The present paper deals with nine genera and 32 species of the family Pisauridae from China, including two new genera, Dianpisaura (type species, Pisaura lizhii Zhang 2000) and Qianlingula (type species, Qianlingula bilamellata new species), and 11 new species, Dolomedes costatus, D. raptoroides, Eurychoera banna, Hygropoda argentata, H. campanulata, H. menglun, H. yunnan, Qianlingula bilamellata, Q. jiafu, Q. turbinata and Thalassius paralbocinctus. The genus Eurychoera Thorell 1897 and the species Perenethis sindica (Simon 1897) are newly recorded from China. The males of the species Dianpisaura lizhii (Zhang 2000) and Dolomedes mizhoanus Kishida 1936 are described for the first time. The study indicates that Thalassius bottrelli Barrion & Litsinger 1995 and T. balingkinitanus Barrion & Litsinger 1995 from the Philippines should be transferred to the genus Hygropoda. The species Dolomedes insurgens Chamberlin 1924 and D. pallitarsis Dönitz & Strand 1906 are shown to be the junior synonyms of D. saganus Bösenberg & Strand 1906, and the species D. strandi Bonnet 1929 is considered to be a junior synonym of D. senilis Simon 1880. Scanning electron microscopy is used to study the spigot morphology of several pisaurids. The SEM results indicate the differences of pisaurid spigots at the generic level, both in shape and numbers. A cladistic analysis of 21 species from China is presented.

The jumping spider genus Thiodina in the United States is reviewed here and the common western species, T. hespera new species, is formally described for the first time. We present a species key for specimens north of Mexico.

The tiny caddid harvestman Acropsopilio chomulae (Goodnight & Goodnight 1948), from Chiapas, Mexico, has been known only from the immature holotype. Mature females are described from specimens taken near the type locality. The absence of spermathecae in the ovipositor makes it likely that the species is parthenogenic.

RESUMEN

Hasta el momento, los únicos datos disponibles del pequeño opilión Acropsopilio chomulae (Goodnight & Goodnight 1948) de Chiapas (México) proceden del estudio del holotipo, un ejemplan inmaduro. En este trabajo se describen hembras maduras procedentes de cerca de localidad tipica. La ausencia de espermateca en el oviscapto sugiere que la especie es partenogenética.

The withiid genus Parawithius Chamberlin is rediagnosed, based upon a detailed examination of the type species, P. nobilis (With) from Colombia, which is redescribed and illustrated. The subgenus Parawithius (Victorwithius) Feio is returned to full generic level. Cystowithius, a new genus of Withiidae, is described from high elevation localities in central and South America for four species: Cystowithius smithersi new species (type species) from Ecuador, C. ecuadoricus (Beier) new combination, from Ecuador and Peru, C. colombicus new species from Colombia, and C. chamberlini new species from Mexico and Guatemala. Males of Cystowithius are highly unusual due to the presence of sternal invaginations, a feature that has not been previously observed in pseudoscorpions. Populations of Cystowithius smithersi occur within the leaf sheaths of the giant rosette plant Espeletia pycnophylla var. angelensis (Compositae).

Thirty-one species of Calymmaria are described or redescribed and illustrated. Twenty-two species are described as new: Calymmaria alleni, C. bifurcata, C. carmel, C. farallon, C. gertschi, C. humboldt, C. iviei, C. minuta, C. monterey, C. orick, C. rosario, C. rothi, C. scotia, C. sequoia, C. sierra, C. similaria, C. siskiyou, C. sueni, C. tecate, C. tubera, C. virginica and C. yolandae. A key to all thirty-one species is provided. Calymmaria quadrata (Exline 1938) is synonymized with C. emertoni (Simon 1897), and C. cavicola (Banks 1896) and C. montavencis (Bishop & Crosby 1926) are synonymized with C. persica (Hentz 1847). Tegenaria modesta Banks 1898 and the replacement name T. modestella Roewer 1944 are treated as nomina dubia. The male palpus of C. lora (Chamberlin & Ivie 1942) and C. emertoni (Simon) are illustrated for the first time along with the internal structure of the female epigynum of C. californica (Banks 1896) and C. shastae (Chamberlin & Ivie 1937). Information is provided on habitat and web structure in the genus. A cladogram of the species of Calymmaria is presented based on a cladistic analysis of characters. The presence of a dorsal patellar fracture line is hypothesized to be an apomorphic character state that relates Calymmaria to five other agelenoid genera: Willisus, Blabomma, Yorima, Cybaeota, and Cybaeina.

Brattia species (Linyphiidae) from Africa and the Philippines are not congeneric with the type species of Brattia. The type species of the genus, Brattia spadicaria Simon, and other Neotropical Brattia species were recently transferred to Sphecozone O. Pickard-Cambridge; Old World Brattia species were explicitly excluded from Sphecozone. Sphecozone spadicaria and Old World Brattia species are redescribed and illustrated. Brattia africana Simon is transferred to Pachydelphus Jocqué & Bosmans; B. scutilla is transferred to Apobrata new genus; B. dubia is transferred to the theridiid genus Anelosimus Simon.

A unique new species of the genus Vaejovis is described: V. cisnerosi from deciduous scrub forest in the Balsas Basin in Michoacan state, Mexico. Morphological characters, including the hemispermatophore of the holotype male, are illustrated. The closest relative of V. cisnerosi within the genus is unknown, but hemispermatophore morphology, tarsal setation, and trichobothrial patterns suggest close ties with the V. eusthenura, V. intrepidus and V. punctipalpi groups.

I argue that several unusual aspects of spider sexual biology make them extremely promising subjects for future research on sperm competition and cryptic female choice, and outline promising lines for future research. The important traits include: double, bilaterally symmetrical genitalia (allowing the use of the same animal as experimental and control and thus providing unusually complete controls for experimental manipulations); isolation of male ejaculates in pure form during sperm induction (allowing experimental determination of the effects of sperm and male accessory glands on female reproductive physiology, and separation of their effects on the female from those of copulatory courtship and copulation); frequent venter-up orientation and genitalic meshes in which most of the male genitalia is outside rather than inside the female (allowing unusually complete observations of male genital behavior during copulation); immobile sperm (allowing confident deductions about male and female movement of sperm without complications from motility of the sperm themselves); a huge data set on female as well as male genitalic morphology from previous taxonomic studies (enabling, in combination with studies of the fit between male and female genitalia, studies of the details of how rapid genitalic divergence occurs). Studies of spider sex should be in the forefront of the next generation of studies of sperm competition and cryptic female choice.