Female. Total length 2.85; carapace 0.94 long, 0.77 wide, opisthosoma 1.93 long, 1.45 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.05, ALE 0.06, PME 0.06, PLE 0.05, AME–AME 0.02, AME–ALE 0, PME–PME 0.02, PME–PLE 0.02, AME–PME 0.05, ALE–PLE 0.01. Endites almost as long as wide. Leg measurements: I 3.69 (1.05, 1.27, 0.80, 0.57), II 2.77 (0.79, 0.91, 0.55, 0.52), III 2.59 (0.74, 0.78, 0.51, 0.56), IV 3.93 (1.09, 1.26, 0.89, 0.69).

Colouration (Fig. 1a, Fig. 10a). Carapace dark-brown, covered with long sparse brown setae, eyes with black rings. Endites and labium green-brown. Sternum green-brown. Legs orange-brown, covered with sparse setae, more distinct on metatarsi and tarsi. Opisthosoma with two large white spots anteriorly and posteriorly, three pairs of small white symmetrical spots along the mid-line and a pair of white spots laterally, slightly larger than the small white spot in the middle. Spinnerets black.

a

b

c

d

Figure 1.

Habitus of live specimens of Stemmops spp. [Photos: Fan Gao (a, b, d) and Qianle Lu (c)]. Arrows show the difference between S. atratus sp. n. and S. nipponicus Yaginuma, 1969.

a: S. atratus sp. n., female holotype;  
b: S. lini sp. n. subadult, male;  
c: S. nigrabdomenus, female;  
d: S. nipponicus, female.  

Figure 2.  

Stemmops atratus sp. n., holotype female. A Epigyne, ventral; B Vulva, dorsal. Abbreviations: CD copulatory duct; CO copulatory opening; FD fertilisation duct; H hood; S spermatheca.

Figure 3.  

Left palp of Stemmops lini sp. n., holotype male. A Prolateral; B Ventral. Abbreviations: C conductor; E embolus; EBA embolic basal apophysis; EBF embolic basal flat extension; EBP embolic basal process; ETA embolic terminal apophysis; MA median apophysis; SD sperm duct; ST subtegulum; T tegulum; TTA theridiid tegular apophysis.

Figure 4.  

Stemmops lini sp. n., paratype male (A) and holotype male (B–E). A Bulb; B theridiid tegular apophysis; C Terminal apophysis, D Median apophysis; E Embolic tip. Abbreviations: C conductor; E embolus; EBA embolic basal apophysis; EBF embolic basal flat extension; EBP embolic basal process; ETA embolic terminal apophysis; H, hood; MA median apophysis; SD sperm duct; ST subtegulum; T tegulum; TTA theridiid tegular apophysis.

Figure 5.  

Stemmops lini sp. n., paratype female. A Epigyne, ventral; B Vulva, dorsal. Abbreviations: CD copulatory duct; CO copulatory opening; FD fertilisation duct; H hood; S spermatheca.

a

b

c

Figure 6.

Left palps of Stemmops spp., ventral. Abbreviations: C conductor; E embolus; EBA embolic basal apophysis; EBP embolic basal process; SD sperm duct; ST subtegulum; T tegulum; TTA theridiid tegular apophysis.

a: S. forcipus;  
b: S. nigrabdomenus;  
c: S. nipponicus.  

a

b

c

d

Figure 7.

Embolic tips of Stemmops spp., ventral.

a: S. forcipus;  
b: S. lini sp. n.;  
c: S. nigrabdomenus;  
d: S. nipponicus.  

a

b

c

Figure 8.

Embolic tips of Stemmops spp., prolateral.

a: S. forcipus;  
b: S. lini sp. n.;  
c: S. nipponicus.  

Figure 9.  

Stemmops nigrabdomenus, female. A Epigyne, ventral; B Vulva, dorsal. Abbreviations: CD copulatory duct; CO copulatory opening; FD fertilisation duct; H hood; Se septum; S spermatheca.

a

b

c

Figure 10.

Stemmops spp., habitus.

a: S. atratus sp. n., Female holotype. Dorsal (left photo); Lateral (right photo);  
b: S. lini sp. n., dorsal. Male holotype (left photo); Female paratype (right photo);  
c: S. nigrabdomenus, dorsal. Male (left photo); Female (right photo).  

Epigyne (Fig. 2A and B). Epigynal plate almost as long as wide, with hood anteriorly, hood almost six times wider than long. Copulatory openings located on posterior portion of epigyne. First half of copulatory ducts slightly curved and second half coils around the middle of the spermathecae for four turns. Spermathecae kidney-shaped. Fertilisation ducts kidney-shaped.

Male. Unknown.

The female of this new species is similar to that of S. nipponicus Yaginuma, 1969 by the split atrium (Fig. 2A). However, it can be distinguished by the presence of hood (Fig. 2A) (vs. absent) and the copulatory ducts coiled four times around the spermathecae (Fig. 2B) (vs. once in S. nipponicus). Furthermore, it differs by its habitus: S. atratus sp. n. lacks obscure yellow spots on the lateral view of opisthosoma (Fig. 1a, Fig. 10a Right) [vs. present in S. nipponicus, Yaginuma (1969) (Fig. 1d)].

The specific epithet is derived from the Latin word ātrātus, meaning darkened, referring to the colour of the new species.

China (Jiangsu, Zhejiang) (Fig. 11).

Figure 11.  

Distribution records of Stemmops species in China: 1 S. atratus sp. n.; 2 S. lini sp. n.; 3 S. nigrabdomenus. The green circles indicate type localities.

All specimens were collected under stones.

The dark venter of opisthosoma and epigynal hood indicate that the illustrated female of S. nipponicus in Jin (2018) is misidentified. Herein, we determine this species as S. atratus sp. n.

Stemmops nipponicus, 10♂10♀, CHINA: Beijing: Chaoyang District, Olympic Forest Park, 40.0108°N, 101.2820°E, elevation 40 m, 7.VI.2022, Yejie Lin & Yunxiao Shen leg.

Male (holotype). Total length 1.71; carapace 0.78 long, 0.68 wide, opisthosoma 1.04 long, 0.57 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.04, ALE 0.04, PME 0.04, PLE 0.04, AME–AME 0.02, AME–ALE 0.01, PME–PME 0.02, PME–PLE 0.01, AME–PME 0.03, ALE–PLE 0. Endites almost as long as wide. Leg measurements: I 3.01 (0.82, 1.10, 0.63, 0.46), II 2.30 (0.61, 0.78, 0.44, 0.47), III 2.11 (0.53, 0.66, 0.43, 0.49), IV 3.33 (0.93, 1.13, 0.66, 0.61).

Colouration (Fig. 1b, Fig. 10b Left). Carapace yellow, edge black, eyes with black rings. Chelicerae yellow. Endites and labium yellow. Sternum paler yellow. Legs paler yellow, covered with sparse setae, more distinct on metatarsi and tarsi. Opisthosoma with two pale yellow spots anteriorly and posteriorly, two mountain-shaped pale-yellow spots in the middle, larger than the anterior and posterior yellow spots, pale yellow laterally. Spinnerets yellow.

Palp (Fig. 3A, B, Fig. 4A–E). Patella almost as long as tibia. Cymbium almost as long as wide. Cymbium covered with sparse setae. Subtegulum on the lateral posterior side of the bulb, half encasing tegulum. Sperm duct S-shaped, the first bend obscured by embolus, not obvious, the second bend three times as wide as the diameter of the sperm duct. Median apophysis (Fig. 4D) hidden behind the conductor and tip with a hood. Theridiid tegular apophysis (Fig. 4B) divided into two parts by a translucent membrane: anterior part slightly curved, sickle-shaped, posterior almost quadrilateral. Conductor (Fig. 4C) tip pincer-shaped, located posterior to embolic basal apophysis. Embolic basal process (Fig. 4C) with two parts: embolic basal apophysis black with sharp end and folds, embolic basal flat extension semi-circular, flaky and transparent. Embolus (Fig. 4E) falciform, with spoon-shaped embolic terminal apophysis, connected by a membrane.

Female (IZCAS-Ar44593). Total length 2.14; carapace 0.85 long, 0.69 wide, opisthosoma 1.29 long, 0.75 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.03, ALE 0.05, PME 0.04, PLE 0.05, AME–AME 0.02, AME–ALE 0, PME–PME 0.02, PME–PLE 0.01, AME–PME 0.04, ALE–PLE 0.01. Endites almost as long as wide. Leg measurements: I 3.26 (0.93, 1.14, 0.65, 0.54), II 2.51 (0.72, 0.83, 0.45, 0.51), III 2.19 (0.58, 0.67, 0.42, 0.52), IV 3.18 (0.85, 1.05, 0.63, 0.65).

Colouration (Fig. 10b Right). Similar to that of male, except darker.

Epigyne (Fig. 5A, B). Epigynal plate almost as long as wide, with a weakly-developed hood anteriorly. Copulatory openings situated on posterior portion of epigyne. Copulatory ducts directly connected to spermathecae. Spermathecae kidney-shaped. Fertilisation ducts kidney-shaped.

The male of this new species is similar to those of S. forcipus Zhu, 1998 and S. nipponicus by the median apophysis with depression (Fig. 4D), curved theridiid tegular apophysis (Fig. 3B, Fig. 4B, Fig. 6a, c), embolic basal apophysis strongly sclerotised and folded (Fig. 3B, Fig. 4C, Fig. 6a, c) and the presence of an embolic terminal apophysis (Fig. 4E, Fig. 7b, d, Fig. 8a, b, c). However, the new species can be distinguished from S. forcipus and S. nipponicus by the width of the sperm duct bend almost three times the diameter of the sperm duct (Fig. 3B) [vs. five times in S. forcipus and S. nipponicus (Fig. 6a, c)], presence of embolic basal apophysis and embolic basal flat extension (Fig. 3A, B, Fig. 4A, C) [vs. absent from embolic basal flat extension in S. forcipus and S. nipponicus (Fig. 6a, c)] and by the embolic terminal apophysis expanded and spoon-shaped (Fig. 4E) [vs. embolic terminal apophysis flat in S. forcipus and S. nipponicus (Fig. 7a, d)]. The female is similar to S. nipponicus by the split atrium (Fig. 5A). However, it can be distinguished from S. nipponicus by the length/width ratio of the atrium being almost 1:3 (Fig. 5A) (vs. 1:4 in S. nipponicus), the diameter of the spermathecae to the length of the copulatory ducts being almost 1:4 (vs. 1:2 in S. nipponicus) and by habitus, with S. lini sp. n. lacking white spots [vs. present in S. nipponicus, Yaginuma (1969) (Fig. 1d)], rather with round and mountain-shaped yellow spots (Fig. 1b).

The species is named after Lin Zexu (1785–1850), a famous historical person born in Fujian who fought against imperialist aggression.

China (Fujian, Zhejiang) (Fig. 11).

All specimens were collected under stones.

The presence of embolic basal apophysis and embolic basal flat extension and the spoon-shaped embolic terminal apophysis show the male of S. nipponicus in Jin (2018) is misidentified. Herein, we treat the male as S. lini sp. n.

Stemmops forcipus Zhu, 1998, 5♂5♀, CHINA: Yunnan: Xishuangbanna, Mengla County, Lvshilin, 21.9033°N, 101.2820°E, elevation 608 m, 1–15.IV.2007, Guo Zheng leg.

Female (IZCAS-Ar44596). Total length 3.16; carapace 1.21 long, 1.04 wide, opisthosoma 2.08 long, 1.22 wide. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME 0.07, ALE 0.07, PME 0.07, PLE 0.07, AME–AME 0.06, AME–ALE 0.01, PME–PME 0.02, PME–PLE 0.01, AME–PME 0.06, ALE–PLE 0. Endites almost as long as wide. Leg measurements: I 5.13 (1.39, 1.78, 1.20, 0.76), II 3.67 (1.04, 1.14, 0.85, 0.64), III 3.47 (0.99, 1.09, 0.79, 0.60), IV 5.73 (1.59, 1.82, 1.46, 0.86).

Colouration (Fig. 1c, Fig. 10c Right). Carapace red-brown, covered with long sparse brown setae, black rings around PMEs. Chelicerae yellow. Endites and labium yellow. Sternum pale yellow. Legs red-brown, covered with sparse setae. Opisthosoma black, covered with sparse setae, with a white spot posteriorly. Spinnerets brown.

Epigyne (Fig. 9A, B). Epigynal plate longer than wide, almost oval, with a pair of triangular hoods posteriorly. Septum emerges from a central position to the posterior. Copulatory openings located on posterior portion of epigyne. Copulatory ducts wide basally, curved and then coils around spermathecae for three turns. Spermathecae oval. Fertilisation ducts pincer-shaped.

Male. See Zhu (1998) (Figs 6b, 7c, 10c Left).

The male can be easily recognised by the embolic basal apophysis white and transparent, without obvious sclerotisation (Fig. 6b) and the terminal of embolus not modified (Fig. 7c). Females can be distinguished by the large, oblong epigynal plate, with a pair of hoods posteriorly (Fig. 9A).

China (Guangxi, Hainan) (Fig. 11).

The female is described here for the first time.