both groups together represent a homogeneous group of species (clade), which is clearly delimited from the remaining Psechrus species. In Bayer & Schönhofer (2013) the himalayanus -group was recovered paraphyletic including the representatives of the ancoralis -group in one of the inner branches of a subtree within a proposed phylogenetic tree. However, in only one of four analyses was this tree reliably recovered and it might be artificial. It remains to be seen how topology will change, if de facto all species of both groups are included in a molecular study.