Two new species of the spider genus Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 (Araneae, Pholcidae) from Tajikistan, with the fi rst description of female Pholcus sidorenkoi Dunin, 1994

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 fi rst time. All belong to the P. nenjukovi species group.


R e s e a r c h a r t i c l e
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:905CF7B3-A30F-4822-807A-FF0A1A6DAA13 largest genus of Pholcinae and Pholcidae, with 337 described species belonging to 32 species groups and mainly distributed in the Old World (Huber 2011b;Huber et al. 2016b;World Spider Catalog 2016). The genus is poorly studied in Tajikistan. Currently, only three species have been recorded: P. nenjukovi Spassky, 1936 andP. sidorenkoi Dunin, 1994 from the P. nenjukovi species group and P. arkit Huber, 2011 from the P. ponticus species group (Huber 2011b;World Spider Catalog 2016). In this paper, two species of Pholcus are newly described and the female of P. sidorenkoi is reported for the fi rst time. All belong to the P. nenjukovi species group and were collected in Tajikistan.

Material and methods
Specimens were examined and measured with a LEICA M205 C stereo microscope. Images were taken with an Olympus C7070 wide zoom digital camera (7.1 megapixels) mounted on an Olympus SZX12 dissecting microscope, they were mounted using Helicon Focus 6.6.1 image stacking software (Khmelik et al. 2006). Male and female genitalia were examined and illustrated after dissection. External genitalia were previously treated in a 10% warm solution of potassium hydroxide (KOH). The left male pedipalps were studied. All specimens were preserved in 75% ethanol. All measurements are given in millimeters. Leg measurements are shown as: total length (femur + patella + tibia + metatarsus + tarsus). Leg podomeres were measured on their dorsal side. The distribution map was generated with ArcView GIS 3.2. All material studied is deposited in the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IZCAS) in Beijing, China (curator: Jun Chen).
Terminology and taxonomic descriptions follow Huber (2011b). The following abbreviations are used in the descriptions: ALE = anterior lateral eye AME = anterior median eye PME = posterior median eye L/d = length/diameter Pholcus -Huber 2011b: 124.

Etymology
The specifi c epithet is a patronym in honor of Professor Abdusattor Saidov for his contribution on the collaborative research in Tajikistan; noun (name) in genitive case.

Variation
Tibia I in one male paratype: 10.06. Tibia I in another female paratype: 8.33.

Natural history
The species was found on the underside of rocks.

Diagnosis
This species can be distinguished from all congeners in the P. nenjukovi species group by medially wide male chelicerae (Fig. 4B), by a narrow and distally blunt uncus provided with a large proximal apophysis (Fig. 4A), by a stick-shaped appendix (Fig. 4A), and by the presence of a large, prolateral membranous area distally on the procursus (arrow in Fig. 3C).

Etymology
The specifi c epithet refers to the type locality; adjective.

PEDIPALPS. As in
LEGS. Legs with short vertical setae on tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi; without spines and curved setae.

Female
Unknown.

Natural history
The species was found on the underside of rocks.

Material examined
COLOR. Carapace yellowish, with brown radiating marks extending to ocular area; ocular area yellowish, with brown median stripe; sternum yellowish, with brownish marks. Legs yellowish, femora (subdistally) BODY. Habitus as in Fig. 6E-F. Ocular area elevated, without eye-stalks. Thoracic furrow absent. Sternum wider than long (1.17/0.98). Fig. 6D, with pair of proximo-lateral apophyses, pair of distal apophyses provided with two teeth each, and pair of frontal apophyses. Fig. 5A-B; trochanter with long curved ventral apophysis; femur with small dorsal apophysis proximally and small ventral modifi cation; procursus simple proximally but complex distally, with two prolatero-dorsal spines; uncus with scaly edge; appendix with scales distally and fl at prolateral process; embolus short and weakly sclerotized, with some transparent projections distally. Retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia I at 6%; legs with short vertical setae on tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi; without spines and curved setae; tarsus I with approximately 5 distinct pseudosegments.

Natural history
The species was found in an old house.

Discussion
The genus Ph olcus is highly diverse, and currently contains 337 described species (World Spider Catalog 2016). The most important contributor is Bernhard A. Huber, who divided Pholcus into 32 species groups and described/revised a large number of species (Huber 2011b;Huber et al. 2016aHuber et al. , 2016b. Nevertheless, the survey of Pholcus is very uneven. For example, most taxonomic contributions on Pholcus published in the past fi ve years focused on Southeast Asia and China (e.g., Yao & Li 2012Peng & Zhang 2013;Yao et al. 2015;Huber et al. 2016aHuber et al. , 2016b, which account for nearly one fi fth and one third of the species, respectively. In contrast, species from Central Asia are poorly studied. So far, only 24 species have been recorded, including the two new species described in this paper. These species are rather diverse and belong to fi ve different species groups. Furthermore, among these fi ve species groups, the P. nenjukovi species group is the most diverse, including eight of the 24 species. They were mostly collected on rock walls in caves or under rocks, at elevations between 1100 and 2600 meters (Senglet 2008;Huber 2011b). Current distribution records are restricted to Tajikistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Based on the high diversity of the P. nenjukovi species group from these three countries, as well as the similar landforms and habitats in neighboring countries, such as Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, we strongly believe that only a small fraction of the P. nenjukovi species group has been described and a large amount of diversity is yet to be discovered.