Neriene bovista sp. nov., a new sheet-web spider (Araneae: Linyphiidae) from Korea

Linyphiidae Blackwall, 1859 is one of the most diverse and largest families within the order Araneae Clerck, 1757. Of the currently 60 valid species of the genus Neriene Blackwall, 1833 worldwide, 10 species are distributed in Korea. The males of the new sheet-web spider Neriene bovista sp. nov. were recently collected with a sweep net between the shrubs of mixed forests from the hilly valley with well conserved nature in Uljin-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do (the middle east coast region) during a seasonal survey of the spider fauna in hilly terrains in 2017-2018. The present study describes a new sheet-web spider, Neriene bovista sp. nov. with a diagnosis, detailed description, morphological illustrations, and a distribution map from Korea. The new species has a characteristic mushroom-like tip of the terminal apophysis, the truncated tip of anterior projection, and the bifurcated lateral projection of the lamella compared to the congeners of the genus Neriene Blackwall, 1833.