Festucula botswana, Azarkina & Foord, 2023

Azarkina, Galina N. & Foord, Stefan H., 2023, Further notes on the Afrotropical genus Festucula Simon, 1901 (Araneae, Salticidae), ZooKeys 1185, pp. 285-308 : 285

Festucula botswana sp. nov.

Figs 1-3 , 4-7 , 29 , 30

Type material.

Holotype: Botswana • ♀; Okavango swamps, c. -19.42, 22.97, on water surface, near plants, 28.VI.1979, A. Morley, B. Taylor leg.; NCA 83/496.

Diagnosis.

The epigyne of Festucula botswana sp. nov. is similar to that of F. festuculaeformis (Lessert, 1925) and F. haddadi Azarkina & Foord, 2014, but differs from them in having longer and thinner accessory glands’ copulatory ducts (shorter in former species, cf. Fig. 2 and Azarkina and Foord 2014: figs 52, 68).

Etymology.

This species is named after the country of the type locality.

Description.

Female. Total length 6.40. Carapace 2.05 long, 1.25 width. Abdomen 4.30 long, 1.10 width. Ocular area 0.85 long, 1.00 wide anteriorly, 1.10 wide posteriorly. Cheliceral length 0.65. Clypeal height 0.05. Hight at PLE 0.50. Diameter of AME 0.35. Length of leg segments: I 1.10 + 0.75 + 1.10 + 0.70 + 0.40 (4.05). II 0.85 + 0.50 + 0.55 + 0.50 + 0.35 (2.75). III. 0.75 + 0.30 + 0.50 + 0.55 + 0.40 (2.50). IV 1.25 + 0.50 + 1.00 + 0.80 + 0.50 (4.05). Leg setation: I: Tbpr 1-1-1, Mt v 2-2 ap. II: Mt v 2-2 ap. Colouration (in alcohol, Figs 4-7 ). Carapace brown, with a broad light brown longitudinal band medially and pair of broad light brown bands marginally. Ocular area brown, with two dark-brown patches in the middle, with black patches around eyes. Sternum yellow. Labium and endites yellow, pale apically. Chelicerae brown-yellow. Clypeus and cheeks brown-yellow, covered with white setae. Carapace stridulatory organs with 7 seta-bearing tubercles. Abdomen light brown, with one broad whitish-yellow longitudinal band medially and two whitish-yellow longitudinal bands laterally. Venter brownish-grey, covered with white short setae. Spinnerets brownish-yellow. Book-lung covers yellow. All legs yellow. Legs I long and robust, yellow-brown. Femora I dark-brown prolatero-apically; patellae I dark-brown prolaterally. Metatarsi and tarsi I brown. Palps yellow. Epigyne and vulva as in Figs 1-3 : wider than long in about 1.5 times. Copulatory openings located almost in a middle part, small and roundish. Fertilization ducts visible through integument. Copulatory ducts long, connected to long and club-shaped accessory glands pointed laterally. Spermathecae long and sub-vertical, with fertilization ducts located on apical part.

Distribution.

Known only from type locality in Botswana (Fig. 29 ).

Figures

Figure 29. New data of distribution of four Festucula species in Africa.

Figures 1 - 3. Festucula botswana sp. nov., holotype 1 epigyne, ventral view 2 vulva, dorsal view 3 diagrammatic course of the insemination ducts. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

Figures 4 - 7. Festucula botswana sp. nov., holotype 4 habitus, dorsal view 5 same, ventral view 6 same, lateral view 7 same, latero-frontal view. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Figures 30 - 47. Festucula spp., females 30, 31 F. australis (from Azarkina and Foord 2014) 32, 33 F. monticola 34, 35 F. vermiformis (from Proszynski 1987) 36, 37 F. botswana sp. nov. 38, 39 F. festuculaeformis (from Azarkina and Foord 2014) 40, 41 F. haddadi (from Azarkina and Foord 2014) 42, 43 F. lawrencei 44, 45 F. leroyae (from Azarkina and Foord 2014) 46, 47 F. robustus (from Azarkina and Foord 2014): 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46 epigyne, ventral view 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45, 47 vulva, dorsal view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.