Phylogeny and divergence time estimation of relictual Asian scorpion family suggests Early Cretaceous connections between Burma Terrane and Eurasia, and corrects placement of Chinese taxon (American Museum novitates no. 4051)

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The taxonomic status of two poorly described Chinese spiders: Cheiracanthium gobi Schmidt & Barensteiner, 2000 (Araneae: Cheiracanthidae) and Alopecosa hoevelsi Schmidt & Barensteiner, 2000 (Araneae: Lycosidae)

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The taxonomic status of two poorly described Chinese spiders: Cheiracanthium gobi Schmidt & Barensteiner, 2000 (Araneae: Cheiracanthidae) and Alopecosa hoevelsi Schmidt & Barensteiner, 2000 (Araneae: Lycosidae)

Abstract

Schmidt & Barensteiner (2000) described three spiders from the Gobi Desert in China: Cheiracanthium gobi Schmidt & Barensteiner, 2000 (Cheiricanthiidae) based on a holotype male and one paratype male, Drassodes aenigmaticus Schmidt & Barensteiner, 2000 (Gnaphosidae) based on a holotype female, and Alopecosa hoevelsi Schmidt & Barensteiner, 2000 (Lycosidae) based on a holotype female. As is common for works by Günter Schmidt, the figures are of poor quality, and female genitalia are haphazardly preserved on slides, often marring their quality. The descriptions of all species consist of a single genitalic figure for each species: a dorsal view of the vulva of A. hoevelsi from an unorthodox angle, and a schematic draw ing of the palp of C. gobi in ventral view. The description of D. aenigmaticus features a more orthodox (but not straight) view of the dorsal view of the vulva, and a dorsal habitus of the female in vivo. Song, Zhu & Zhang (2004) synonymized D. aenigmaticus with Drassodes auritus Schenkel, 1963, which has been recognised by subsequent workers (World Spider Catalog 2026). In this work, we digitized the holotypes of the two unresolved species described by Schmidt & Barensteiner (2002), deposited in the Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany (SMF), and reassessed their taxonomic status.

Acknowledgment: I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Danni Sherwood for providing the complete manuscript.

Sherwood, Danniella & Geci, Donard & Lin, Yejie. (2026). The taxonomic status of two poorly described Chinese spiders: Cheiracanthium gobi Schmidt & Barensteiner, 2000 (Araneae: Cheiracanthidae) and Alopecosa hoevelsi Schmidt & Barensteiner, 2000 (Araneae: Lycosidae). Arachnology. 20. 513-514.