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A new species ofConotheleThorell, 1878 is described from the Eastern Ghats based on two male specimens collected from Kanger Valley National Park, Chhattisgarh. This is the second species of the genus from India to be described on the basis of male specimens. The new species is similar toConothele oglaeiSanap, Pawar, Joglekar & Khandekar, 2022 from the Western Ghats but differs from that species in leg supination and in the number of labial cuspules.

Conothele isan spec. nov. Figs 6 A−L, 7A−H Type material. THAILAND: Buri Ram Province: Holotype ♂ (PS-005, sample TH-04/19, MHNG), Buri Ram District, Khao Kradong Forest Park, 14.9378°N, 103.0937°E, 180–300 m elevation, P.J. Schwendinger leg. as juvenile 16.+ 18.12.2004, matured in captivity 11.2.2005. Paratypes: 2 ♀ paratypes (1 ♀: PS-006, sample TH-05/18, 15.12.2005, THNHM; 1 ♀: PS-007, sample TH-04/19, 16.+ 18.12.2004, MHNG), with same data as for holotype. Additional material examined. THAILAND: Roi Et Province: 1 ♀ (sample THKH-12/02, MHNG), Nong Phok District, Tham Pha Nam Thip Non-Hunting Area, 16.3644°N, 104.3258°E, 420 m elevation, P.J. Schwendinger leg. 12.+ 15.6.2013. Etymology. The species epithet, a name in apposition, refers to northeastern Thailand, locally called the Isan (= Isarn or Esarn), the geographic region where this species was discovered. Diagnosis. Different in both sexes from C. martensi spec. nov. by the profile of the carapace with a relatively less strongly elevated cephalic part sloping gradually down past the fovea and continuing in a straight line over the thoracic part to the posterior margin of the carapace (Figs 6B, 7B), and by the spermathecae that are hooked (rather than twisted) in the median portion and have the globular heads directed inwards rather than forwards (Figs 7 F−H cf. Figs 5 F−K). Further differences are found in the ventro-lateral spine patterns on the anterior metatarsi and tibiae of males (more spines present; retroventral spine row on tibia II present vs. absent in C. martensi spec. nov.; Figs 6 D−E cf. Figs 4 D−E), in the morphology of the embolus (without abrupt narrowing at midpoint; Figs 6I, K cf. Figs 4I, K) and in the PLE being relatively large in comparison to the ALE (PLE/ALE = 0.6 in C. isan spec. nov. vs 0.7 in C. martensi spec. nov.). Description. Male (holotype). Specimen preserved for 16 years in 70% ethanol in good condition (Fig. 6A); right palpal organ removed for study and kept in microvial. General colouration: carapace and chelicerae blackish brown; dorsal side of opisthosoma dark grey, with fine light grey speckles, ventral side anterior of epigastric furrow, book-lung covers and spinnerets cream-coloured; legs yellowish brown, anterior legs slightly darker than posteriors; palps dark brown; sternum yellow, with sharply outlined brown margin. Morphology: Carapace (Figs 6 A−B), except for lower profile of cephalic part (see diagnosis), as described for C. martensi spec. nov. Ocular tubercle steep; clypeus short; eye group rectangular, twice as wide as long (EL/PR = 0.50); AME less than their diameter apart from each other (disAME/diaAME = 0.72); PR straight. Chelicera with small apical rastellum; fangs smooth (possibly a diagnostic difference from C. martensi spec. nov., its male holotype with serrated fangs; see above). Palpal coxae with 16 cuspules spread over proximal half of article; prolateraldistal lobe short and rounded. Labium with two distal cuspules; labio-sternal suture deep and procurved. Sternum and most parts of palps (except for palpal organ) as in male of C. martensi spec. nov. Palpal organ (Figs 6 H−L) with bulbous proximal part almost as wide as long (BuW/GL = 0.96); embolus thin and evenly tapering, with a harpoon-shaped tip (Fig. 6L), mostly as in C. martensi spec. nov. but without uneven narrowing halfway. Legs I−II: scopulate tarsi proximally inflated (Fig. 6C); short lateral spines present on tarsi, metatarsi and tibiae; few clavate trichobothria dorsally in proximal half of tarsi, more ventro-lateral spines on metatarsi and tibiae of anterior legs than in C. martensi spec. nov. (Figs 6 D−E cf. Figs 4 D−E). Leg III with shallow, glabrous saddle-shaped dorsal depression in tibia, saddle crescents indistinct/absent (Figs 6F–G); spine groups dorso-distally on metatarsus and tibia; patella with strong, short spines prodorsally. Leg IV slender, with weak spines on metatarsus; metatarsus longer than tibia (MetIV/TibIV = 1.2). PTC of anterior legs with a single proximal tooth, of posterior legs with one large and one small tooth. Leg formula 4123. Opisthosoma ovoid, anteriorly narrowing, carrying evenly spread, short stiff bristles; wart-like sockets not evident (possibly a diagnostic difference from C. martensi spec. nov., its male types possessing wart-like sockets; see above). Spinnerets as in C. martensi spec. nov. Measurements. TBL 12.4; CL 5.4; CW 5.1; CP 3.7; AR 1.17; PR 1.17; EL 0.59; diaALE 0.35; diaPLE 0.21; diaAME 0.18; diaPME 0.22; disALE 0.64; disPLE 0.87; disAME 0.13; disPME 0.43; SL 3.1; SW 2.7; LL 0.5; LW 1.0; palp 8.6 (1.1 + 2.5 + 1.8 + 3.2); leg I 12.5 (1.1 + 1.8 + 2.7 + 2.3 + 4.6); leg II 11.3 (1.3 + 1.7 + 2.3 + 2.1 + 3.9); leg III 10.1 (1.5 + 1.6 + 2.0 + 1.8 + 3.2); leg IV 13.4 (1.6 + 2.9 + 2.5 + 2.1 + 4.3); BuL 1.92; BuW 0.75; EmL 1.14. Female (paratype; PS-007): Specimen preserved for 16 years in 70% ethanol in good condition (Fig. 7A); spermathecae dissected and stored in microvial. General colouration: carapace, chelicerae, legs and palps brown; dorsal side of opisthosoma dark grey, with fine light grey speckles, ventral side, book-lung covers and spinnerets yellowish white; sternum yellow, with sharply outlined brown margin; carapace and sternum with distinct grey shading. Morphology: Carapace (Figs 7A–B) smooth, longer than wide (CW/CL = 0.9), otherwise as described for male. Eyes as in male. Chelicerae carrying an apical rastellum composed of a curved row of 9–10 strong teeth on a low process; fangs ventrally with fine serration. Palpal coxae with 15–17 cuspules spread over proximal half of article; prolateral-distal lobe rudimentary. Labium, labio-sternal suture and sternum as in male. Labium with two distal cuspules. Palps as described above for Ummidiinae; claw with strong and bifid proximal tooth. Legs I−II as described above for Ummidiinae. Leg III with tarsus carrying a dense disto-ventral group of spines; metatarsus with dorsodistal group of very strong short spines; tibia with short rows of spines along dorso-distal margin, saddle-shaped depression prolaterally bordered by relatively wide saddle crescent (Fig. 7D), retrolaterally by a narrower one (Fig. 7C); patella with short strong spines along anterior margin and on prolateral side; femur ventro-proximally inflated; distinct opposing protuberances on dorsal and prolateral sides of trochanter and coxa. Leg IV with patella carrying a prodorsal-proximal group of short stiff bristles. PTC as described above for Ummidiinae. Leg formula 4123. Dorsal surface of opisthosoma with wart-like bristle sockets. Spinnerets (Fig. 7E) as in C. martensi spec. nov. Spermathecae tripartite; proximal part narrow and lightly pigmented; median part strongly pigmented, bent inwards, distally widening; distal part globular and inwards-directed (Fig. 7F). Similar to spermathecae of Conothele baisha and C. baoting from Hainan Island, China (Liu et al. 2019: figs 5G, 6A–F, 7G), of C. daxinensis from Guanxi, China (Xu et al. 2017: fig. 2E) and of C. vali from India (Siliwal et al. 2009: fig. 27). Measurements. TBL 15.7; CL 6.0; CW 5.3; CP 4.1; AR 1.25; PR 1.31; EL 0.66; diaALE 0.42; diaPLE 0.27; diaAME 0.17; diaPME 0.30; disALE 0.57; disPLE 0.92; disAME 0.12; disPME 0.45; SL 3.3; SW 3.1; LL 0.8; LW 2.0; palp 9.0 (1.9 + 1.9 + 1.9 + 3.3); leg I 10.4 (1.0 + 1.4 + 2.1 + 2.4 + 3.5); leg II 9.4 (1.1 + 1.2 + 1.7 + 2.3 + 3.1); leg III 9.1 (1.4 + 1.3 + 1.5 + 1.9 + 3.0); leg IV 11.4 (1.3 + 2.2 + 2.1 + 2.2 + 3.6). Variation. Females (n = 2): TBL 14.5−15.7; CL 5.3−6.0; CW 4.8−5.3; CP 3.4−4.1;AR 1.10−1.25; PR 1.13−1.31; EL 0.59–0.66; diaALE 0.35−0.42; diaPLE 0.24−0.27; diaAME 0.17−0.19; diaPME 0.22−0.30; disALE 0.51−0.57; disPLE 0.79−0.92; disAME 0.08−0.12; disPME 0.31−0.45; SL 3.0−3.3; SW 2.7−3.1; LL 0.6−0.8; LW 1.0−2.0; palp 7.9−9.0; leg I 8.7−10.4; leg II 8.0−9.4; leg III 7.5−9.1; leg IV 8.8−11.4. Variation in the shape of the spermathecae of three females is shown in Figs 7 F−H. Habitat and biology. The type specimens were collected from roadsides in a seasonally dry deciduous forest between 180 and 300 m elevation, on an inactive and strongly eroded volcano. The non-type female is from a roadside in a lush mixed evergreen-deciduous forest at 420 m elevation. The spiders lived in short burrows (maximally 3.5 cm long) lined with very dense silk and closed by a thin (wafer-type) trapdoor with a maximal length of 1.1 cm and a maximal width of 1.6 cm. This burrow structure is different from that of the co-occurring Latouchia incerta spec. nov. The male holotype matured in captivity (in Geneva) in early February, less than two months after being captured. The mating season thus appears to be at the end of the cool part and into the hot part of the dry season. Spiderlings presumably hatch and emerge from maternal burrows at the beginning of the rainy season when prey becomes more abundant again. The types were collected together with a single female of a second Conothele species (with strongly coiled spermathecae) which lived in a short burrow with a second thin trapdoor opening into a blind chamber behind the bottom. Two Conothele species also co-occur at the type locality of C. martensi spec. nov., and at the type locality of C. isan spec. nov. even a third ummidiine species can be found, L. incerta spec. nov. This is quite remarkable. Notes. The difficulty in distinguishing some Ummidiinae taxa at the genus level (as discussed above) is also encountered at the species level; C. martensi spec. nov. and C. isan spec. nov. are difficult to distinguish on morphological characters alone. Particularly the male palpal organ, often the morphologically most characteristic structure used to distinguish and taxonomically classify mygalomorph spider species, is very similar in these two species (Figs 6 H−L cf. Figs 4 H−L). In both species the globular proximal part and the slender, harpoon-tipped embolus are virtually identical in shape. A similar palpal organ was described by Yang & Xu (2018) for C. dequin from China (Yunnan Province). Genetics-based research is required to establish the phylogenetic relationships between the Thai species and C. dequin, and to show if their morphological similarities are not due to convergent evolution. Female genitalia of Conothele spp. show an equally low diversity in shapes and forms. The two different forms present in C. martensi spec. nov. and C. isan spec. nov. are also found in several other, geographically distant, named species (Siliwal et al. 2009; Xu et al. 2017; Liu et al. 2019), as well as in Conothele females from numerous localities in SE-Asia where the corresponding males are distinct (personal observations). Especially the hooked type of spermathecae of C. isan spec. nov. is very common. Therefore the description of new Conothele species on the basis of only one sex (particularly the female) is not advisable., Published as part of Decae, Arthur E., Schwendinger, Peter J. & Hongpadharakiree, Komsan, 2021, Descriptions of four new trapdoor spider species in the subfamily Ummidiinae from Thailand (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Halonoproctidae), pp. 300-323 in Zootaxa 4984 (1) on pages 308-311, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4984.1.22, http://zenodo.org/record/4927325, {"references":["Liu, H., Xu, X., Zhang, Z., Liu, F. & Li, D. (2019) Four new species of the trapdoor spider genus Conothele Thorell, 1878 (Araneae, Halonoproctidae) from China. ZooKeys, 833, 133 - 150. https: // doi. org / 10.3897 / zookeys. 833.32736","Xu, X., Xu, C., Liu, F. X., Zhang, Z. T. & Li, D. - Q. (2017) Four new species of the trapdoor spider genus Conothele Thorell, 1878 from mainland China and Laos (Araneae, Ctenizidae). ZooKeys, 643, 63 - 74. https: // doi. org / 10.3897 / zookeys. 643.10543","Siliwal, M., Nair, M. V., Molur, S. & Raven, R. (2009). First record of the trapdoor spider genus Conothele (Araneae, Ctenizidae) from India, with a description of two new species. Journal of Arachnology, 37, 1 - 9. https: // doi. org / 10.1636 / A 07 - 86.1","Yang, Z. Z. & Xu, X. (2018) Two new species of the trapdoor spider genus Conothele Thorell, 1878 (Mygalomorphae: Halonoproctidae) from China. Zootaxa, 4442 (1), 171 - 180. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 4442.1.10"]}

Conothele martensi spec. nov. Figs 4 A−L, 5A−M Type material. THAILAND: Chiang Mai Province: Holotype ♂ (PS-003, in MHNG), Mae Taeng District, north of Mae Taeng, 19.1442°N, 98.9472°E, 450 m elevation, P.J. Schwendinger leg. 19.2.1987. Paratypes: 2 ♂ (PS- 002A–B, 1 ♂: MHNG, 1 ♂: in THNHM), 3 ♀ (PS-001A–C, 2 ♀: MHNG, 1 ♀: THNHM), with same data as for holotype. Additional material examined. THAILAND: Chiang Mai Province: 1 penultimate ♂, 3 juvenile ♀, from the type locality, 10.12.1987. 2 ♀, Chiang Dao District, west of Chiang Dao, 400 m elevation, 3.10./ 10.12.1986. 1 ♀, Chiang Mai District, Doi Suthep, 580 m elevation, 28.11.1987. 1 ♀, Hang Dong District, near Ban Pong, 300 m elevation, 18.12.2013. 1 ♀, Doi Saket District, east of Doi Saket, 400 m elevation, 5.9.1987 (all P.J. Schwendinger leg.; all MHNG). Notes. Additional Conothele females from elevations up to 1600 m in the provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Lamphun (not included in the type series) may also belong to C. martensi spec. nov. Etymology. The species is named in honour of the renowned German arachnologist and ornithologist Prof. Dr Jochen Martens on the occasion of his 80 th birthday. Prof. Martens collected together with the second author (PJS) in Chiang Mai Province from late February to mid-March 1998. Name in the genitive case. Diagnosis. Conothele martensi spec. nov. differs from all congeners for which sufficient information is available, except for C. isan spec. nov. and C. dequin Yang & Xu, 2018, by the harpoon-shaped embolus tip (Fig. 4L; see also Fig. 6 L and Yang & Xu 2018: fig. 28). Males different from those of C. dequin by the thickened tarsi of the anterior legs (Fig. 4C cf. Yang & Xu 2018: fig. 21). In both sexes different from C. isan spec. nov. by the profile of the carapace, with a relatively more strongly elevated cephalic part (Figs 4B, 5B cf. Figs 6B, 7B), by the morphology of the spermathecae, with the sclerotized median part twisted and the globular head directed forward (Figs 5 F−K cf. Figs 7 F−H), and by the relatively reduced ventral patterns of spines on the anterior metatarsi and tibiae in males (Figs 4 D−E cf. Figs 6 D−E). Field observations indicate differences in burrow architecture between C. martensi spec. nov. and C. isan spec. nov., with C. martensi spec. nov. constructing relatively longer burrows and thicker trapdoors. Description. Male (holotype). Specimen preserved for 34 years in 70% ethanol in good condition (Fig. 4A). Left leg III detached, right palpal organ removed for study and stored in microvial. General colouration: carapace dark reddish brown; chelicerae uniformly brown; opisthosoma blotchy, with anterior to posterior transition from light to dark grey; ventral side of opisthosoma anterior of epigastric furrow, book-lung covers and spinnerets yellowish; legs brownish, ventrally lighter than dorsally, anterior legs slightly darker than posteriors; palp colour as that of first pair of legs; sternum yellow, with brown margin; labium and palpal coxae darker in colour than nearby body parts. Morphology: Carapace coriaceous, slightly longer than wide (CW/CL = 0.9); cephalic part elevated, highest point halfway between eye group and fovea, thoracic part sloping down from fovea to posterior margin at an angle of approximately 30° (Fig. 4B). Ocular tubercle steep; clypeus very narrow; eye group rectangular, twice as wide as long (EL/PR = 0.49); AME slightly less than their diameter apart (disAME/diaAME = 0.56); PR slightly recurved. Chelicerae with weak apical rastellum; fangs with ventral serrations. Palpal coxae with eight and 10 cuspules in proximal half; prolateral-distal lobe absent. Labium glabrous in proximal half, carrying three distal cuspules; labiosternal suture wide and procurved. Sternum with fig-leaf-shaped central sigillum (as shown in Fig. 2E). Palps leg-like, all articles aspinose, palpal tibia slightly inflated proximally (TibW/PTib = 0.4), palpal femur longer than tibia (PFem/PTib = 1.3). Palpal organ (Figs 4 H−L) with bulbous part longer than wide (BuW/GL = 0.92); embolus long, slender, curved, slightly flexible and narrowing at about midpoint, the embolic narrowing best visible in prolateral and retrolateral view (Figs 4I, K), embolic tip harpoon-shaped (Fig. 4L). Legs I−II with slightly thickened yellow tarsi (Figs 4 C−E) and with short lateral spines on tarsi, metatarsi and tibiae (Figs 4 C−E), retroventral spine row on tibia I restricted to distal half of the article (Fig. 4D), absent from tibia II (Fig. 4E); few clavate trichobothria dorsally in proximal half of tarsi (Fig. 4C). Leg III with shallow, glabrous saddle-shaped dorsal depression in tibia, prolateral saddle crescent reduced, retrolateral saddle crescent absent (Figs 4 F−G); spine groups present dorso-distally on metatarsus and tibia; patella with strong short spines prodorsally. Leg IV with weak spines on metatarsus; metatarsus IV longer than tibia IV (MetIV/TibIV = 1.1). PTC of anterior legs with a single proximal tooth, of posterior legs with one large and one small tooth. Leg formula 4123. Opisthosoma ovoid, with tiny wart-like sockets carrying short stiff bristles. Spinnerets as in female described below. Measurements. TBL 10.6; CL 4.8; CW 4.5; CP 3.2; AR 1.05; PR 1.07; EL 0.52; diaALE 0.29; diaPLE 0.20; diaAME 0.16; diaPME 0.15; disALE 0.52; disPLE 0.75; disAME 0.09; disPME 0.39; SL 2.6; SW 2.4; LL 0.4; LW 0.9; palp 7.5 (0.9 + 2.2 + 1.5 + 2.9); leg I 11.2 (1.1 + 1.8 + 2.3 + 2.1 + 3.9); leg II 9.9 (1.2 + 1.5 + 1.9 + 1.9 + 3.4); leg III 8.9 (1.3 + 1.5 + 1.8 + 1.5 + 2.8); leg IV 11.7 (1.3 + 2.5 + 2.3 + 1.9 + 3.7); BuL 1.95; BuW 0.71; EmL 1.18. Female (paratype; PS-001A). Specimen preserved for 34 years in 70% ethanol in generally good condition (Fig. 5A), with slight damage to pedicel; opisthosoma and right leg IV detached; spermathecae in separate microvial. General colouration: carapace, chelicerae, legs and palps yellowish brown; dorsal side of opisthosoma dark, with fine light grey speckles, ventral side, book-lung covers and spinnerets yellowish white; sternum yellow, with sharply outlined brown margin; carapace and sternum with vague grey shading. Morphology: Carapace (Figs 5 A−B) smooth, longer than wide (CW/CL = 0.8), otherwise as described for male. Ocular tubercle, eye group and very narrow clypeus generally as in male (EL/PR = 0.50), but AME further apart from each other (disAME/diaAME = 0.71). Chelicerae stronger than in male, with rastellum on low process and composed of a curved row of seven strong teeth bordering fang base; fangs as in male. Palpal coxae with 13−18 cuspules spread over proximal half of article; prolateral-distal lobe rudimentary. Labium with four distal cuspules. Palps: as described above for Ummidiinae; palpal claw with two strong proximal teeth, one of them bifid, the other one unbranched. Legs I−II: as described for Ummidiinae above. Leg III with tarsus carrying a dense disto-ventral group of spines; metatarsus with dorso-distal group of very strong spines; tibia with short rows of spines along dorso-distal margin, saddle-shaped depression prolaterally bordered by a distinct saddle crescent, retrolaterally by an indistinct one (Figs 5 C−D); patella with strong, short spines along distal margin on prolateral side; femur ventroproximally inflated; distinct opposing protuberances on dorsal and prolateral sides of trochanter and coxa. Leg IV with patella carrying a prodorsal-proximal group of short stiff bristles. PTCs as described above for Ummidiinae. Leg formula 4123. Opisthosoma with wart-like bristle sockets. Spinnerets: PMS closer to PLS than to each other; PMS digitiform, more than their diameter apart from each other, with apical spigot field; PLS thick, with three articles, proximal article as long as median + distal article combined, distal article dome-shaped; macrospigots distally on proximal article and on entire ventral surface of median article (Fig. 5E). Spermathecae tripartite; posterior part lightly pigmented and narrow; median part strongly pigmented, inwardbent, twisted and distally widening; distal part lightly pigmented, globular, directed forward (Fig. 5F). Similar to spermathecae of C. linzhi from Tibet, of C. jinggangshan from Jiangxi, China (Liu et al. 2019: figs 3G−J, 4G) and of C. baiyuensis from Guangdong, China (Xu et al. 2017: fig. 1E). Measurements. TBL 14.7; CL 5.2; CW 4.3; CP 3.6; AR 1.16; PR 1.18; EL 0.64; diaALE 0.36; diaPLE 0.29; diaAME 0.14; diaPME 0.20; disALE 0.54; disPLE 0.75; disAME 0.10; disPME 0.37; SL 3.0; SW 2.7; LL 0.6; LW 1.1; palp 8.4 (1.7 + 1.8 + 1.8 + 3.1); leg I 9.6 (1.0 + 1.2 + 1.9 + 2.2 + 3.3); leg II 8.2 (1.0 + 1.1 + 1.4 + 1.9 + 2.8); leg III 8.1 (1.2 + 1.1 + 1.4 + 1.7 + 2.7); leg IV 11.0 (1.3 + 2.1 + 2.0 + 2.0 + 3.6). Variation. Males (n = 3): TBL 9.5−12.2; CL 4.8−5.6; CW 4.3−5.2; CP 3.2−3.7; AR 1.05−1.14; PR 1.07−1.20; EL 0.52−0.60; diaALE 0.29−0.37; diaPLE 0.20−0.29; diaAME 0.15−0.22; diaPME 0.15−0.20; disALE 0.52−0.57; disPLE 0.75−0.81; disAME 0.09−0.12; disPME 0.38−0.43; SL 2.6−3.1; SW 2.2−2.8; LL 0.4−0.8; LW 0.9−1.2; palp 7.5−9.1; leg I 11.1−14.0; leg II 9.9−12.3; leg III 8.8−10.4; leg IV 11.7−14.0. Females (n = 3): TBL 12.6−15.6; CL 5.2−6.3; CW 4.3−5.3; CP 3.5−4.2; AR 1.04−1.26; PR 1.04−1.18; EL 0.57−0.72; diaALE 0.33−0.42; diaPLE 0.25−0.34; diaAME 0.14−0.17; diaPME 0.17−0.23; disALE 0.50−0.63; disPLE 0.72−0.77; disAME 0.10−0.11; disPME 0.31−0.39; SL 3.0−3.7; SW 2.3−2.7; LL 0.6−0.7; LW 0.8−1.1; palp 8.3−10.2; leg I 9.5−11.5; leg II 8.3−10.3; leg III 8.1−10.0; leg IV 10.5−13.0. Variation in the shape of the spermathecae of eight females is shown in Figs 5 A−M. Habitat and biology. The type specimens were collected from earth banks on both sides of a road running through farmland. The road has subsequently been widened and the earth banks removed, therefore the type population was probably severely reduced or even wiped out. Burrows were up to 6.5 cm long and closed by a relatively thick (cork-type) trapdoor with a maximum length of 1.4 cm and a maximum width of 1.6 cm. Two of the males matured in captivity in Chiang Mai on 7.3. and 17.3.1987, less than a month after being captured. The beginning of the hot and dry season appears to be the mating period of this species. At its type locality Conothele martensi spec. nov. occurs together with two other species of trapdoor spiders: Idiops pylorus Schwendinger, 1991 (Idiopidae), and a second Conothele species which has a larger, darker body and a slightly longer (maximum 7 cm) burrow closed by a thinner (wafer-type) trapdoor. Unfortunately only females of this unnamed Conothele are available from this particular locality.

Conothele Thorell, 1878 Diagnosis. As mentioned above, Conothele is readily distinguished from Latouchia by the long, thin and flexible embolus of the male palpal organ (Figs 4 H−K, 6H−K cf. Figs 8 F−I, 10 F−I), by the tripartite spermathecae (Figs 5 F−K, 7F−H cf. Figs 9 E−J, 11E−L), by the saddle-shaped dorsal depression with saddle-crescents in tibia III (best seen in females; Figs 3 A−B, 5 C−D, 7C−D cf. Figs 3C, 9 B−C, 11 B−C), and by the presence of a prodorsal protuberance on trochanter III (absent in Latouchia, Figs 3 D−E cf. Fig. 3F). Notes. Distinguishing Conothele from Ummidia has been the subject of a long-standing debate in which three views, leading to two opposing hypotheses, are expressed in the literature. The first view, mainly based on data from morphology, behaviour and distribution, claims that the two genera are synonymous (Main 1957, 1985, 1998; Decae 2010). The second view, based on molecular studies, claims that Conothele and Ummidia are separate, although reciprocally monophyletic genera, that are separated in space and in time (Godwin et al. 2018; Opatova et al. 2019: fig. 5; Godwin & Bond 2021). The third view, based on differences in burrow or nest structure, claims that Conothele and Ummidia are distinct in their behaviour (Haupt 2006). Arguments supporting the first view are: the similarity in morphology and behaviour of Conothele and Ummidia (Main 1957, 1985, 1998; Decae 2010), the fact that there is no unequivocal distributional divide to separate the genera in space (Fig.1) and the fact that the two genera are consistently found to constitute a monophyletic group in DNA-based phylogenetic studies (Hedin & Bond 2006; Bond et al. 2012; Opatova et al. 2013; Wheeler et al. 2016; Opatova et al. 2019). Arguments supporting the second view are based on the supposedly non-overlapping distributions of the two genera and phylogenetic analysis using hundreds of loci, resulting in the conclusion that Conothele and Ummidia are two independent evolutionary lineages that are to be regarded as reciprocally monophyletic (Godwin et al. 2018; Godwin & Bond 2021). An important difference between these two views is that the first view, advocating for synonymy, rests on data that were collected in over two centuries of descriptive work which revealed the intercontinental distribution of Ummidiinae shown in Fig. 1, while the DNA-based second view, advocating for distinction, rests on recent sampling of populations from a few widely separated localities almost at opposite ends of the geographical range of Ummidiinae (Godwin et al. 2018: tab. 1, fig. 1). The third view is here rejected on grounds of personal observations on a wide range of nest/burrow structures in many Conothele species in Southeast Asia and of Ummidia species in Central America and the western Mediterranean. Instead of finding different nest/burrow types in the two genera, our observations revealed a remarkable overlap in nest/burrow types for Conothele and Ummidia. Most species in both genera construct simple, dead-ended underground burrows of variable length, that are densely lined with thick white silk and covered by a thin, stiff, almost circular hinged trapdoor (Figs 14 B−D). Other species, in both genera, construct terrestrial burrows, that are furnished with a second trapdoor at the bottom of the burrow opening to an underground cavity. These remarkable burrows are very similar to burrows found in the ctenizid genus Cyrtocarenum (Decae 1996). In Conothele and Ummidia these ‘two-door burrows’ are found in geographically widely separated species such as U. algarve from Portugal (Decae 2010) and C. varvati from India (Pickard-Cambridge 1907; Siliwal et al. 2009). A second trapdoor at the bottom of the burrow was also observed in an unidentified Conothele female collected at the type locality of C. isan spec. nov. in Thailand. Furthermore, there are species, such as Conothele arboricola from the southwest Pacific (Pocock 1898b), an undescribed Conothele species from Koh Tao, a small island off the east coast of southern Thailand, another undescribed Conothele species from the Palau Islands, and an as yet undescribed Ummidia species from Central America, that construct short cigar-shaped trapdoor-nests attached to trees trunks well above ground level. These nests are similar to arboreal tree nests found in the barychelid genus Sason (e.g., Schwendinger 2003: fig. 15) and the Migidae (Griswold & Ledford 2001). As mentioned above, the lack of diagnostic characters in morphology, behaviour and genetics has led to the use of geographical separation as an argument to distinguish genera and species in Ummidiinae (Xu et al. 2017; Yang & Xu 2018; Liu et al. 2019; Godwin & Bond 2021). Geography-based arguments to structure taxonomy are, however, debatable, particularly when used to classify taxa such as Conothele and Ummidia which are not as strongly dispersal-limited as most other mygalomorph spiders (Bond et al. 2012). The large geographical ranges observed in Conothele and Ummidia have been attributed to their capacity for aerial dispersal (Main 1985, 1998; Decae 2010; Opatova et al. 2013, 2019). Aerial dispersal has been established or inferred in several Ummidia and Conothele species (Baerg 1928; Main 1985; Coyle 1985; Coyle et al. 1985; Eberhard 2006; Fisher et al. 2014). Aerial dispersal in mygalomorph spiders however, appears much less effective than in araneomorph spiders (Opatova et al. 2016) and can therefore not explain long-distance or over-water dispersal events that have apparently shaped the distribution ranges of Conothele and Ummidia. Another, possibly stronger explanation for the wide geographical ranges and the presence of Ummidia and Conothele on volcanic and remote oceanic islands (Simon 1891a; Pocock 1898a, b; Main 1957; Roewer 1963; Saaristo 2002; Decae 2010) is dispersal of principally arboreal species by rafting. For the arboreal Conothele and Ummidia species mentioned above, dispersal events as described for species of the migid genus Moggridgea (Harrison et al. 2017) can be envisioned. In conclusion: it is clear that sampling the entire geographical range and collecting biological information of Ummidiinae is necessary to build a satisfactory understanding of this still poorly known, but remarkably successful and diverse group of trapdoor spiders., Published as part of Decae, Arthur E., Schwendinger, Peter J. & Hongpadharakiree, Komsan, 2021, Descriptions of four new trapdoor spider species in the subfamily Ummidiinae from Thailand (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Halonoproctidae), pp. 300-323 in Zootaxa 4984 (1) on pages 303-305, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4984.1.22, http://zenodo.org/record/4927325, {"references":["Thorell, T. (1878) Studi sui ragni Malesi e Papuani. II. Ragni di Amboina raccolti dal Prof. O. Beccari. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, 13, 1 - 317.","Main, B. Y. (1957) Adaptive radiation of trapdoor spiders. Australian Museum Magazine, 12 (5), 160 - 163. https: // doi. org / 10.1071 / ZO 9570402","Main, B. Y. (1985) Further studies on the systematics of ctenizid trapdoor spiders: a review of the Australian genera (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Ctenizidae). Australian Journal of Zoology, (Supplementary Series), 108, 1 - 84. https: // doi. org / 10.1071 / AJZS 108","Main, B. Y. (1998) Hogg's phantom spider from Central Australia: a century-old mystery solved. In: Selden, P. A. (Ed.), Proceedings of the 17 th European Colloquium of Arachnology, Edinburgh 1997. British Arachnological Society, Burnham Beeches, pp. 83 - 90.","Decae, A. E. (2010) The genus Ummidia Thorell 1875 in the western Mediterranean, a review (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Ctenizidae). Journal of Arachnology, 38, 328 - 340. https: // doi. org / 10.1636 / A 09 - 85.1","Godwin, R. L., Opatova, V., Garrison, N. L., Hamilton, C. A. & Bond, J. E. (2018) Phylogeny of a cosmopolitan family of morphologically conserved trapdoor spiders (Mygalomorphae, Ctenizidae) using Anchored Hybrid Enrichment, with a description of the family Halonoproctidae Pocock 1901. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 126, 303 - 313. https: // doi. org / 10.1016 / j. ympev. 2018.04.008","Opatova, V., Hamilton, C. A., Hedin, M., Montes de Oca, L., Kral, J. & Bond, J. E. (2019) Phylogenetic systematics and evolution of the spider infraorder Mygalomorphae using genomic scale data. Systematic Biology, 69 (4), 671 - 707. https: // doi. org / 10.1093 / sysbio / syz 064","Godwin, R. L. & Bond, J. E. (2021) Taxonomic revision of the New World members of the trapdoor spider genus Ummidia Thorell (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Halonoproctidae). ZooKeys, 1027, 1 - 65. https: // doi. org / 10.3897 / zookeys. 1027.54888","Haupt, J. (2006) On the taxonomic position of the East Asian species of the genus Ummidia Thorell, 1875 (Araneae: Ctenizidae). In: Deltshev, C. & Stoev, P. (Eds), European Arachnology 2005. Acta Zoologica Bulgarica, Supplement 1, 77 - 79.","Hedin, M. & Bond, J. E. (2006) Molecular phylogenetics of the spider infraorder Mygalomorphae using nuclear rRNA genes (18 S and 28 S): Conflict and agreement with the current system of classification. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 41, 454 - 471. https: // doi. org / 10.1016 / j. ympev. 2006.05.017","Bond, J. E, Hendrixon, B. E., Hamilton, C. A. & Hedin, M. (2012) A reconsideration of the classification of the spider infraorder Mygalomorphae (Arachnida, Araneae) based on three nuclear genes and morphology. PloS ONE, 7 (6), e 38753. https: // doi. org / 10.1371 / journal. pone. 0038753","Opatova, V., Bond, J. E. & Arnedo, M. A. (2013) Ancient origins of the Mediterranean trap-door spiders of the family Ctenizidae (Araneae, Mygalomorphae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 69, 1135 - 1145. https: // doi. org / 10.1016 / j. ympev. 2013.08.002","Wheeler W. C., Coddington, J. A., Crowley, L. M., Dimitrov, D., Goloboff, P. A., Griswold, C. E., Hormiga, G., Prendini, L., Ramirez, M. J., Sierwald, P., Almeida-Silva, L., Alvarez-Padilla, F., Arnedo, M. A., Benavides Silva, L. R., Benjamin, S. P., Bond, J. E., Grismado, C. J., Hasand, E., Hedin, M., Izquierdo, M. A., Labarque, F. M., Ledford, J. L., Lopardo, L., Maddison, W. P., Miller, J. A., Piacentini, L. N., Platnick, N. I., Polotow, D., Silva-Davila, D., Scharff, N., Szuts, T., Ubick, D., Vink, C. J., Wood, H. M. & Zhang, J. (2016) The spider tree of life: phylogeny of Araneae based on target-gene analyses from an extensive taxon sampling. Cladistics, 33 (6), 576 - 616. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / cla. 12182","Decae, A. E. (1996) Variation in burrow morphology of Mediterranean trapdoor spiders (Ctenizidae, Cyrtaucheniidae, Nemesiidae). Revue suisse de Zoologie, special edition 1, 135 - 140.","Pickard-Cambridge, F. O. (1907) On some new and little known Araneidea. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 2, 817 - 829. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1469 - 7998.1907. tb 06960. x","Siliwal, M., Nair, M. V., Molur, S. & Raven, R. (2009). First record of the trapdoor spider genus Conothele (Araneae, Ctenizidae) from India, with a description of two new species. Journal of Arachnology, 37, 1 - 9. https: // doi. org / 10.1636 / A 07 - 86.1","Pocock, R. I. (1898 b) Scorpions, Pedipalpi and spiders collected by Dr. Willey in New Britain, the Solomon Islands, Loyalty Islands, etc. In: Willey, A. (Ed.), Zoological results based on material from New Britain, New Guinea, Loyalty Islands and elsewhere, collected during the years 1895, 1896 and 1897. Part I. University Press, Cambridge, pp. 95 - 120, pls 10 - 11.","Schwendinger, P. J. (2003) Two new species of the arboreal trapdoor spider genus Sason (Araneae, Barychelidae) from Southeast Asia. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 51 (2), 197 - 207.","Griswold, C. E. & Ledford, J. (2001) A monograph of the migid trapdoor spiders of Madagascar and review of the world genera (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Migidae). Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences, 151, 1 - 120.","Xu, X., Xu, C., Liu, F. X., Zhang, Z. T. & Li, D. - Q. (2017) Four new species of the trapdoor spider genus Conothele Thorell, 1878 from mainland China and Laos (Araneae, Ctenizidae). ZooKeys, 643, 63 - 74. https: // doi. org / 10.3897 / zookeys. 643.10543","Yang, Z. Z. & Xu, X. (2018) Two new species of the trapdoor spider genus Conothele Thorell, 1878 (Mygalomorphae: Halonoproctidae) from China. Zootaxa, 4442 (1), 171 - 180. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 4442.1.10","Liu, H., Xu, X., Zhang, Z., Liu, F. & Li, D. (2019) Four new species of the trapdoor spider genus Conothele Thorell, 1878 (Araneae, Halonoproctidae) from China. ZooKeys, 833, 133 - 150. https: // doi. org / 10.3897 / zookeys. 833.32736","Baerg, W. J. (1928) Some studies of a trapdoor spider (Araneae: Aviculariidae). Entomological News, 39, 1 - 4.","Coyle, F. A., Greenstone, M. H., Hultsch, A. L. & Morgan, C. E. (1985) Ballooning mygalomorphs: estimates of the masses of Sphodros and Ummidia ballooners (Araneae: Atypidae, Ctenizidae). Journal of Arachnology, 13, 291 - 296.","Eberhard, W. G. (2006) Dispersal by Ummidia spiderlings (Araneae, Ctenizidae): ancient roots of aerial webs and orientation? Journal of Arachnology, 34, 254 - 257. https: // doi. org / 10.1636 / S 03 - 54.1","Fisher, J. R., Fisher, D. M., Skvaria, M. J. & Dowling, A. P. G. (2014) Pre-ballooning in Ummidia Thorell 1875 (Araneae, Ctenizidae) from the interior highlands, USA: second account from the region and review of mygalomorph ballooning. Journal of Arachnology, 42, 318 - 321. https: // doi. org / 10.1636 / B 14 - 43.1","Opatova, V., Bond, J. E. & Arnedo, M. A. (2016) Uncovering the role of the Western Mediterranean tectonics in shaping the diversity and distribution of the trap-door spider genus Ummidia (Araneae, Ctenizidae). Journal of Biogeography, 43 (10), 1955 - 1966. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / jbi. 12838","Simon, E. (1891 a) On the spiders of the island of St. Vincent. Part 1. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1891, 549 - 575.","Pocock, R. I. (1898 a) Scorpions, Pedipalpi and spiders from the Solomon Islands. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, (7) 1 (6), 457 - 475, pl. 19. https: // doi. org / 10.1080 / 00222939808678002","Roewer, C. F. (1963) Araneina: Orthognatha, Labidognatha. Insects of Micronesia, 3 (4), 105 - 132.","Saaristo, M. I. (2002) New species and interesting new records of spiders from Seychelles (Arachnida, Araneaea [sic]). Phelsuma, 10 (suppl. A), 1 - 31.","Harrison, S. E., Harvey, M. S., Cooper, S. J. B., Austin, A. D. & Rix, M. G. (2017) Across the Indian Ocean: A remarkable example of trans-oceanic dispersal in an austral mygalomorph spider. PLoS ONE, 12 (8), e 0180139. https: // doi. org / 10.1371 / journal. pone. 0180139"]}

Herein four species of the trapdoor spider genus Conothele Thorell, 1878 collected from China are described as new to science based on the female genital morphology: C.baishasp. n. (Hainan Province), C.baotingsp. n. (Hainan Province), C.linzhisp. n. (Tibet), and C.jinggangshansp. n. (Jiangxi Province). For two Hainan species, C.baishasp. n. and C.baotingsp. n., between which it is difficult to distinguish solely based on female genital morphology, additional diagnoses derived from species-specific nucleotide substitution information and genetic distances using the mitochondrial gene, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I are provided.

Genus Conothele Thorell, 1878 Type. Conothele malayana (Doleschall, 1859): 5, pl. 6, figure 8 (described female). Remarks: The genus Conothele is morphologically similar to the genus Ummidia Thorell, 1875, but they show distinct geographical distributions. Although Conothele spiders are distributed in the Oriental and Australian regions, Ummidia spiders are largely restricted to New World and the Mediterranean region (Haupt 2006; World Spider Catalog 2018)., Published as part of Yang, Zizhong & Xu, Xin, 2018, Two new species of the trapdoor spider genus Conothele Thorell, 1878 (Mygalomorphae: Halonoproctidae) from China, pp. 171-180 in Zootaxa 4442 (1) on page 173, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4442.1.10, http://zenodo.org/record/1301442, {"references":["Thorell, T. (1878) Studi sui ragni Malesi e Papuani. II. Ragni di Amboina raccolti Prof. O. Beccari. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, 13, 1 - 317.","Doleschall, L. (1859) Tweede Bijdrage tot de Kenntis der Arachniden van den Indischen Archipel. Acta Societatis Scientiarum Indica-Neerlandica, 5, 1 - 60.","Haupt, J. (2006) On the taxonomic position of the East Asian species of the genus Ummidia Thorell, 1875 (Araneae: Ctenizidae). In: Deltshev, C. & Stoev, P. (Eds.), European Arachnology 2005. Acta Zoologica Bulgarica, 1 (Supplement), pp. 77 - 79.","World Spider Catalog (2018) World spider catalog. version 18.5. Natural History Museum Bern. Available from: http: // wsc. nmbe. ch (accessed 17 May 2018)"]}

Conothele deqin sp. nov. (Figs 17���31) Type material. Holotype male (DQ-001), Benzilan Town, Deqin County, Diqing County, Yunnan Province, China, 28.2441��N, 99.2989��E, 2117 m, 13 July 2016, collected by Zizhong Yang; deposited at NZMC, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Etymology. The species epithet, a noun in apposition, refers to the type locality. Diagnosis. The male of C. deqin sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other Conothele species by embolus with a small fish-hook tooth at its tip (Fig. 28), from C. cangshan sp. nov. by the sperm duct, which is thicker than that of the latter in retrolateral view (Fig. 31). Description. Male (holotype) (Fig. 25). Total length, including chelicerae, 18.60; carapace 8.70 long, 8.80 wide; opisthosoma 7.20 long, 6.20 wide. Carapace black, strongly sclerous, glabrous (Fig. 25). Caput arched. Fovea deep and dark, procurved and U-shaped. Eight eyes in two rows, with the anterior eye row slightly procurved and posterior row straight from above (Fig. 17); eye group 0.80 long, 1.70 wide; ALE-AME 0.30, AME- AME 0.20, PLE-PME 0.06, PME-PME 0.50; MOA 0.72 long, front width 0.70, back width 1.10; ALE: AME: PLE: PME (0.30: 0.20: 0.25: 0.30). Clypeus width 0.30. Chelicerae black with 5 large and 2 small promarginal teeth, 6 large and one small retromarginal teeth (Fig. 20), rastellum conspicuous in dorsal view, consisting of 11 thick spines (Fig. 19). Labium, coxae of palp (maxillae) and sternum reddish brown (Figs 18, 26). Labium 0.97 long, 1.30 wide, with 5 conspicuous cuspules (Fig. 18). Coxae of palp (maxillae) 2.15 long, 1.50 wide, with different cuspule numbers on left and right maxillae, 38 cuspules on left and 44 cuspules on right maxillae (Fig. 18). Sternum 4.70 long, 5.00 wide, with irregularly shaped sigilla in the centre (Fig. 26). Legs black brown, light-colored ventrally, with long and short brown sparse setae, thorn-like and normal spines. Tibia III with a slightly saddle-like depression dorsally on the basal part (Fig. 27). Tarsi and distal �� of metatarsi I and II with scopulae, scopulae absent on tarsi III and IV (Figs 21���24). Filiform trichobothria on all dorsal tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi. Tarsus I with 7 clavate trichobothria dorsally; tarsus II with 10 clavate trichobothria dorsally; tarsus III with 7 clavate trichobothria dorsally; tarsus IV with 4 clavate trichobothria dorsally (Figs 7���10). Metatarsal preening combs absent on all legs. Thick thorn-like spines on legs: femur I, dorsal = 2; patella I, ventral = 8; tibia I, ventral = 52 + 1 broken; metatarsus I, ventral = 18; tarsus I, prolateral = 6, retrolateral = 8; femur II, dorsal = 1; patella II, prolateral = 7 +1 broken; tibia II, ventral = 31; metatarsus II, ventral = 24; tarsus II, prolateral = 9, retrolateral = 10; femur III, dorsal = 1; patella III, dorsal = 18; tibia III, prolateral = 10, retrolateral = 6; metatarsus III, dorsal = 13, ventral = 9; tarsus III, prolateral = 12, retrolateral = 5 + 2 broken; patella IV, prolateral = 1; tibia IV, prolateral = 5; metatarsus IV, ventral = 12; tarsus IV, prolateral = 8. Legs each with 3 tarsal claws, paired claws with 3 denticles. Leg formula: 4123. Measurements of legs: leg I 19.70 (6.50 + 2.80 + 4.80 + 3.80 + 1.80), leg II 18.80 (6.50 + 3.30 + 4.40 + 3.00 + 1.60), leg III 15.50 (4.40 + 2.90 + 3.60 + 2.60 + 2.00), leg IV 21.40 (7.30 + 3.80 + 5.40 + 3.30 + 1.60). Opisthosoma brown, scattered with thick and slender black setae. Spinnerets brownish yellow, PMS onesegmented, 0.90 long, PMS-PMS 0.40; PLS three-segmented, 2.10 long, covered with brown spines, apical segment dome-shape. Palpal bulb simple, embolus elongated and slender (Figs 29���31), with a small fish-hook tooth at its tip, cymbium dorsal with 5 clavate, 4 filiform and 12 broken trichobothria (Figs 28, 30). Distribution. Yunnan Province (Diqing County), China. Remarks. We preliminarily treat the male collected in Deqin, Yunnan Province as a different species (C. deqin sp. nov.) from female C. yundingensis found in Tengchong, Yunnan Province for the same reason given above. Two species are geographically isolated by the long distance (c. 300 km apart) and two large rivers, Lancangjiang and Nujiang. The species is known only from male specimens., Published as part of Yang, Zizhong & Xu, Xin, 2018, Two new species of the trapdoor spider genus Conothele Thorell, 1878 (Mygalomorphae: Halonoproctidae) from China, pp. 171-180 in Zootaxa 4442 (1) on page 176, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4442.1.10, http://zenodo.org/record/1301442

Here for the first time the presence of the trapdoor spider genus Conothele Thorell, 1878 (Araneae: Ctenizidae) is reported from mainland China and Laos. Four Conothele species collected from the regions are described as new to science, based on the female genital morphology: C. baiyunensis Xu, Xu & Liu, sp. n. (Guangdong Province), C. daxinensis Xu, Xu & Li, sp. n. (Guangxi Province), C. sidiechongensis Xu, Xu & Liu, sp. n. (Yunnan Province, China and Vietnam), C. yundingensis Xu, Xu & Li, sp. n. (Yunnan Province).

Conothele truncicola n. sp. (Figs. 1-5) Conothele sp. ?, Hirst 1911: 49. Gen. sp. ign., Saaristo 1999: 1. Types: Holotype female from Silhouette, Belle Vue, an Syzygium cuminis, 18.01.1999, M. Saaristo & J. Gerlach leg. (MZT AA 0.724) and 6juvenile paratypes with same data (MZT AA 0.725). Other material examined: Silhouette, Belle Vue, one juvenile. 11.09.1999, J. Gerlach leg. ( MZT AA 1.304) and in the valley above Anse Mondon, one juvenile, 10.08.2000, J. Gerlach leg.(MZT AA 1.317); Mah�� Morn e Blanc, 350m, secondary tropical rainforest, 1f, 01.08.1984, USSR. Zool. Exped. (ZMMU);. Etymology: Named as truncicola which refers to its habit ofbuilding its well camouflaged, silken tubes in small crevices on tree trunks. Diagnosis: This medium-sized(TL=ca.12), dark coloured species can be distinguished from all other Seychellian therasophids by the U-shaped fovea on carapace. Description: Female holotype (male unknown): Carapace length 5.04, length of abdomen 6.58. Carapace and appendages very dark brown, sternum and ventral sides of coxae lighter. Abdomen blackish with purplish hue, venter lighter. Carapace glabrous, with a few hairs. Eyes in three rows on small, rounded elevation. Fovea Ushaped. Chelicerae with 5 promarginal and 4 retromarginal teeth; rastellum formed by some 12 special hairs. Endites with numerous short, black special hairs, apex of labium with some eight similar hairs and two of them near the base of labium. Legs spinose; pro- and retrolateral sides of tarsi, metatarsi, and tibiae of palps and legs I and II densely covered with short, hooked spines. Tibia III with a basal, saddle-like, glabrous depression. Vulva consisting a triangular sack with a pair ofdorsal tubular, thin walled extensions with more or less spherical, thick walled end parts. Distribution: This apparently endemic species is found on Mah�� (Hirst 1911: Conothele sp.?) and Silhouette (Saaristo 1999: Gen. sp. ign). Discussion: According to Main (1985) most Conothele species are terrestrial but at least one, C. arboricola Pocock, 1898 from New Britain is arboreal. Considering the long distance between Seychelles and New Britain as well as the sedentary life style of mygalomorphids as general, I assume that the Seychellian species is different from that found on New Britain., Published as part of Saaristo, Michael I., 2002, New species and interesting new records of spiders from Seychelles (Arachnida, Araneaea), pp. 1-32 in Phelsuma 10 on pages 3-4, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.824148, {"references":["Hirst, A. S. 1911: The Araneae, Opiliones and Pseudocorpiones. Percy Sladen Trust Expedition to the Indian Ocean in 1905 under the leadership of Mr. J. Stanley Gardiner. Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Zool. 14: 379 - 395.","Bowler, J, Bullock, I, Cadbuiy, J., Gerlach, J., Hunter, J. & Saaristo, M. I. 1999. Aride species list in Bowler, J, Bullock, I., Cadbury, J., Gerlach, J. & Hunter, J.: The ecology and conservation of Aride island, Seychelles. Phelsuma 7: 37 - 55.","Main, B. Y. 1985. Further studies on the systematics of ctenizid trapdoor spiders: a review ofthe Australian genera (Araneae; Mygalomorphae: Ctenitzidae). Australian J. Zool. Suppl. 108: 1 - 85. ■"]}