Spermophora kirinyaga, Bernhard A. Huber & Charles M. Warui, 2012

Bernhard A. Huber & Charles M. Warui, 2012, East African pholcid spiders: an overview, with descriptions of eight new species (Araneae, Pholcidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 29 (29), pp. 1-44 : 34-36

Spermophora kirinyaga sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:FB6D5694-B829-49B4-B47E-AAB80C 170389

Figs 10 , 50-52 , 102-106

Spermophora Ken 21: Dimitrov, Astrin & Huber 2012 (DNA sequence data).

Diagnosis

Easily distinguished from similar congeners ( S. berlandi Fage, 1936 , S. minotaura Berland, 1920 ) by absence of horns between eye triads; from S. berlandi Fage, 1936 also by absence of epigynal scape (only short conical projection; Fig. 105 ), from S. minotaura Berland, 1920 also by unmodified clypeus; from both and from other species also by details of male palp morphology (shapes of bulbal processes and procursus; Figs 102, 103 ) and male cheliceral armature ( Fig. 104 ).

Etymology

Kirinyaga is a Kikuyu and Embu name for Mount Kenya; noun in apposition.

Type material

Holotype

♂, in ZFMK ( Ar 8762 ) .

Paratypes

5 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, in ZFMK (4 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀: Ar 8763 ) and NMKE (1 ♂) .

Type locality

KENYA, Eastern Province, Mt. Kenya National Park, Chogoria Forest , “site 2” (0°14.2’S, 37°34.0’E), 1950 m a.s.l., under logs on ground, 27 Jan. 2010 (B.A. Huber).

Other material examined

KENYA: Eastern Province: 7 ♀♀, 1 juv. in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Ken 119 ), Mt. Kenya N.P., Chogoria Forest : same data as types above .

Description

Male (holotype)

MEASUREMENTS. Total body length 2.2, carapace width 1.1. Leg 1: 17.1 (4.2 + 0.4 + 4.3 + 6.2 + 2.0), tibia 2: 2.6, tibia 3: 2.0, tibia 4: 2.6; tibia 1 L/d: 46. Distance PME-PME 205 µm, diameter PME 90 µm, distance PME-ALE 25 µm, no AME.

COLOR. Prosoma ochre with extensive black pattern including ocular area and clypeus, sternum mostly black, medially dark brown, legs ochre-yellow, darker subdistal rings and lighter tips barely visible, abdomen ochre-grey, largely covered with black marks, also ventrally.

BODY. Habitus as in Fig. 50 ; ocular area slightly elevated, without horns; shallow but distinct thoracic furrow; clypeus unmodified. Chelicerae as in Fig. 104 , with proximal lateral apophyses, large frontal apophyses (without modified hairs) and three long modified hairs on each side, the distal one accompanied by small black cone. Sternum wider than long (0.72/0.64), unmodified.

PALPS. As in Figs 102 and 103 , coxa with retrolatero-ventral apophysis, trochanter with retrolateral apophysis, femur barely modified, procursus with ventral flap and several complex distal elements that appear hinged with proximal part, bulb with only one distally bifid process and small rounded projection on opposite side.

LEGS. Without spines and curved hairs, few vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium on tibia 1 at 14%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1, present on other tibiae; tarsus 1 with ~20 pseudosegments.

VARIATION. Tibia 1 in 5 other males: 3.9-4.0.

Female

In general similar to male but triads closer together (distance PME-PME 135 µm). Tibia 1 in 2 females: 3.4, 3.5. Epigynum a large protruding plate with small projection posteriorly ( Fig. 105 ); internal genitalia as in Fig. 106 .

Distribution

Known from type locality only ( Fig. 27 ).

Figures

Figs 1 - 15. — 1. Artema atlanta Walckenaer, 1837 from Mbutali, Kenya. — 2. Leptopholcus tipula (Simon, 1907) from Semuliki, Uganda. — 3. Smeringopus mpanga Huber, 2012 from Kalinzu F. R., Uganda. — 4. Pholcus taita Huber, 2011 from Taita Mountains, Kenya. — 5. Quamtana kabale Huber, 2003 from Ruwenzori, Uganda. — 6. Quamtana nyahururu sp. nov. from Thompson Falls, Kenya. — 7 - 8. Spermophora minotaura Berland, 1920 from Mt. Kenya (7: dark morph; 8: light morph). — 9. Spermophora mau sp. nov. from near Elburgon, Kenya. — 10. Spermophora kirinyaga sp. nov. from Mt. Kenya, Kenya. — 11. Buitinga nigrescens (?) (Berland, 1920) from Ol Donyo Sabuk, Kenya. — 12. Buitinga ruhiza Huber, 2003 from Buhoma, Uganda. — 13. Buitinga batwa sp. nov. from Mgahinga Gorilla N. P., Uganda. — 14. Buitinga ruwenzori Huber, 2003 from Ruwenzori, Uganda. — 15. Buitinga griswoldi Huber, 2003 from Buhoma, Uganda. Photos BAH.

Figs 50-69. — 50-52. Spermophora kirinyaga sp. nov., ♂ (50) and ♀ (51, 52). — 53-56. Spermophora minotaura Berland, 1920, ♀♀, dark morph (53, 54) and light morph (55, 56). — 57-58. Spermophora kyambura sp. nov., ♂. — 59-61. Quamtana nyahururu sp. nov., ♂ (59, 60) and ♀ (61). — 62-63. Crossopriza johncloudsleyi Deeleman-Reinhold & van Harten, 2001, cleared ♀ genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. — 64-65. Buitinga batwa sp. nov., cleared ♀ genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. — 66-67. Spermophora maathaiae sp. nov., cleared ♀ genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. — 68. Spermophora bukusu sp. nov., cleared ♀ genitalia, ventral view. — 69. Spermophora kyambura sp. nov., cleared ♀ genitalia, dorsal view .

Figs 102 - 106. Spermophora kirinyaga sp. nov. 102 - 103. Left ♂ palp, prolateral and retrolateral views. 104. ♂ chelicerae, frontal view. 105 - 106. ♀ genitalia, ventral and cleared dorsal views. b: genital bulb; e: embolus; pr: procursus. Scale lines: 0.2 mm (104), 0.3 mm (105 - 106), 0.5 mm (102 - 103).

Figs 24 - 27. Known distributions of the genera Physocyclus, Quamtana, Smeringopus and Spermophora in East Africa. For detailed maps of Quamtana see Huber (2003 b), of Smeringopus see Huber (2012) and of Spermophora see Huber (2003 a). Squares: unidentified / undescribed specimens.