Procopius lesserti ( Strand, 1916 ) Strand, 1916

Haddad, Charles R. & Bosselaers, Jan, 2010, A revision of the genus Medmassa Simon, 1887 (Araneae: Corinnidae) in the Afrotropical Region, Zootaxa 2361, pp. 1-12 : 8-9

Procopius lesserti ( Strand, 1916) comb. nov.

( Figs 20–24 )

Medmassa lesserti Strand, 1916: 96 (Ƥ holotype: RWANDA: Rugege Wald, 1800m a.s.l., 20.VII.1907, leg. A.F. Herzog, ZMB 28237 – examined; Ƥ paratype with same data as holotype, ZMB 28239 – examined; Ƥ paratype: CONGO D.R.: Lake Kivu, VIII.1907, leg. S. O. Ufer, ZMB 28238 – examined).

Procopius quaerens Lessert, 1946: 210 , fig. 9 (Ƥ holotype: CONGO D.R.: Lulonga, 00°37'N, 18°23'E, MRAC 12427 – examined). syn. nov.

Remarks. The female types of M. lesserti are consistent in somatic and genitalic morphology with other members of the Afrotropical genus Procopius Thorell, 1899 , particularly the raised cephalic region, eye arrangement, strongly spined anterior legs, and simple plate-like epigyne ( Figs 20–24 ). This species can be recognised by the distinctive looping lateral spermathecae and median sclerotised ridge that show through the integument ( Fig. 24 ). Examination of the holotype female of P. quaerens Lessert, 1946 from Lulonga, Congo D.R., indicates that this species is a junior synonym of Procopius lesserti .

Figures

FIGURES 16 – 24. Digital microscope photographs of Mandaneta sudana (Karsch, 1880) male (16, 17) and female (18, 19) from Congo D. R. and Procopius lesserti (Strand, 1916) female (20 – 24) from Rwanda. (16, 18, 20) habitus, dorsal view; (17) male palp, ventral view; (19, 24) female epigyne, ventral view; (21) carapace, frontal view; (22) same, dorsal view; (23) cephalothorax and legs, ventral view. Abbreviations: CD—conductor; CH—chilum; CO—copulatory opening; EM—embolus; MA—median apophysis; PES—post-epigastric sclerite. Scale bars: 16, 18, 20 – 23 = 1.0 mm; 17, 19, 24 = 0.5 mm.