Wajane Lehtinen, 1967

Anna S. Dippenaar-Schoeman, 1989, The African species of the subfamily Penestominae (Araneae: Eresidae): with descriptions of two new species, Phytophylactica 21, pp. 131-134 : 133-134

Wajane Lehtinen, 1967

Wajane Lehtinen, 1967: 409

Type species Wajane armata Lehtinen

Diagnosis

The flattened body, smaller size, position of the eyes and the absence of a cribellum distinguish Wajane from all other eresids.

Description

Female. Size: small ± 3,7 mm. Colour of carapace reddish brown to grey; smooth to completely covered with short white hairs with relatively longer dark setae in between; carapace longer than wide, flattened, lateral margins of thorax parallel; cephalic area short, slightly narrower than thoraxic area; fovea shallow and wide. Eyes in two rows, anterior row straight, posterior row recurved; ALE close to clypeal edge, slightly larger than AME; AME closer to each other than to ALE; MOQ wider than long, narrower anteriorly; PLE more widely spaced than ALE; PME as far from each other as from PLE (Fig. 2). Chelicerae long and narrow, obliquely directed, fang short; anterior margin of cheliceral groove with low chitinous keel, armed with 4-5 teeth, one next to basal one the largest. Maxillae basally wide, triangular, apical part with parallel sides, apex rounded, maxillae parallel to each other, separated by the width of the labium. Sternum oval, posteriorly projecting between fourth coxae. Legs short, weakly sclerotized; leg formula 4123; coxae long, especially leg IV; femur of all legs slightly thicker than rest of leg segments; tibiae with numerous short spines ventrally and laterally, irregularly arranged; metatarsi also with irregular spination; three tarsal claws, paired claws with long thin teeth. Abdomen oval, tapering towards both ends, slightly flattened; with two patches of thick white hairs present dorsally, at the widest point of abdomen and sometimes at anterolateral comers; ventrum unicoloured; anal tubercle well-developed; anterior spinnerets conical, posterior spinnerets shorter, cylindrical, median spinnerets acutely conical. Epigynal plate slightly longer than wide. Male palp characterized by a large, bifurcate tibial process and large complicated median apophysis; the coiled embolus runs inside a fold of the conductor.

Lehtinen (1967) in his description of the genus mentioned an unpaired, narrow, strongly curved and weakly sclerotized plate in front of the spinnerets. According to him it could be a nonfunctional colulus, unique for Eresidae . However, the specimen he examined was weakly sclerotized and this hindered interpretation of the structure. The female described here for the first time has no cribellum or calamistrum, with only a faint indication of a plate in front of the spinnerets. It is, however, weakly sclerotized and difficult to see.

Distribution

Known only from the Cape Province, South Africa.

Relationship

Wajane is related to Penestomus in having a small flattened body, with eyes close to the anterior edge and the same basic body shape. Wajane differs in having no cribellum or calamistrum.

Bionomics

Wajane stilleri spec. nov. was collected from silklined tunnels in boulders.