Taxonomic Study On The Spiders Of The Family Uloboridae From Wuling Mountains And Gaoligong Mountains (Arachnida:Araneae)

Spiders belong to the class Arachnida and are the largest group of land animals except insects.Araneae is one of the most diverse orders in the class Arachnida.In terms of biodiversity,the order Araneae are ranked7 th after the five major orders of the class Insecta(Diptera,Coleoptera,Lepidoptera,Hemiptera and Hymenoptera).The Uloboridae spiders are important parts of forest ecosystems,and also are important natural enemy of pests in agriculture and forestry.Because of its monochromology and nocturnal appearance,specimens are difficulty to be found and collected,the classification of the Uloboridae spiders is limited,and the descriptions and illustrations in the past papers sometimes are vague or omissions.Parts of species are only described with single sex.Therefore,the research on the Uloboridae species in Gaoligong Mountains and the Wuling Mountain area can enrich the spider species biodiversity data of China and the world,and provide preliminary species data for future ecological research,as well as spider silk and spider venom research.The present research aims: to conduct a systematic taxonomy of Uloboridae spiders in Gaoligong Mountains and the Wuling Mountain area,to reveal the status of the species diversity,to supplement the descriptions and illustrations,and to describe the male or female which is not described in mono sex species.The specimens were observed under stereomicroscope and photographed by CCD.Then,color stereomicrographs were obtained by stacking and synthesis for systematic taxonomic study.There are four parts included: Part I introduces the study history,the morphological characteristics,classification status,economic significance,materials and methods,etc.Part II is a detailed study of 28 species belonging to 6 genera.The collection information as well as geographical distribution and habitat information are provided for each species.Detailed morphological characteristics are given to 17 new species and some known species which were not described in details in the related original papers.The etymology of each new species and the redescription of some poorly known species are presented.Part III is the results of the taxonomy of Uloboridae spiders and the analysis of the taxonomic issues.Part IV offers colorful photographs for all the new species and some known species which were not described in details in the related original papers.The distribution maps also are provided to all new species,including 129 figures in 34 plates and 5 maps.The main results are summarized as: There are a total of 28 Uloboridae spider species under 6 genera collected from Gaoligong Mountains and the Wuling Mountain area.A total of 17 new species are described and named as: Miagrammopes corollaceus sp.nov.;Hyptiotes falciformis sp.nov.;Hyptiotes tribuliformis sp.nov.;Hyptiotes cordiformis sp.nov.;Hyptiotes pseudolunaris sp.nov.;Hyptiotes lunaris sp.nov.;Hyptiotes harpeodes sp.nov.;Octonoba sublanyuensis sp.nov.;Octonoba cymbiforma sp.nov.;Octonoba unguliforma sp.nov.;Octonoba diadroma sp.nov.;Octonoba trigonus sp.nov.;Octonoba galeatus sp.nov.;Octonoba cephalota sp.nov.;Octonoba pilosa sp.nov.;Uloborus cuspcaudatus sp.nov.;Uloborus dicollinus sp.nov..The male of Hyptiotes fabaceus Dong,Zhu & Yoshida,2005 is described for the first time.