Spermophorides africana, Huber, Bernhard A., 2007

Huber, Bernhard A., 2007, Two new genera of small, six-eyed pholcid spiders from West Africa, and first record of Spermophorides for mainland Africa (Araneae: Pholcidae), Zootaxa 1635, pp. 23-43 : 38-41

Spermophorides africana n. sp.

( Figs. 10–12 , 62 –68)

Type material. Male holotype from Tanzania, Mbeya Prov., 3 km S Matema, Livingstone Mts. (9°30’S, 34°03’E), 4th canyon S with permanent water, sieved litter, November 12, 1991 (R. Jocqué), in MRAC (173.289).

Etymology. The species name refers to the fact that this is the first known African representative of the genus.

Diagnosis. Easily distinguished from most known congeners by details of the male cheliceral apophyses (position, length, direction), the procursus (distal sclerites), and the female external genitalia (position of pockets); from other East African six-eyed pholcids by the characters mentioned in the generic diagnosis above.

Male (holotype). Total length 1.10, carapace width 0.50. Legs 1: 6.67 (1.93 + 0.20 + 1.90 + 1.77 + 0.87), tibia 2: 1.17, metatarsus 2: 1.13, tibia 3: 0.83, metatarsus 3: 0.87, leg 4 missing (also missing in other male examined); tibia 1 L/d: 43. Habitus as Figs. 11, 12 ; carapace pale ochre with distinct brown pattern ( Fig. 11 ), sternum ochre, mottled with brown, legs monochromous ochre-yellow, with distinct brown marks at all trichobothria bases, abdomen ochre-gray, dorsally with some distinctive large brown marks, laterally and FIGURES 67–73. Spermophorides spp., S. africana (67, 68), S. mediterranea (69, 71), and S. cuneata (70, 72, 73). 67, 73. Male ALS. 68–70. Male gonopore. 71, 72. Male palpal tarsal organ. Scale lines: 5 µm (67), 10 µm (71–73), 50 µm (68–70).

ventrally mottled with dark brown; distance PME–PME 55 µm; diameter PME 45 µm; distance PME–ALE 20 µm; AME missing. Sternum wider than long (0.38/0.30), unmodified. Clypeus unmodified; chelicerae with rounded proximo-lateral projections and very light pointed distal apophyses ( Fig. 64 ), the latter barely visible in dissecting microscope. Palps as in Figs. 62, 63 ; coxa unmodified, trochanter with retrolateral apophysis (longer than appears in Fig. 63 ), femur unmodified, procursus rather simple except distally, bulb with hooked apophysis and membranous embolus. Palpal tarsal organ capsulate (cf. Figs. 71, 72). Legs without spines, curved, and vertical hairs (most hairs missing); retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at 19%, prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1, present on other legs; tarsus 1 with>15 pseudosegments, only distally a few fairly distinct in dissecting microscope. ALS with two spigots each (Fig. 67). Male gonopore without epiandrous spigots (Fig. 68).

Variation. Tibia 1/metatarsus 1 in other male: 1.73/1.57.

Female. In general similar to male, including pattern on carapace and abdomen; tibia 1/metatarsus 1 in 3 females: 1.43/1.33, 1.47/1.33, 1.63/1.50. Epigynum consisting of simple frontal and posterior plates, not different in color from surrounding cuticle ( Fig. 10 ), both plates provided with pairs of pockets ( Figs. 65, 66 ), pore plates as in Fig. 66 .

Distribution. Known from type locality in Tanzania only ( Fig. 74 ).

Material examined. TANZANIA: Mbeya Prov., 3 km S Matema: type above; same data but Nov. 15, 1991, 1ɗ3Ψ 7 juveniles in MRAC (173.319).

Figures

FIGURE 74. Map showing the known distributions of Nyikoa n. gen. and Anansus n. gen., as well as the only known record of Spermophorides in Africa.

FIGURES 2 – 12. Photographs of habitus and female abdomens. 2, 3. Nyikoa limbe, male in dorsal and lateral views. 4, 5. Anansus aowin, male in dorsal and lateral views. 6 – 8. Anansus ewe, male in dorsal, lateral, and ventral views. 9. Anansus ewe, female abdomen, ventral view. 10. Spermophorides africana, female abdomen, ventral view. 11, 12. Spermophorides africana, male in dorsal and lateral views.

FIGURES 62 – 66. Spermophorides africana, n. sp. 62, 63. Left palp, prolateral and retrolateral views. 64. Male chelicerae, frontal view. 65, 66. Cleared epigynum, ventral and dorsal views. b, genital bulb; ba, bulbal apophysis; e, embolus; p, procursus. Scale lines: 0.1 mm.