Pseudoleiobunum Muller 1914
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Pseudoleiobunum Müller, 1914 Pseudoliobunum Müller, 1914: 95; Roewer, 1923: 923–924; Crawford, 1992: 41. Metaliobunum Suzuki, 1940: 276; Crawford, 1992: 30. Metaleiobunum Suzuki, 1965: 353. Pseudoleiobunum Suzuki & Ohrui, 1972: 47; Suzuki, 1965: 193; 1976: 199–202. Leiobunum (in part) Suzuki, 1973; 1953; 1976: 191, 204; Crawford, 1992: 26. Type species: Pseudoleiobunum japanense Müller, 1914: 95. Diagnosis. Pseudoleiobunum shares many of Leiobunum ’s characteristics, but can be distinguished by having medium to large brown leathery or heavily granulated body, generally dorsoventrally flattened. The abdomen is usually truncated (more apparent in males or underfed individuals). Scutal tergite areas I–III often with one small, inconspicuous central hump (size of the hump varies greatly even amongst individuals of the same species) (Figure 2). In many individuals, the two lateral-posterior tips of the scutum elevate slightly, resembling a pair of small angled posterior armaments (such characteristic is also more apparent in underfed/male individuals, degree of scutal tip formation is highly variable between species and individuals) (Figs 2–3). Labrum generally slender and unarmed. Pseudoleiobunum also possesses relatively shorter legs compared to Leiobunum, femur I often (but not always) shorter than body (ratio of the length of femur I to body ranges from 0.66–1.6, with a mean of 1.06; for other species of East Asian Leiobunum and Nelima, the ratio ranges from 0.97–3.52, with a mean of 1.69) (Table 1 & Figure 12). The pedipalp of Pseudoleiobunum also possesses distomesal patellar and tibial apophysis in both males and females. In some species (e.g., P. lutulentum sp. nov. and P. maximum distinctum), the pedipalpal tibial apophysis may be less apparent than the patella apophysis. Etymology. Latin designation is derived from the combination of the prefix ‘pseudes’ (false) with the genus name Leiobunum (Crawford 1992). Distribution. Southeastern China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and southern Japan, including Ryukyu Islands (Figure 12). Notes. The genus was established for Pseudoleiobunum japanense Müller, 1914 from Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Suzuki & Ohrui (1972) amended the genus name Pseudoliobunum to Pseudoleiobunum to accommodate reinstatement of Leiobunum from Liobunum that was erroneously amended by Agassiz (1846) (Roewer 1957, Crawford 1992). The spelling was deemed unjustified following ICZN code (International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, Articles 33.1 & 33.2, Fowler 1984). The same rationale is applied to changing Metaliobunum to Metaleiobunum (Suzuki 1965). The Suzuki(1976) revision showed that Metaleiobunum Suzuki,1940 and Pseudoleiobunum are indistinguishable from other East Asian Leiobunum species. However, a monophyletic group was inferred in molecular phylogeny comprised of L. japanense (maximum -group), L. rubrum (rubrum -group) and all Japanese Nelima species (Hedin et al. 2012). Furthermore, the maximum -group can be distinguished from other species of Leiobunum by a combination of several characters (Table 1 in Tsurusaki 1985). The resurrection of Pseudoleiobunum accommodates all the above groups and resolves a part of the polyphyletic issue (i.e., Asian clades) within the large genus of Leiobunum. In the following we show the superspecies name in parentheses after the genus name following ICZN article 6.2 (International Code of Zoological Nomenclature 1999).
Authors: Tan, Desmond Kai Teck, Tsurusaki, Nobuo, Fong, Jonathan J., Zhang, Chao
Institutions: Lingnan University, Hebei University
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6930780957
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