A survey of linyphiid spiders (Arachnida, Linyphiidae) from Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China, with description of a new species.

BACKGROUND: Linyphiidae Blackwall, 1859 is the second-largest spider family, currently comprising nearly 5,000 species worldwide. Although Guiyang is one of the most biodiverse provincial capitals in China, its linyphiid fauna remains poorly known, with only a single species previously recorded. NEW INFORMATION: Recent field surveys conducted by the authors in Guiyang revealed 17 species of Linyphiidae, including one new to science. We provide the first checklist of the family from Guiyang, together with a distribution map of all recorded species and live habitus photographs for 13 species (the remaining four species were not photographed in the field). A detailed description and diagnostic micrographs of the new species are presented and a partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence is provided to facilitate future molecular studies.