Dichopelmus lotus, Xie, Man-Chao & Zhu, Ming-Sheng, 2010

Dichopelmus lotus n. sp.

( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 )

FEMALE (n = 6). Body fusiform, 150 (110–163) long, 63 (59–69) wide, 40 (40–45) thick. Gnathosoma— 20 long, projecting straight down; dorsal pedipalp genual setae ( d) 8. Prodorsal shield— 41 (40–42) long, 58 (55–60) wide; frontal lobe broad in dorsal view, with several apical tooth-like projections; anterior shield margin sculptured with short lines. Median, admedian and submedian lines incomplete, median line present on shield from base to 1/6 with apical fork forming a Y-shape; 2 curved lines from base of dorsal tubercles indirectly connected by cross-line at 1/3 behind anterior shield margin. Scapular tubercles on rear shield margin, 38 (37-38) apart; scapular setae ( sc) 8 (7–8), projecting backwards and divergently. Coxae— Sternal line present, coxal area sculptured with several lines; anterolateral setae on coxisternum І ( 1b) 5 (4–6), 11(1– 12) apart; proximal setae on coxisternum І ( 1a) 10 (10–12), 7 (7–8) apart; proximal setae on coxisternum І ( 2a) 12 (11–15) long, 17 (17–20) apart. Legs— Segments normal. Leg I 28 (26–30), femur 10 (10–11), basiventral femoral setae ( bv) 8 (6–8); genu 4 (3–4), antaxial genual setae ( l") 18 (15–20); tibia 7 (7–8), paraxial tibial setae ( l') 6 (5–6); tarsus 6 (5–6), paraxial fastigial tarsal setae ( ft ʹ)15 (13-15), antaxial fastigial tarsal setae ( ft") 15, and paraxial unguinal tarsal setae ( u ʹ) 5; tarsal empodium divided, each branch 3-rayed; tarsal solenidion 5, knobbed. Leg І 25 (24–26), femur 10 (10–11), basiventral femoral setae ( bv) 7 (7–8); genu 4 (3–4), antaxial genual setae ( l") 5 (4–5); tibia 5 (5–6); tarsus 5 (5–6), paraxial fastigial tarsal setae ( ft') 4 (4–6), antaxial fastigial tarsal setae ( ft") 15, and paraxial unguinal tarsal setae ( u ʹ) 5; tarsal empodium divided, each branch 3-rayed; tarsal solenidion 5, knobbed. Opisthosoma— Dorsal annuli 27, with 20–24 dorsal annuli forming a longitudinal median ridge and 17–18 dorsal annuli forming two longitudinal lateral ridges; dorsal annuli with pattern of short lines on ridges; ventral annuli 61–64, with round microtubercles except caudal 6 ventral annuli with elongated microtubercles. Setae c2 7 (7–8), 45 (43–47) apart, on 9–10th ventral annulus; setae d 16 (14–18), 25 (25–28) apart, on 22–23rd ventral annulus; setae e 16 (16–18), 13 (13– 16) apart, on 39–40th ventral annulus; setae f 20 (15–20), 16 (15–16) apart, on 6th ventral annulus from rear. Setae h1 absent, setae h2 40 (40–50). Female genital coverflap — coverflap 15 (15–17) long, 20 (19–20) wide, with 8–10 longitudinal ridges and suggestions of several basal lines, proximal setae on coxisternum ІІ ( 3a) 10 (9–11), 13 (12–13) apart.

Male. Not seen.

Type date. Holotype, female, Xiangxidong ( 32°40'N, 109º18'E), three kilometers south of Ankang city, Shaanxi province, China. 6-Jul.-2008, from Diospyros kaki (Ebenaceae) , collected by Manchao Xie. Paratypes, five females, with the same data as holotype.

Remarks. This new species is similar to Dichopelmus puerariae Qin, Wang & Wei, 2008 , but can be differentiated by the frontal lobe with tooth-like projections on apex; the shield design with median, admedian and submedian lines; sternal line present; and empodium with each branch 3-rayed. In D. puerariae , the frontal lobe is without tooth-like projections on apex, the shield design has many longitudinal lines, coxae I are fused, and each branch of the empodium is 7-rayed.