Buitinga batwa sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C456910B-9E7B-4872-830B-87F240C313E3

Figs 13, 36-39, 81-86

Buitinga Uga 61: Dimitrov, Astrin & Huber 2012 (DNA sequence data).

Diagnosis

Easily distinguished from known congeners by extremely long male cheliceral apophyses (Figs 83, 84); from similar B. buhoma Huber, 2003 also by wider epigynal scape and median pocket in internal female genitalia (Figs 65, 85), and by details of male palp (shape of bulbal apophysis, two small projections on bulb apart from apophysis and embolus, shapes of distal structures of procursus; Figs 81, 82).

Etymology

The species is named after the Batwa pygmies of south-western Uganda; noun in apposition.

Type material

Holotype

♂, in ZFMK (Ar 8743) .

Paratypes

3 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀, in ZFMK (Ar 8744) .

Type locality

UGANDA, Kisoro District, Mgahinga Gorilla N.P., gorge (1°22.9’S, 29°35.8-36.0’E), 2900-3000 m a.s.l., 25 Nov. 2010 (B.A. Huber).

Other material examined

UGANDA: Western Region: 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀, 1 juv. in pure ethanol, in ZFMK (Uga 147), Kisoro District, Mgahinga Gorilla N.P., gorge, same data as types above ; 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀, in ZFMK (Ar 8745), Mgahinga Gorilla N.P., bamboo forest (~1°22.0-22.3’S, 29°36.3-36.9’E), 2500-2600 m a.s.l., 25 Nov. 2010 (B.A. Huber) ; 2 ♂♂, 1 juv. in pure ethanol, in ZFMK (Uga 150), same data; 3 ♂♂, in ZFMK (Ar 8746), Kisoro District, between Nyakabande and Muko, roadside forest (1°15.2’S, 29°47.6’E), 2260 m a.s.l., 26 Nov. 2010 (B.A. Huber) .

Description

Male (holotype)

MEASUREMENTS. Total body length 2.7, carapace width 1.0. Leg 1: 19.5 (4.6 + 0.4 + 4.8 + 7.3 + 2.4), tibia 2: 2.8, tibia 3: 2.2, tibia 4: 2.9; tibia 1 L/d: 54. Distance PME-PME 185 µm, diameter PME 115 µm, distance PME-ALE 45 µm, no AME.

COLOR. Carapace pale ochre-yellow with black lateral marks, ocular area and clypeus dark brown to black, sternum black with slightly lighter mark behind labium; legs ochre-yellow, darker rings on femora (subdistally) and tibiae (proximally and subdistally); abdomen pale grey with distinctive black pattern.

BODY. Habitus as in Figs 36-38; ocular area slightly elevated; only frontally shallow thoracic furrow; clypeus unmodified. Chelicerae as in Figs 83 and 84, with proximal lateral apophyses, pair of extremely long frontal apophyses, each provided with several strong claw-shaped hairs proximo-dorsally and about four modified hairs distally; without further pair of frontal apophyses near laminae. Sternum wider than long (0.70/0.57), unmodified.

PALPS. In general very similar B. buhoma Huber, 2003 (cf. figs 113 and 114 in Huber 2003a) but coxa with prominent ventral apophysis distally and tibia slightly longer; bulb with four projections: weakly sclerotized embolus, hooked apophysis with subdistal sclerotized ridge, small projection at basis of apophysis (arrow in Fig. 82), and pointed cone-shaped process (arrow in Fig. 81); procursus with large cushion-like structure retrolaterally, prolateral hinged process, complex distally.

LEGS. Without spines and curved hairs, few vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium on tibia 1 at 10%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1, present on other tibiae; tarsus 1 with ~30 pseudosegments.

VARIATION. Tibia 1 in 9 other males: 4.4-5.2 (mean 4.7).

Female

In general similar to male but triads closer together (distance PME-PME 150 µm). Tibia 1 in 5 females: 3.5-3.9 (mean 3.75). Epigynum a simple plate with wide straight scape in anterior position (Figs 64, 85), with distinctive internal sclerotized pocket (arrow in Fig. 86) and large pore plates (Figs 65, 86).

Distribution

Known from southwestern Uganda only (Fig. 18).