Descriptions of three new Heteropoda spiders from tropical Asia (Araneae: Sparassidae)

277 European Journal of Taxonomy 1022: 277–287 https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2025.1022.3091 europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu ISSN 2118-9773 2025 · Korai S.K. & Jäger P. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) Received: 15 July 2025 • Accepted: 2 September 2025 • Published: 16 October 2025 Topic editor: Magalie Castelin • Section editor: Arnaud Henrard • Desk editor: Lizeth Alonso Research article urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:62E43E22-A8E8-451E-BF24-01179D4D6664 Descriptions of three new Heteropoda spiders from tropical Asia (Araneae: Sparassidae) Shakal Khan KORAI1*  & Peter JÄGER2  1 College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, P.R. China. 1 The State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering of China, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, P.R. China. 2 Senckenberg Research Institute, Arachnology, Mertonstraße 17–21, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. *Corresponding author: [email protected] 2 Email: peter[email protected] Abstract. Three new species of the genus Heteropoda (Araneae: Sparassidae: Heteropodinae) are described: Heteropoda curvatasp.nov.(♂,Sabah),Heteropoda flammasp.nov.(♂,Hainan),and Heteropoda lucernasp.nov.(♀,GuangxiZhuangAutonomousRegion).Detailedmorphological descriptions, diagnostic illustrations, and a distribution map are provided for each species to facilitate identificationandcomparisonwithcongeners. Keywords. New species, species diversity, Guangxi, biodiversity, huntsman spider. Korai S.K. & Jäger P. 2025. Descriptions of three new Heteropoda spiders from tropical Asia (Araneae: Sparassidae). European Journal of Taxonomy 1022: 277–287. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2025.1022.3091 Introduction The genus Heteropoda, established by Latreille in 1804, comprises large, fast-moving spiders commonly known as giant crab spiders or huntsman spiders. Males of species of Heteropoda can be distinguished by afiliformembolus,restinginasheath-likeconductor,andfemalesbythecharacteristicspiralwindings of the internal duct system. Heteropoda is the second largest genus within the subfamily Heteropodinae Thorell, 1873, with 212 valid species currently recognized worldwide, of which twenty have been reported from China (Korai & Wang 2023a; Korai & Jäger 2024a, 2024b; World Spider Catalog 2025). These spiders are widely distributed from South, East and Southeast Asia to Australia in tropical and subtropical regions, and occur on tree trunks, in foliage, leaf litter, under rocks, in caves, and in human dwellings (Jäger & Yin 2001; Jäger 2002, 2008; Jäger & Vedel 2005; Korai & Wang 2023a, 2023b; Korai & Jäger 2024b). Only one species, Heteropoda venatoria Linnaeus, 1767, has been reported from tropical environments in Africa and the Americas as well as from heated buildings in temperate regions (Jäger 2024). European Journal of Taxonomy 1022: 277–287 (2025) 278 China, a vast country, spans two major zoogeographical regions: the relatively species-poor Palearctic zone in the north and the species-rich oriental zone in the southwest, south-central, and eastern parts. Over the past decade, colleagues from Hubei University have carried out extensive surveys of Heteropoda spiders in China, leading to the discovery of three new species, which are described in this paper. Material and methods Taxonomic description Specimenswerepreservedin75%ethanolandexaminedunderanOlympusSZX16stereo microscope. After dissection from the spider body, male palps and female copulatory organs were examined and illustrated. Female copulatory organs were cleaned with proteinase K at 56°C for 2–3 hours to remove soft tissues. Photographs were taken using a Leica 205C stereo microscopeandanOlympusBX51 equipped with a Micropublisher 3.3 RTV camera (QImaging, Surrey, BC, Canada). The leg formula is presented as: total length (femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus). The number of spines per segment is given in the following order: prolateral, dorsal, retrolateral, and ventral. For femora and patellae, ventral spines are absent, and the fourth digit is omitted in the spination formula. Terminology follows that of Li et al. (2013). All measurements are given in millimetres. Abbreviations used in text Repository institution CBEE = Centre for Behavioural Ecology and Evolution, College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China Somatic morphology ALE = anterior lateral eyes AME = anterior median eyes AW = anterior width of prosoma BL = body length CH = clypeus height dRTA = dorsal part of RTA OL = opisthosoma length OW = opisthosoma width PL = prosoma length PLE = posterior lateral eyes PME = posterior median eyes PW = prosoma width RTA = retrolateral tibial apophysis vRTA = ventral part of RTA I, II, III, IV = legs I to IV KORAI S.K. & JÄGER, P. three Heteropoda species from tropical Asia 279 Results Descriptions of new species Class Arachnida Cuvier, 1812 Order Araneae Clerck, 1757 Family Sparassidae Bertkau, 1872 Subfamily Heteropodinae Thorell, 1873 Genus Heteropoda Latreille, 1804 Heteropoda curvata sp. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:711409ED-856B-4752-A660-379F593207E8 Figs 1, 4 Diagnosis The male of Heteropoda curvata sp. nov. is similar to that of H. duo Jäger, 2014, in having a similarly undulating spermophor, a sub-distally arising RTA with a curved dRTA, and a distinct vRTA in retrolateral view,theembolusarisingat7:30-o’clock-positionfromtegulum(Fig.1A–C;Jäger2014:figs69–72), but can be distinguished from the latter species by 1. spermophor with only slightly bulging retrolaterad part; 2. conductor arising at 9:30-o’clock position from tegulum, not extending retrolaterally beyond cymbialmargininventralview,itstipdisto-retrolaterad;3.vRTAflat,broadlyroundedinretrolateral view; and 4. cymbium length/cymbium tip depth (in lateral view) = 4.72 (vs spermophor with distinctly bulging retro-proximad part, conductor arising from 11:00-o’clock position, extending beyond cymbial margin, its tip retrolaterad, vRTA distinctly bulging, and cymbium length/cymbium tip depth [in lateral view] = 6.67 in H. duo). Females are unknown. Etymology ThespecificnameisderivedfromtheLatinperfectpassiveparticipleof‘curvare, curvatus’, meaning ‘curved’,andreferstothedRTAinretrolateralview. Type material Holotype MALAYSIA•♂;SabahState,InteriorDivision,MountTrusmadi;[5°15ʹ56ʺN,116°16ʹ23ʺE];[524m a.s.l.]; 5 Oct. 2015; L.Y. Wang and G.Q. Huang leg.; CBEE. Paratypes CHINA•3♂♂;samedataasforholotype;CBEE. Description Male (holotype) MeasureMents. BL 12.4; PL 6.4, PW 6.0; AW 2.4; OL 6.0, OW 2.8. Eyes: AME 0.29, ALE 0.42, PME 0.32, PLE 0.46, AME–AME 0.21, AME–ALE 0.08, PME–PME 0.28, PME–PLE 0.41, AME–PME 0.35, ALE–PLE 0.32, CH AME 0.31, CH ALE 0.26. Spination: palp 131, 101, 2121; Fe I–III 323, IV 331; Pa I–IV 101; Ti I–II, IV 2026, III 2126; Mt I–II 1014, III 2014, IV 3036. Measurements of palp and legs: palp 13.3 (3.9, 1.4, 3.6, –, 4.4); I 31.3 (8.3, 3.0, 8.2, 9.1, 2.7); II 34.2 (8.6, 3.4, 9.2, 9.9, 2.6); III 25.5 (7.2, 2.4, 6.9, 7.0, 2.0); IV 28.4 (7.6, 2.4, 7.4, 8.7, 2.3). Leg formula: II–I–IV–III. Cheliceral furrow with 3 anterior, 4 posterior teeth and ca 26 intermarginal denticles. PalP. As in diagnosis. RTA arising distally to sub-distally from tibia. dRTA slender and pointed, vRTA with distinct hump in retrolateral view. Cymbium retro-proximally only slightly bulging. Tegulum elongated, alveolus visible between tegulum and conductor in ventral view, spermophor distally European Journal of Taxonomy 1022: 277–287 (2025) 280 Fig. 1. Heteropoda curvata sp. nov., holotype male from Mount Trusmadi, Malaysia (CBEE), A-C left palp. A. Prolateral view. B. Ventral view. C. Retrolateral view. D. Habitus, dorsal view. Abbreviations: C = conductor; dRTA = dorsal part of retrolateral tibial apophysis; E = embolus; SP = spermophor; vRTA = ventral part of retrolateral tibial apophysis; T = tegulum. Scale bars: A–D = 2 mm. KORAI S.K. & JÄGER, P. three Heteropoda species from tropical Asia 281 retrolaterad to dorsad in ventral view. Embolus almost running straight in visible part, totally slightly semi-circular (Fig. 1A–C). Colouration in ethanol. Dorsal shield of prosoma yellowish brown to light reddish-brown, with bright transversal crescent postero-submarginally, and longitudinal stripes covered by setae around fovea. Chelicerae light reddish-brown. Opisthosoma dorsally yellowish-brown, with large dark patches located just before posterior part, these covered by darker setae (Fig. 1D). Distribution Malaysia (Sabah State) (Fig. 4). Heteropoda flamma sp. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:95496F39-BC1F-4A91-A7A1-E2CF13B0E08F Figs 2, 4 Diagnosis The male of Heteropoda flamma sp. nov. is similar to that of H. obe Jäger, 2014 in having a sub-distally arising RTA with a distally widened dRTA and a dorsal outgrowth, a similar course of the spermophor inventralview,andaconductoraslongasthetegulum(Fig.2A–C;Jäger2014:figs145–150),butcan be distinguished from the latter species by: 1. conductor strongly bent and with tip narrowly pointed (vs slightly bent and continuously tapering in H. obe); 2. embolus arising in a 5-o’clock-position (vs 6-o’clock position in H. obe); 3. dRTA with long pointed ventrad tip and vRTA rounded, but tapering (vs dRTA with broadly rounded ventrad tip and vRTA broadly rounded in H. obe). The male of H. flamma is also similar to that of H. tetricaThorell,1897inhavingasimilarconductorwithaflamelike shape and a narrowly pointed tip as well as a similar course of the spermophor in ventral view, and theembolusarisingfromtegulumatapproximately5-o’clock-position(Jäger2001:fig.16a–c),butcan be distinguished from the latter species by 1. dRTA with widened tip and dorsal outgrowth (vs simple and narrow in H. tetrica); 2. conductor very broad and abruptly narrowing apically (vs narrow and continuously narrowing apically in H. tetrica). Females are unknown. Etymology ThespecificnameisderivedfromtheLatinnoun‘flamma’,meaning‘flame’,referringtotheflameshaped conductor; noun in apposition. Type material Holotype CHINA•♂;HainanProvince,HaikouCity,MeilanDistrict,YanfengTown,DongzhaigangMangrove NatureReserve;[19°56ʹ56ʺN,110°34ʹ47ʺE];[1ma.s.l.];13Apr.2013;Y.ZhongandJ.Liuleg.;CBEE. Paratype CHINA•1♂;samedataasforholotype;CBEE. Description Male (holotype) MeasureMents. BL 11.4; PL 5.5, PW 5.0; AW 2.9; OL 5.9, OW 3.8. Eyes: AME 0.28, ALE 0.41, PME 0.33, PLE 0.48, AME–AME 0.22, AME–ALE 0.08, PME–PME 0.29, PME–PLE 0.43, AME–PME 0.37, ALE–PLE 0.31, CH AME 0.30, CH ALE 0.28. Spination: palp 131, 101, 2121; Fe I–III 323, IV 331; Pa I–IV 101; Ti I–II 1018, III 2226, IV 2126; Mt I–II 1014, III 1014, IV 3036. Measurements of palp and European Journal of Taxonomy 1022: 277–287 (2025) 282 Fig. 2. Heteropoda flamma sp. nov., holotype male from Dongzhaigang Mangrove Nature Reserve, China (CBEE), A-C left palp. A. Prolateral view. B. Ventral view. C. Retrolateral view. D. Habitus, dorsal view. E. Ventral view. Abbreviations: C = conductor; dRTA = dorsal part of retrolateral tibial apophysis; E = embolus; SP = spermophor; vRTA = ventral part of retrolateral tibial apophysis; T = tegulum. Scale bars: A–C = 1 mm; D–E = 2 mm. KORAI S.K. & JÄGER, P. three Heteropoda species from tropical Asia 283 legs: palp 10.7 (3.5, 1.2, 2.6, –, 3.4); I 32.2 (8.8, 3.2, 8.6, 9.3, 2.9); II 35.5 (8.9, 3.6, 9.5, 10.6, 2.8); III 26.5 (7.3, 2.6, 7.0, 7.2, 2.2); IV 29.2 (7.7, 2.5, 7.6, 8.8, 2.5). Leg formula: II–I–IV–III. Cheliceral furrow with 3 anterior, 4 posterior teeth and ca 26 intermarginal denticles. PalP. As in diagnosis. RTA arising sub-distally from tibia. Cymbium roughly two times as long as tegulum, with distinct retrolateral bulge. Tegulum slightly elongated. Embolus arising from tegulum at 5-o’clock-position, running a semi-circle. Spermophor only very slightly S-shaped and bent at a right angle distally before running further dorsally of the conductor. vRTA with distinct ventrad hump (Fig. 2A–C). Colouration in ethanol. Dorsal shield of prosoma pale-yellowish to yellowish-brown, with bright transversal crescent postero-submarginally, and longitudinal stripes covered by setae around fovea (some setae rubbed off). Chelicerae light reddish-brown. Labium, sternum, and gnathocoxae pale-yellowish to yellowish-brown. Opisthosoma dorsally yellowish-brown, with light-brown pairwise patches, these covered by darker setae; ventrally yellowish-brown, and a dark-brown marking located at posterior part, covered by setae (Fig. 2D–E). Distribution China (Hainan Province) (Fig. 4). Heteropoda lucerna sp. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B6B705D6-6626-45B4-89B9-C1F3B2E65607 Figs 3–4 Diagnosis Female of this new species can be distinguished from most of the species of Heteropoda by the unique combination of having a transversal rim on a freely visible median septum (Fig. 3A–C; Jäger 2001:fig.16h–j; Li et al.2013:fig.1a–f) and is most similar to those of H. amphora Fox, 1936 and H. schwalbachorum Jäger, 2008, but can be distinguished from the latter species by: 1. median margins of lateral lobes strongly diverging anteriorly (vs converging in H. amphora and only slightly diverging in H schwalbachorum);2.firstwindingofIDSbarelycoveredbyposteriorpart(vsnotcoveredin H. amphora and H. schwalbachorum). Etymology ThespecificnameisderivedfromtheLatinnoun‘lucerna’,meaning‘oillamp’,referringtotheanterior part of IDS in dorsal view; name in apposition. Type material Holotype CHINA•♀;GuangxiZhuangAutonomousRegion,CityNanning,WumingCounty,LiangjiangTown, DamingMountain;[23°25ʹ59ʺN,108°30ʹ29ʺE];[1250ma.s.l.];26May2016;Y.Zhongleg.;CBEE. Description Female (holotype) MeasureMents. BL 12.1; PL 5.1, PW 4.3; AW 2.6; OL 7.0, OW 4.3. Eyes: AME 0.24, ALE 0.45, PME 0.38, PLE 0.46, AME–AME 0.25, AME–ALE 0.12, PME–PME 0.32, PME–PLE 0.48, AME–PME 0.46, ALE–PLE 0.51, CH AME 0.46, CH ALE 0.38. Spination: palp 131, 101, 2121, 1014; Fe I–, II 323, III–, IV 331; Pa I–IV 101; Ti I–II 1018, III–IV 2026; Mt I 0004, II–III 1014, IV 3036. Measurements of palp and legs: palp 11.7 (3.2, 1.7, 2.3, –, 4.3); I 39.3 (9.8, 3.4, 10.6, 11.5, 3.8); II 46.8 (11.9, 4.8, 12.6, European Journal of Taxonomy 1022: 277–287 (2025) 284 Fig. 3. Heteropoda lucerna sp. nov., holotype female from Daming Mountain, China (CBEE). A. Vulva, dorsal view. B. Epigyne, ventral view. C. Schematic course of internal duct system, dorsal view. D. Habitus, dorsal view. E. Habitus, ventral view. Abbreviations: AB = anterior bands; CO = copulatory opening;FD=fertilizationduct;FW=firstwinding;GP=glandularpores;LL=laterallobes;MS= median septum; R = transversal rim of median septum. Scale bars: A–C = 1 mm; D–E = 2 mm. KORAI S.K. & JÄGER, P. three Heteropoda species from tropical Asia 285 13.8, 3.5); III 33.1 (8.9, 3.7, 8.7, 8.9, 2.6); IV 36.8 (10.8, 3.4, 9.6, 10.3, 2.6). Leg formula: II–I–IV–III. Cheliceral furrow with 3 anterior, 4 posterior teeth and ca 38 intermarginal denticles. C oPulatory organ .Asindiagnosis.Epigynalfieldwiderthanlong,withshortandbasallywideanterior bands. Lateral lobes are widely separated from each other, and not covering the median septum. Fertilization ducts are separated about one width of posterior part of IDS (Fig. 3A–C). Colouration in ethanol. Dorsal shield of prosoma reddish-brown to slightly yellowish-brown, with bright transversal crescent submarginally on posterior part, and longitudinal stripes covered by hairs around fovea. Chelicerae deep reddish-brown. Sternum, labium and gnathocoxae are yellowish-brown to reddish-brown. Opisthosoma dorsally yellowish-brown, with three pairs of six dots, and a dark-colored marking at posterior part; ventrally yellowish-brown, without obvious markings (Fig. 3D–E). Distribution China(GuangxiZhuangAutonomousRegion)(Fig.4). Fig. 4. Locality records for three new species of the genus Heteropoda Latreille, 1804; 1 = H. curvata sp.nov.(♂,Sabah);2=H. flamma sp.nov.(♂,Hainan);3=H. lucernasp.nov.(♀,GuangxiZhuang Autonomous Region).