Festucula lawrencei Lessert, 1933

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 lawrencei Lessert, 1933

Figs 8-13 , 14-21 , 29 , 30

Festucula lawrencei Lessert, 1933: 152, fig. 72 (Type ♂, Angola: Santo Amaro, MRAC-examined).

F. lawrencei : Wesołowska 1992: 50, figs 26-27; Azarkina and Foord 2014: 365, figs 77-87.

Material examined.

Botswana • 1♂ 2♀; North-West District, nr Maun, Manxunyane Lagoon , -19.90, 23.37, floodplain grassland, sweeping; 21.IX.1976; A. Russell-Smith leg.; PCARS .

Diagnosis.

The epigyne and vulva of F. lawrencei resemble that of F. haddadi and F. leroyae , but differ from F. haddadi in having longer and thinner copulatory ducts (cf. Figs 41 and 43 ); from F. leroyae in having smaller copulatory openings (cf. Figs 42 and 44 ). For male’s diagnosis see Azarkina and Foord 2014: 365.

Description.

Male. Total length 5.80. Carapace 2.00 long, 1.25 wide. Abdomen 3.70 long, 0.90 wide. Ocular area 0.85 long, 0.95 wide anteriorly, 1.05 wide posteriorly. Cheliceral length 0.50. Clypeal height 0.05. Height at PLE 0.60. Diameter of AME 0.30. Length of leg segments: I 1.50 + 1.00 + 1.50 + 1.00 + 0.45 (4.45). II 0.80 + 0.35 + 0.50 + 0.45 + 0.30 (2.40). III 0.75 + 0.35 + 0.50 + 0.50 + 0.30 (2.40). IV 1.10 + 0.50 + 0.75 + 0.70 + 0.40 (3.45). Leg setation: I: Tbpr 1-1-1, Mt v 2-2 ap. Colouration (in alcohol, Figs 14-17 ). Carapace brown, covered with brown setae. with broad longitudinal bands of white setae medially and laterally. Clypeus brown, covered with white setae. Sternum brown. Endites and labium brown, pale apically. Chelicerae brown. Carapace stridulatory organs with 8 seta-bearing tubercles. Abdomen brown dorsally, with broad yellow-white longitudinal band medially, with narrow yellowish longitudinal bands laterally. Venter brown. Spinnerets brown. Book-lung covers yellow-brown. Legs I robust, long, brown. Remaining legs yellow. Palps brown. Palpal structure as in Figs 8-10 : tegulum with prolateral basal and retrolateral median lobes. Embolus pointed apically at 45° from tegulum, with small bump on tegulum near embolic base. Tibia short. Tibial apophyses thin, curved, with multiple small teeth between lateral and ventral aphophyses. Lateral tibial apophysis concave.

Female. Total length 7.30-9.10. Carapace 2.35-2.40 long, 1.45-1.50 wide. Abdomen 5.00-6.70 long, 1.45-1.50 wide. Ocular area 1.00-1.10 long, 1.15-1.20 wide anteriorly, 1.25-1.30 wide posteriorly. Cheliceral length 0.60-0.80. Clypeal height 0.05. Height at PLE 0.70. Diameter of AME 0.40. Length of leg segments (smallest female): I 1.50 + 1.00 + 1.30 + 0.90 + 0.45 (5.15). II 1.00 + 0.50 + 0.60 + 0.55 + 0.35 (3.00). III 0.90 + 0.45 + 0.50 + 0.70 + 0.40 (2.95). IV 1.30 + 0.70 + 1.00 + 0.90 + 0.50 (4.40). Leg setation: I: Tbpr 1-1-1, Mt v 2-2 ap. II: Mt v 2-2 ap. Colouration (in alcohol, Figs 18-21 ).Similar to that of male, but legs II-IV and palps brownish-yellow. Epigyne and vulva as in Figs 11-13 : Epigyne with two small round copulatory openings located in posterior half submedially. Copulatory ducts and accessory glands long and thin, spermathecae long and thin. Fertilization ducts located apically.

Distribution.

Angola and Botswana (Fig. 29 ).

Comments.

Palps of specimens from Botswana differ slightly from palps of the type specimen: the lateral tibial apophysis is less concave than the type (cf. Fig. 9 , arrowed and Azarkina and Foord 2014: fig. 78). The inner edge of the LTA has multiple small teeth in specimen from Botswana vs. one big tooth in type specimen (cf. Fig. 10 and Azarkina and Foord 2014: figs 80, 81).

Figures

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

Figures 8 - 13. Festucula lawrencei 8 male palp, ventral view 9 same, retrolateral view 10 tibial apophysis, ventro-retrolateral view 11 diagrammatic course of the insemination ducts 12 epigyne, ventral view 13 vulva, dorsal view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

Figures 14 - 21. Festucula lawrencei 14 male habitus, dorsal view 15 same, ventral view 16 same, lateral view 17 same, latero-frontal view 18 female habitus, latero-frontal view 19 same, dorsal view 20 same, ventral view 21 same, lateral 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.