| It is usually difficult to distinguish among Cryptachaea,Nihonhimea and Parasteatoda(Theridiidae: Theridiinae)because of their similar morphological characteristics and habitats.In this dissertation,the systematic taxonomic study on these three gengera are carried out based on the specimens of cobweb spiders in Centre for Behavioral Ecology and Evolution,College of Life Sciences,Hubei University(CBEE),aiming to shed lights on the later phylogenetic research.This dissertation consists of three parts: The first part deals with the general information of the family Theridiidae(focus on these three genera),and its morphology and taxonomy;the second part provided the result of a detailed study of 41 species,including the following 15 new species and 5 new record species in China:Cryptachaea atrocaudata sp.nov.,Cryptachaea breviprocessis sp.nov.,Cryptachaea latens sp.nov.,Cryptachaea papillatus sp.nov.,Cryptachaea pterogona sp.nov.,Cryptachaea aduncata sp.nov.,Parasteatoda bannaensis sp.nov.,Parasteatoda atrata sp.nov.,Parasteatoda chiomaculata sp.nov.,Parasteatoda ovalis sp.nov.,Parasteatoda protuberans sp.nov.,Parasteatoda securiforma sp.nov.,Parasteatoda serpentina sp.nov.,Parasteatoda parasongi sp.nov.,Parasteatoda vermiformis sp.nov.,Parasteatoda camura(Simon,1877),Parasteatoda hatsushibai Yoshida,2009,Parasteatoda kaindi(Levi,Lubin & Robinson,1982),Parasteatoda ryukyu(Yoshida,2000),Parasteatoda simulans(Thorell,1875);the third part includes detailed morphological figures,including over 360 photos in 69 plates. |
