Magnacrus tongmianensis
Live specimen © Hoang et al. (2025), fig. 14D, female in defensive posture at her burrow in Dak Lak, Vietnam. Photo: Quang Duy HoangType Locality and Records
Original Description
Distribution
Type Locality: CHINA, Guangxi, Ningming County, Tongmian Township, as labelled - but see the note on the type locality
Etymology
The specific name refers to the type locality
Specimen Records (4)
Holotype female of Magnacrus tongmianensis. Hoang et al. (2025) argue this locality is wrong: Tongmian is a transit hub of the cross-border tarantula trade, a local collector reports these spiders were gathered near Buon Ma Thuot in Vietnam, and five expeditions to Tongmian found none. They conclude the types were probably escapees from a smuggling shipment. The coordinates are the labelled ones and should not be read as a natural occurrence.
Paratype female of Magnacrus tongmianensis, same data as the holotype, and subject to the same doubt about the locality.
The specimen on which the first description of the male of Magnacrus tongmianensis is based. Body length 44.5 mm including chelicerae.
Females of Magnacrus tongmianensis from the only known living population. TNU-THE-0002 is the redescribed female. Collection dates are not given.
Taxonomic History
- 2002 Citharognathus tongmianensis Zhu, Li & Song, 2002, described from two females labelled as coming from Tongmian, Guangxi, China. Hoang, Yu, Wendt, West & von Wirth (2025) transferred it to their new genus Magnacrus as M. tongmianensis comb. nov., redescribed it from Vietnamese material and described the male for the first time. They also argue the type locality is wrong and that the species probably has no natural population in China.