Newly Discovered Male of Heteropoda Languida Simon, 1887 (Araneae: Sparassidae) in Yunnan, China
Abstract
Heteropoda spiders are an essential predator in tropical and subtropical areas because they trap and eat insects, cockroaches, and other domestic soft-bodied pests in crops. Pantropical huntsman spiders do not use webs to catch prey, like other stray spiders do. They catch the insects they eat using their powerful chelicerae (jaws) and quick movements. More than 140 individuals belonging to Heteropoda languida Simon, 1887 species, were collected from Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and brought back to lab, and then stored in 75% ethanol. Among which 36 individuals were males and 104 individuals were females. Our research findings provide previously unknown male of Heteropoda languida Simon, 1887 for the first time, and the female is re-described from Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, Yunnan, China. Our results also adding a little knowledge to Heteropoda species distribution, and may help to study the biogeography and dispersal route of Heteropoda spiders. In this paper, we provide the diagnosis, description, illustration, and field photos with distribution map for both males and females.
papers are accepted on the understanding that the work has been submitted exclusively to the journal and has not been previously published. Authors will be supplied with copyright form, which must be completed and returned to the publisher. Papers will not be published until the signed copyright disclaimer has been received.
Kindly download the copyright for below and attach as a supplimentry file during article submission