Ninetis toliara, Huber, Bernhard A. & El-Hennawy, Hisham K., 2007

Huber, Bernhard A. & El-Hennawy, Hisham K., 2007, On Old World ninetine spiders (Araneae: Pholcidae), with a new genus and species and the first record for Madagascar, Zootaxa 1635, pp. 45-53 : 48-50

Ninetis toliara n. sp.

( Figs. 17–28 )

Type material. Male holotype from Ifaty (23°09’S, 43°37’E), Prov. Toliara , Madagascar; pitfall trap in sand, desert scrub forest, September 17–22, 1993 (W. E. Steiner, R. Andriamasimanana), in USNM.

Etymology. The species name refers to the type locality and is used as a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis. The present species is easily distinguished from other Ninetis species by the combination of male chelicerae, procursus, and bulb ( Figs. 17–19 ). Ninetis russellsmithi has similar chelicerae with the apophyses close together, but it lacks a procursus and is provided with a distinctive flap on the bulb; Ninetis subtilissima has an almost identical procursus, but the ventral bulbal apophysis is stronger and longer than the dorsal bulbal projection and its male cheliceral apophyses are wide apart. Females are difficult to diagnose; in most other species the epigynum is wider than long or as wide as long, only Ninetis minuta has a similarly long epigynum but it lacks the median pocket of Ninetis toliara ( Figs. 25, 27 ).

Male (holotype). Total length 1.0, carapace width 0.50. Leg 1: 2.97 (0.83 + 0.20 + 0.77 + 0.77 + 0.40), tibia 2: 0.63, tibia 3: 0.28, tibia 4: 0.77. Tibia 1 L/d: 15. Habitus as in N. subtilissima (cf. fig. 1 in Huber and van Harten 2001); entire spider pale ochre-yellow, abdomen rather ochre-grey. Ocular area not elevated, not separated from carapace; no thoracic furrow; distance PME–PME 30 Μm; diameter PME 40 Μm; distance PME–ALE 15 Μm; distance AME–AME 10 Μm, diameter AME 25 Μm. Sternum wider than long (0.36/0.32), without frontal humps. Clypeus unmodified; chelicerae with pair of distinctive frontal apophyses ( Figs. 17 , 21 ), with very fine stridulatory ridges ( Fig. 23 ). Palps as in Figs. 18, 19 ; proximal segments simple, widened but otherwise unmodified; cymbium with short and simple pointed procursus and small sclerotized prolateral projection; bulb with slender ventral projection with a tiny hook at the tip and more complex dorsal projection, partly membranous ( Fig. 22 ), probably containing the sperm duct (or situated beside the opening of the sperm duct?). Palpal tarsal organ capsulate, very small, with small orifice ( Fig. 26 ). Legs without spines and curved hairs, few vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at 60%, prolateral trichobothrium not seen on any leg; tarsus 1 with about 5 very indistinct pseudosegments. Gonopore with four epiandrous spigots, arranged in two pairs ( Fig. 24 ).

Variation. Tibia 1 in other male: 0.77 (missing in others).

Female. In general similar to male. Tibia 1, female from type locality: 0.53; females from other localities (N=5): 0.73–0.83. Epigynum large relative to abdomen, external shape similar to N. minuta , but with a median pocket ( Figs. 25, 27 ). Pore plates not seen ( Fig. 20 ).

Distribution. Known from three localities in Toliara Prov., Madagascar ( Fig. 29 ).

Material examined. MADAGASCAR: Toliara : Ifaty: type above, together with 4ɗ1Ψ (1ɗ used for SEM), same data, in USNM. Isalo [Massif de l’Isalo, ~ 23°12’S, 45°05’E], Oct. 22, 1995 (T. Kopf), 1Ψ in ZFMK (Ar 009). Mahafaly, near Eloetse by Lac “Tsimanampetsoa” (Tsimanampetsotsa) (24°10’S, 43°45’E), Sept. 15–16, 1992 (V. & B. Roth), 4Ψ in MCZ (34058).

Figures

FIGURE 29. Known distribution of Ninetis Simon. Circles: new records, squares: previously published records.

FIGURES 17 – 20. Ninetis toliara n. sp. 17. Male chelicerae, frontal view. 18. Left cymbium with procursus and bulb, prolateral view. 19. Left male palp, retrolateral view. 20. Cleared epigynum, ventral view. b: bulb, p: procursus. Scale lines: 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 21 – 28. Ninetis toliara n. sp. 21. Male, frontal view, showing eyes, clypeus, and chelicerae. 22. Genital bulb appendages. 23. Stridulatory ridges on male chelicera. 24. Male gonopore with epiandrous spigots. 25. Pocket on epigynum, posterior view. 26. Male palpal tarsal organ. 27. Epigynum, ventral view. 28. Female anterior lateral and posterior median spinnerets. ALS: anterior lateral spinnerets, ep: epigynal pocket, PMS: posterior median spinnerets, pto: palpal tarsal organ. Scale lines: 7 µm (26), 20 µm (23, 24, 25, 28), 40 µm (22), 100 µm (21, 27).