Zhiyuan Yao

Shenyang Normal University · College of Life Science

Five genera and 26 species belonging to two subfamilies Arteminae Simon, 1893 (one genus and one species) and Pholcinae C.L. Koch, 1850 (four genera and 25 species) are reported from northern Vietnam, including 19 new species of three genera: Belisana babensis sp. nov. (male, female; Bac Kan), B. cheni sp. nov. (male, female; Bac Kan), B. clavata s...

Fourteen new species belonging to five pholcid genera are reported from Laos: Belisana champasakensis sp. nov. (male), B. crystallina sp. nov. (male and female), B. gigantea sp. nov. (male and female), B. khanensis sp. nov. (male and female), B. lancea sp. nov. (male), B. martensi sp. nov. (male), B. tadetuensis sp. nov. (male), B. xiangensis sp. n...

The spider genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 is highly diverse in China. In this study we describe 35 new species: Pholcus abstrusus sp. nov., P. aduncus sp. nov., P. agilis sp. nov., P. alpinus sp. nov., P. bailongensis sp. nov., P. bantouensis sp. nov., P. bing sp. nov., P. brevis sp. nov., P. chang sp. nov., P. cuneatus sp. nov., P. decorus sp. nov...

Eighteen species of the genus Khorata Huber, including 16 new species, are reported from Guangxi, China: Khorata digitata sp. nov., K. dongkou sp. nov., K. epunctata sp. nov., K. flabelliformis sp. nov., K. fusui Zhang&Zhu, 2009, K. guiensis sp. nov., K. liuzhouensis sp. nov., K. luojinensis sp. nov., K. macilenta sp. nov., K. miaoshanensis sp. nov...

Four new species belonging to four genera of the subfamily Pholcinae are reported from Southeast Asia: Belisana protumida spec. nov. (male, female), Khorata bayeri spec. nov. (male), Pholcus schawalleri spec. nov. (male), and Uthina khaosokensis spec. nov. (male).

Five new species of the genus Bifurcia are described: B. kangding sp. nov. (♂♀), B. labahe sp. nov. (♂), B. luding sp. nov. (♂♀), B. shuangqiao sp. nov. (♂♀), and B. xiaojin sp. nov. (♂♀) from western Sichuan, China. A distribution map of the species and illustrations of genital characters are provided in this paper.

Background China exhibits remarkable diversity of the spider genus Belisana Thorell, 1898, with 62 species recorded to date. However, the largest number of Belisana species was found in Yunnan Province (23 ssp.), while only seven species were found in Guizhou Province. New information In this paper, Belisana wangchengi sp. nov. as a new species is...

In this study, eight new species are described from the subtropical parts of Yunnan Province in southwestern China: Belisana honghe Zhang, Li & Yao, sp. nov. (♂♀), B. jiuxiang Zhang, Li & Yao, sp. nov. (♂♀), B. lincang Zhang, Li & Yao, sp. nov. (♂♀), B. luxi Zhang, Li & Yao, sp. nov. (♂♀), B. tengchong Zhang, Li & Yao, sp. nov. (♂♀), B. tongi Zhang...

Four morphologically similar species of the Pholcus yichengicus species group, occurring in geographic proximity of China’s Qinling Mountains, were recognised, based on morphology and four methods of molecular species delimitation. They comprise two new species, namely Pholcus ankang sp. nov. and P. baoji sp. nov. and two previously described speci...

A new species of pholcid spiders, Pholcus fengmeii Zhang, He & Yao, sp. nov. (♂♀), is described from Liaoning Province, China. The new species belongs to the speciose phungiformes species group. Taxonomic keys to four closely related species are provided.

We report 18 spider species of the genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 from a survey in the Qinling Mountains of central China. They belong to four species groups and include seven species new to science: Pholcus jiaozuo Yang & Yao, sp. nov. (♂♀) in the taishan species group; P. luonan Yang & Yao, sp. nov. (♂♀), P. luoyang Yang & Yao, sp. nov. (♂♀), P....

Background The genus Wuliphantes Irfan, Wang & Zhang, 2023 is a small genus in the family Linyphiidae Blackwall, 1859, with only three species: W.guanshan (Irfan, Wang & Zhang, 2022), W.tongluensis (Chen & Song, 1988) and W.trigyrus Irfan, Wang & Zhang, 2023, all distributed in China. New information A new species: Wuliphantesyaan sp. nov. from Si...

Aim: Notwithstanding talk of a “taxonomic impediment” over the past 30 years, the exponential growth in the global number of newly described spider species during the 1975–2000 period has continued unabated. This paper focuses on the advances in taxonomic studies of spiders in 2022 worldwide, with detailed statistical analyses of new taxa, type loc...

The family Pholcidae C.L. Koch, 1850 is highly diverse in Guizhou Province, southwestern China, and currently contains four genera and 22 species. Nevertheless, the distribution of pholcid spiders is conspicuously patchy in Guizhou. Species from Guiyang are poorly studied, and only Pholcus spilis Zhu & Gong, 1991 has been recorded. A survey was und...

In this paper, two new Mallinella spiders of the family Zodariidae Thorell, 1881 are reported from Hainan Island, China: M. ledong sp. nov. (♂♀) and M. limushan sp. nov. (♂♀). Complete description for each species are provided, along with high quality illustrations and the distribution map of the records.

Four new species of the family Liocranidae are described from China and Vietnam. The new genus Sinocranum gen. nov., is erected to accommodate S. menghai sp. nov. (♂♀) from China. Further new species described include Koppe ninger sp. nov. (♀) from China , Xantharia baizilongi sp. nov. (♂♀) from China and X. cucphuong sp. nov. (♂) from Vietnam. In...

Three new species belonging to the kinabaluensis group of the trachelid genus Utivarachna Kishida, 1940 are reported from China and Vietnam: U. linyejiei sp. nov. (♂♀), U. tamdao sp. nov. (♂♀), and U. zhengguoi sp. nov. (♂♀). Type specimens are deposited in the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IZCAS) in Beijing, China and the Viet...

Species of the spider genus Belisana Thorell, 1898 exhibit high diversity in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China. Currently, 14 species have been recorded. In this study, three additional new species of Belisana from Xishuangbanna are described and illustrated based on specimens from the collection of Shenyang Normal University in China. They are: Belisan...

Three new zodariid spiders from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden in Yun-nan, China are described. A new species of the genus Euryeidon Dankittipakul & Jocqué, 2004, E. dian sp. nov. (♂♀), and two new species of the genus Mallinella Strand, 1906, M. banna sp. nov. (♂) and M. mengla sp. nov. (♂), are described. Euryeidon is reported for th...

This research involved the study of 31 species from the spider family Mysmenidae Petrunkevitch, 1928, found in the Gaoligong Mountains of China, including one new genus and 13 new species. Our results suggested that regression of East Tethys contributed to the appearance of a center of biodiversity.

Six species of the family Corinnidae Karsch, 1880 are described from China and Vietnam. Fengzhen gen. nov. is erected to accommodate F. mengla sp. nov. (♂♀) from China; Peng gen. nov. is erected to accommodate P. birmanicus (Thorell, 1897), comb. nov., P. borneensis (Yamasaki, 2017), comb. nov. and P. taprobanicus (Simon, 1897), comb. nov., transfe...

Background The genus Flagelliphantes Saaristo & Tanasevitch, 1996 was proposed by Saaristo & Tanasevitch, 1996 to accommodate three ex-Lepthyphantes species distributed in northern Eurasia. Male Flagelliphantes are easlily recognised by having a hood-shaped thumb on the embolus. The females have a long, S-shaped scape and the posterior median plate...

Three new species of spiders belonging to the genera Oedignatha Thorell, 1881 and Paratus Simon, 1898 of the family Liocranidae Simon, 1897 are described from China and Nepal: Oedignatha shaanxi sp. nov. (female only; Shaanxi, China), Paratus bagmati sp. nov. (male only; Bagmati, Nepal), and P. ledong sp. nov. (both sexes; Hainan, China). In additi...

Spiders of the genus Pholcus were collected for the first time during an expedition to the Lüliang Mountains in Shanxi Province, North China. Phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data from COI, H3, wnt, and 28S genes allowed us to group them into nine well-supported clades. We used morphology and four methods of molecular species delimitation, nam...

Species of the Pholcus phungiformes group exhibit high diversity in Liaoning Province of northeastern China. This paper summarizes the current knowledge on this species-group from this area. A checklist of 22 species recorded from this province is given, accompanied with a distribution map of the species. Pholcus xiuyan Zhao, Zheng & Yao, sp. nov....

Liocranid spiders from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden in Yunnan, China are studied. Two new species of Oedignatha Thorell, 1881, O. dian Lu & Li, sp. nov. (♂♀) and O. menglun Lu & Li, sp. nov. (♂♀), are described, and the female of Jacaena menglaensis Mu & Zhang, 2020 is described for the first time. The specimens studied are deposited...

The spider family Ctenidae Keyserling, 1877 has a worldwide distribution with 584 species belonging to 49 genera. Amongst these, 141 species are from Asia, including 130 species assigned to Cteninae Keyserling, 1877. Nine new species belonging to three genera of Cteninae are reported from Asia: Amauropelma krabi sp. n. (female; Krabi, Thailand), Am...

The spider family Ctenidae Keyserling, 1877 has a worldwide distribution with 580 species belonging to 49 genera, of which 109 species of six genera are distributed in Southeast Asia. Four new species of ctenid spiders are described from Southeast Asia: Anahita menglun sp. n. (Yunnan, China), Bowie haiphong sp. n. (Hai Phong, Vietnam), Bowie mengla...

Aim: Spiders are the most common and abundant predators in terrestrial ecosystems. Regularly summarizing the new taxa of the Araneae will help disseminate recent achievements in the field of spider diversity. The aim of this paper is to provide a global tally of new spider taxa published in 2021. Progresses: A total of 975 new taxa (including speci...

Amauropelma Raven, Stumkat & Gray, 2001 currently contains 24 species. It is distributed in Australia, India, Indonesia, Laos and Malaysia. This genus has not been found in China. Ctenus Walckenaer, 1805 comprises 213 known species. This genus is distributed worldwide. Currently, only two species, Ctenus lishuqiang Jäger, 2012 and Ctenus yaeyamensi...

Europe covers approximately 10.18 million km2 in western Eurasia, while China covers about 9.6 million km2 in the east. Due to their relative positions to each other and similar land areas, spider species richness in Europe and China is comparable (Li, 2020). Indeed, Europe contains a total of 5 441 species in 727 genera from 63 spider families (Ne...

The Pholcus yichengicus species-group currently contains 37 species. It is distributed in central and south-eastern China and Thailand, except for P. guani Song & Ren, 1994 from Liaoning Province, north-eastern China and P. clavatus Schenkel, 1936 which is widely distributed in the country. Pholcus bajia sp. nov. is described as a new species of th...

The spider family Pholcidae C.L. Koch, 1850 exhibits high diversity at generic level and currently contains 95 genera while the subfamily Arteminae Simon, 1893 contains only eight genera. In this study, a new genus, Changminia Yao & Li gen. nov. from karst caves in Southeast Asia, is described and assigned to Arteminae, with the type species Changm...

Twenty new species of extinct spiders belonging to 11 genera in five families from Late Cretaceous Kachin amber are reported. One new genus, Triangulum Jiang & Li, gen. nov., of the family Theridiidae Sundevall, 1833 was established with T. thutai Jiang & Li, sp. nov. as the type species. The remaining 19 new species are: Retrooecobius lwini Jiang...

Aims: The aim of this paper is to provide the 2020 tallies of new taxa of Chinese spiders, and new taxa described by Chinese arachnologists. Progresses: Firstly, based on specimens collected in China, a total of 223 new taxa were inscribed in 2020. They comprised a new subfamily, 12 new genera and 201 new species, reported by Chinese arachnologists...

Three new species belonging to genera Burmorchestina Wunderlich, 2008 (2 species) and Orchestina Simon, 1882 (1 species) of the spider family Oonopidae Simon, 1890 are described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber: Burmorchestina bo Jiang and Li sp. nov., B. gong Jiang and Li sp. nov., and Orchestina qiu Jiang and Li sp. nov. In addition, males of Bu...

Three new species of the extinct spider genus †Furcembolus Wunderlich, 2008 from Late Cretaceous Burmese amber are described: Furcembolus chuandiani Jiang & Li spec. nov., F. fengzheni Jiang & Li spec. nov. and F. martensi Jiang & Li spec. nov. All types are deposited in the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China.

Thirty-five new species of the Pimoa Chamberlin & Ivie, 1943 are described from Pan-Himalaya: P. anning Zhang & Li, sp. nov. (♂♀), P. bomi Zhang & Li, sp. nov. (♂♀), P. cawarong Zhang & Li, sp. nov. (♂♀), P. daman Zhang & Li, sp. nov. (♀), P. danba Zhang & Li, sp. nov. (♀), P. deqen Zhang & Li, sp. nov. (♀), P. dongjiu Zhang & Li, sp. nov. (♂♀), P....

Despite 250 years of taxonomic classification and over 1.2 million species already catalogued, known species diversity is only a small part of true species diversity on Earth, and thus, the known species are only the tip of iceberg. Here, we investigated the genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 of the family Pholcidae C. L. Koch, 1850 in the Changbai Mou...

The spider family Pholcidae C.L. Koch, 1850 exhibits high diversity at generic level and currently contains 94 genera. In this study, one new genus Tangguoa Yao & Li gen. nov. from southern China is described with the type species T. laibin Yao & Li sp. nov. (male, female; Guangxi) and one additional species T. tongguling Yao & Li sp. nov. (male, f...

Two new spider families from Late Cretaceous Kachin amber (Myanmar), †Pilosarachnidae Jiang & Li, fam. nov. and †Gigarachnidae Jiang & Li, fam. nov., are described: Pilosarachne ju Jiang & Li, gen. & sp. nov. and Gigarachne bian Jiang & Li, gen. & sp. nov. Type specimens are deposited in the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beij...

The Pholcus phungiformes species group is highly diverse and currently contains 53 species. In this study, Pholcus tongyaoi Wang & Yao, sp. nov. (male, female) from Huairou District, Beijing, China is described while similar congener Pholcus lexuancanhi Yao, Pham & Li, 2012 from neighboring Haidian District (type locality) is redescribed; the femal...

喀斯特洞穴是可溶性岩石因喀斯特作用形成的地下空间，内部常年黑暗无光，是一个与地表完全不同的地下环境。由于洞穴与外界的隔离性极高，所以几乎每一个洞穴都是一个相对独立的生态系统。黑暗，也为那些生活于洞穴深处的生物蒙上了一层未知且神秘的面纱，洞穴蜘蛛便是其中一个重要的群体。

Previously, the genus Merizocera Fage, 1912 comprised only seven species from Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. In this study, 28 new species are described from South and Southeast Asia: M. baoshan Li, sp. nov. (♂♀), M. betong Li, sp. nov. (♂♀), M. colombo Li, sp. nov. (♂♀), M. galle Li, sp. nov. (♂♀), M. hponkanrazi Li, sp. nov. (♂), M...

The genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 is reported from Pakistan for the first time. Two new species of the Pholcus nenjukovi species-group are described: Pholcus hamuchal Yao & Li sp. nov. (Gilgit Baltistan, male and female) and Pholcus kalam Yao & Li sp. nov. (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, male and female). Type material is deposited in the Institute of Zoolog...

The genus Belisana Thorell, 1898 is diverse in southern China. In this study, six new species are described and illustrated: Belisana guilin sp. nov. (Guangxi; male, female), Belisana maoer sp. nov. (Sichuan; male, female), Belisana naling sp. nov. (Guangxi; male, female), Belisana xiyuan sp. nov. (Fujian; male, female), Belisana xuanguan sp. nov....

Only three species of the genus Belisana Thorell, 1898, were recorded from Tibet, China, before the current study. In this study, four new Belisana species from Tibet are described: Belisana medog sp. nov. (male), Belisana muruo sp. nov. (male, female), Belisana xigaze sp. nov. (male, female), and Belisana zham sp. nov. (male, female). The female o...

The genus Savarna Huber, 2005 comprises only five species, from southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. In this study, five new species are described from Thailand: Savarna bannang sp. nov. (Yala), S. chiangmai sp. nov. (Chiangmai), S. huahin sp. nov. (Prachuap Kiri Khan), S. satun sp. nov. (Satun), S. thungsong sp. nov. (Nakhon Sritham...

Two new species of the spider genus Wanniyala Huber & Benjamin, 2005 are described from Sri Lanka: W. badulla sp. nov. (Uva Province; male and female) and W. batatota sp. nov. (Sabaragamuwa Province; male and female). In addition, new records of W. mudita Huber, 2019 (Western Province; male) and W. viharekele Huber, 2019 (Southern Province; male an...

The genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 is composed of 21 species-groups and the P. yichengicus species-group contains 35 species from central and southern China, and Thailand. In this study, two new species of the P. yichengicus species-group are described from southern China: Pholcus jingnan Yao & Li sp. nov. (Guizhou, male and female) and Pholcus lon...

The spider genus Khorata Huber, 2005 is a diverse group distributed in the Indo-Malayan Region. In this study, we describe two new species from southern China: Khorata nani sp. nov. (male, female; Guangdong) and Khorata yuhaoi sp. nov. (male, female; Yunnan and Guizhou). In addition, we briefly discuss the potential causes of its diversity.

Three new species of the spider genus Belisana Thorell, 1898 are described based on material collected in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China: Belisana mengla Yao & Li sp. nov. (male, female), Belisana menglun Yao & Li sp. nov. (male), and Belisana mengyang Yao & Li sp. nov. (male, female), bringing the total Belisana fauna of Xishuangbanna to 12 species.

Eight new species of the genus Khorata Huber, 2005 are reported from China: Khorata dawei Yao & Li sp. nov. (Yunnan), K. libo Yao & Li sp. nov. (Guizhou), K. luoping Yao & Li sp. nov. (Yunnan), K. matang Yao & Li sp. nov. (Yunnan), K. qian Yao & Li sp. nov. (Guizhou), K. suwei Yao & Li sp. nov. (Guangxi), K. wenshan Yao & Li sp. nov. (Yunnan), K. y...

The genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 belongs to the family Pholcidae C.L. Koch, 1850, which is a species-rich group, including 94 genera and 1,716 species (World Spider Catalog 2019). Pholcus is mainly distributed in the Palaearctic, Indo-Malayan, Afrotropical, and Australasian Region (Huber 2011). The only exception is the Pholcus kingi group with t...

Only nine species of the spider family Pholcidae C.L. Koch, 1850 are endemic in Kenya. In this study, three new species from Taita-Taveta County, southern Kenya are reported. They belong to two genera of the pholcid spiders: Buitinga qingyuani Yao & Li sp. nov. (male, female), B. wamitii Yao & Li sp. nov. (male), and Smeringopus voi Yao & Li sp. no...

Two new species of the spider genus Belisana Thorell, 1898 are described based on material collected in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China: Belisana menghai Yao & Li sp. nov. (male, female) and Belisana xishuangbanna Yao & Li sp. nov. (male), bringing the total Chinese Belisana fauna to 41 species. The DNA barcode COI of B. menghai Yao & Li sp. nov. is d...

Five new species of the genus Khorata

The Pinelema bailongensis Wang & Li, 2012 species group of the spider family Telemidae Fage, 1913 from Guangxi and Guizhou, China is revised. Previously, this species group contained two species: P. bailongensis and P. xiushuiensis Wang & Li, 2016. In this study, four species are transferred from Telema Simon, 1882 to Pinelema Wang & Li, 2012, and...

Figures S1–S12. Left male palps of Pinelemabailongensis species group, retrolateral view

Five new species of the spider genus Belisana Thorell, 1898 are described based on material collected in the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (Yunnan, China). They are: B. dian Yao & Li sp. nov. (male), B. gupian Yao & Li sp. nov. (male, female), B. chenjini Yao & Li sp. nov. (male, female), B. xtbg Yao & Li sp. nov. (male, female), and B. y...

Five new species from four species-groups of the genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 are described from China and Thailand: P. sakaew Yao & Li sp. nov. (Thailand) from the P. bidentatus species-group; P. umphang Yao & Li sp. nov. (Thailand) from the P. halabala species-group; P. ningan Yao & Li sp. nov. (China) from the P. phungiformes species-group; an...

Ten new species from six species groups of the genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 are described from Southeast Asia: Pholcus bulacanensis Yao & Li sp. nov. (male & female, Philippines) from the P. bicornutus species group; P. duan Yao & Li sp. nov. (male & female, Thailand), P. ping Yao & Li sp. nov. (male & female, Vietnam) and P. vietnamensis Yao & L...

Two new species of the genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 are described from Tajikistan: Pholcus saidovi Yao & Li sp. nov. (♂♀) and P. shuguanensis Yao & Li sp. nov. (♂). The female of P. sidorenkoi Dunin, 1994 is reported for the first time. All belong to the P. nenjukovi species group.

Endemism, which is typically high on islands and in caves, has rarely been studied in the cave entrance ecotone. We investigated the endemism of the spider genus Uthina at cave entrances. Totally 212 spiders were sampled from 46 localities, from Seychelles across Southeast Asia to Fiji. They mostly occur at cave entrances but occasionally appear at...

Thirteen new species from four species groups of the genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 are described from China: Pholcus yanjinensis sp. nov. (male & female, Yunnan) from the P. bidentatus species group; P. jingyangensis sp. nov. (male & female, Shaanxi), P. langensis sp. nov. (male & female, Henan) and P. longus sp. nov. (male & female, Beijing) from...

Fifteen new species from six species groups of the genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 are described from Southeast Asia: Pholcus hinsonensis sp. nov. (male & female, Thailand) and P. tharnlodensis sp. nov. (male & female, Thailand) from the P. bidentatus species group; P. kottawagamaensis sp. nov. (male & female, Sri Lanka) from the P. ethagala species...

New faunistic and taxonomic data for the species: Sulcia oculata Kratochvil, 1938, Thyphlonesticus absoloni (Kratochvil, 1934), Centromerus serbicus Deltshev, 2003, Palliduphantes spelaeorum (Kulczyński, 1914) and Porrhomma convexum (Westring, 1851), found in the caves of Bosnia, Montenegro and Serbia are presented. Photos of the male palps and epi...

The Southeast Asian pholcids Belisana tauricornis Thorell, 1898, Pholcus gracillimus Thorell, 1890, P. quinquenotatus Thorell, 1878 and Spermophora thorelli Roewer, 1942 are redescribed on the basis of the type material.