Two New Lynx Spider Species of Hamadruas and Oxyopes and the First Record of Hamadruas Thorell, 1887 (Araneae: Oxyopidae) from Wai, Maharashtra, India

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  Two New Lynx Spider Species of Hamadruas and Oxyopes and the First Record of Hamadruas Thorell, 1887 (Araneae: Oxyopidae) from Wai, Maharashtra, India Abstract The present study reports two oxyopid spider species from Wai, Satara District, Maharashtra, India, based on morphological examination of specimens collected from the Kisan Veer Mahavidyalaya campus. The specimens were collected using hand-collection and sweep-net methods, preserved in 70% ethanol, and examined under a stereotrinocular microscope. Diagnostic structures, including the female epigyne and male palp, were studied after dissection, and distribution maps were prepared using QGIS. Hamadruas kvmensis sp. nov. is characterised by distinct dark elongated spermathecal lobes, a rounded central region forming the median fertilisation duct, curved copulatory ducts, and a male palp with an elongated curved cymbium, large bulb, prominent tegulum, slender embolus, conductor, tibial apophysis and sensory setae. Oxyopes wai...

Taxonomic notes on the crab-spider genera Nyctimus Thorell, 1877 and Zametopina Simon, 1909 (Araneae, Thomisidae) with descriptions of six new species from Southeast Asia

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Taxonomic notes on the crab-spider genera Nyctimus Thorell, 1877 and Zametopina Simon, 1909 (Araneae, Thomisidae) with descriptions of six new species from Southeast Asia

Abstract

The crab-spider genera Zametopina Simon, 1909 and Nyctimus Thorell, 1877 remain poorly studied, with significant gaps in their taxonomic understanding. Nyctimus has seen little study since its original description, and species assignments remain uncertain due to a lack of modern diagnostic data. By contrast, Zametopina, historically monotypic, was recently expanded with a second species (Z. wanliae Lin & Li, 2023) following a redescription of the type species, Z. calceata Simon, 1909. Our study presents a review of these genera, primarily based on specimens collected from tropical Asia by the late Christa L. Deeleman-Reinhold as well as from the EFForTS project in the lowlands of Sumatra, Indonesia. The review includes the description of the following six new species: Nyctimus falcatus Benjamin & Dhiya’ulhaq, sp. nov. (♂), Nyctimus kinabaluensis Benjamin & Dhiya’ulhaq, sp. nov. (♂♀), Nyctimus mutilloides Benjamin & Dhiya’ulhaq, sp. nov. (♂), Nyctimus quadripunctatus Dhiya’ulhaq & Benjamin, sp. nov. (♂♀), Nyctimus rendang Dhiya’ulhaq & Benjamin, sp. nov. (♂♀), and Nyctimus saksang Dhiya’ulhaq & Benjamin, sp. nov. (♂). Nyctimus bistriatus Thorell, 1877 is redescribed and new locality records are provided. Zametopina wanliae is recorded for the first time outside of Vietnam. Further, updated species descriptions of Nyctimus and Zametopina are provided, along with taxonomic clarifications of the genera. This study emphasises the fundamental importance of well-curated, historical collections and ongoing fieldwork in resolving the systematics of lesser-known arachnid lineages.

Benjamin SP, Dhiya’ulhaq NU, Deeleman-Reinhold C, Buchori D, Hidayat P, Scheu S, Drescher J (2025) Taxonomic notes on the crab-spider genera Nyctimus Thorell, 1877 and Zametopina Simon, 1909 (Araneae, Thomisidae) with descriptions of six new species from Southeast Asia. ZooKeys 1255: 95-125. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1255.158380