Pholcid spiders from the Lower Guinean region of Central Africa: an overview, with descriptions of seven new species (Araneae, Pholcidae)
Bernhard A. Huber
Philippe Le Gall
Jacques Francois Mavoungou
European Journal of Taxonomy
2014
81
1
46
4GL9J
Huber
Huber
[617,868,1710,1737]
Arachnida
Pholcidae
Pholcus
Animalia
Araneae
27
28
Arthropoda
species
punu
sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C721A4A8-5D18-467B-A433-7E526A641082 Figs 12-13, 27, 63-74
Diagnosis Distinguished from P. moca Huber, 2011(the most similar species and probably closest known relative) by shape of procursus (longer retrolateral process; absence of distinct ridge between retrolateral process and tip; compare Fig. 70with fig. 946 in Huber 2011b); also by shape of uncus (not bilobed as in P. moca), presence of proximal frontal processes on male chelicerae and slightly different shape of epigynal plate (narrower in P. moca; compare Fig. 64with fig. 921 in Huber 2011b).
Etymology Named for the Punu(or Bapunu, Bapounou), one of the four major peoples of Gabon; noun in apposition.
Typematerial Holotype ♂, in ZFMK( Ar 11938). Typelocality GABON, Haut Ogooué, forest above Canyon rose near Lékoni( 1°38.6’S, 14°17.5’E), 600 ma.s.l., 19 Aug. 2011( B.A. & S.R. Huber). Other material examined GABON: Haut Ogooué: 2 ♂♂, 10 ♀♀in ZFMK( Ar 11939), same data as holotype; 2 ♀♀, 2 juvsin pure ethanol, in ZFMK( Gab 209), same data. 1 ♂in ZFMK( Ar 11940), forestat LékoniRiver( 1°10.7’S, 13°32.3’E), 305 ma.s.l., 18 Aug. 2011( B.A. & S.R. Huber); 1 ♀, 1 juv.in pure ethanol, in ZFMK( Gab 213), same data. 1 ♂, 3 ♀♀in ZFMK( Ar 11941), forest near Bongoville( 1°36.7’S, 13°57.4’E), 600-650 ma.s.l., 20 Aug. 2011( B.A. Huber); 2 juvsin pure ethanol, in ZFMK( Gab 207), same data. Ogooué-Ivindo: 5 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀in ZFMK( Ar 11942), near MohobaMozeye( 0°16.8’N, 13°20.9’E), 510 ma.s.l., forest along road, 17 Aug. 2011( B.A. & S.R. Huber); 2 ♀♀, 3 juvsin pure ethanol, in ZFMK( Gab 169), same data. Ogooué-Lolo: 1 ♂, 1 ♀in ZFMK( Ar 11943), forestat brook near Lastoursville, near Grotte de Pahon Pira( 0°48.8’S, 12°45.2’E), 290 ma.s.l., 22-23 Aug. 2011( B.A. Huber). 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀in ZFMK( Ar 11944), forest near Lastoursville( 0°48.0’S, 12°44.4’E), 300 ma.s.l., 21 Aug. 2011( B.A. Huber); 3 juvsin pure ethanol, in ZFMK( Gab 221), same data. 1 ♂, 1 ♀in ZFMK( Ar 11945), near Moudouma( 1°23.5’S, 12°09.6’E), 475 ma.s.l., forest along brook, 24 Aug. 2011( B.A. & S.R. Huber); 1 juvin pure ethanol, in ZFMK( Gab 157), same data. Ngounié: 2 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀in ZFMK( Ar 11946), Massif du Chaillu, ‘site 2’, near Moukabou( 1°36.6’S, 11°40.7’E), 560 ma.s.l., forest, 25 Aug. 2011( B.A. & S.R. Huber); 3 juvsin pure ethanol, in ZFMK( Gab 174), same data. 4 ♂♂, 7 ♀♀in ZFMK( Ar 11947), Massif du Chaillu, ‘site 3’, between Mimongo & Yéno( 1°38.1’S, 11°32.6’E), 570-650 ma.s.l., forest, 26 Aug. 2011( B.A. & S.R. Huber); 3 juvsin pure ethanol, in ZFMK( Gab 233), same data. 1 ♂in ZFMK( Ar 11948), Massif du Chaillu, ‘site 4’, between Yéno and Mouila( 1°43.7’S, 11°18.4’E), 650 ma.s.l., forest along river, 26 Aug. 2011( B.A. & S.R. Huber). 3 ♂♂, 7 ♀♀in ZFMK( Ar 11949), near Moulandoufouala( 1°38.1’S, 10°42.5’E), 110 ma.s.l., forest along road, 27 Aug. 2011( B.A. & S.R. Huber); 4 juvsin pure ethanol, in ZFMK( Gab 184), same data. Moyen-Ogooué: 3 ♂♂in ZFMK( Ar 11950), S of Lambaréné near Tchad( 0°58.1’S, 10°22.7’E), 165 ma.s.l., forest, 27 Aug. 2011( B.A. & S.R. Huber).
Description Male( holotype) MEASUREMENTS. Total body length 3.0, carapace width 0.9. Leg 1: 27.0 (6.4 + 0.4 + 6.5 + 11.5 + 2.2), tibia 2: 4.5, tibia 3: 2.7, tibia 4: 4.1; tibia 1 L/d: 82. Distance PME-PME 265 µm, diameter PME 95 µm, distance PME-ALE 45 µm, AME absent (only black spots without lenses). COLOR. Carapace ochre-orange with large brown median mark, ocular area also brown, sternum medially slightly darkened; legs with dark rings on femora subdistally, patellae plus tibiae proximally, and tibiae subdistally; abdomen grey with internal black and whitish spots dorsally and laterally. BODY. Habitus as in Fig. 63; ocular area slightly elevated, each triad on short hump directed laterally; carapace without median furrow; clypeus unmodified; sternum wider than long (0.66/0.52), unmodified. Chelicerae as in Fig. 72, with pair of lateral processes proximally, pair of frontal apophyses proximally, and pair of frontal apophyses distally provided with two modified hairs each; without stridulatory ridges. PALPS. As in Figs 66-71, coxa unmodified, trochanter with short and wide retrolatero-ventral apophysis, femur with short retrolatero-dorsal process proximally, procursus complex, with distinctive sclerotized and membranous elements; bulb with large uncus, simple weakly sclerotized embolus, and hooked appendix. LEGS. Without spines and curved hairs, few vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium on tibia 1 at 3%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1, present on other tibiae; tarsus 1 with>20 pseudosegments, only distally fairly distinct. VARIATION. Tibia 1 in22 other males: 6.7-8.8 (mean 7.9). Clypeus variably dark; AME spots sometimes fused. In most males the palps are extended and the bulbs rotated as in Fig. 71. Female In general similar to male; tibia 1 in 36 females: 5.3-7.1 (mean 6.3). Epigynum with distinct plate and ‘knob’, anterior area weakly sclerotized, ‘valve’ and other internal structures visible through cuticle ( Fig. 64); internal genitalia as in Figs 65and 73-74.
Natural history The spiders were mostly found in the leaf litter and in cavities in the ground ( Fig. 12), sometimes sharing the microhabitat with a representative of Smeringopina(e.g. S. moudouma Huber, 2013in forest near Lastoursville; S. fang Huber, 2013between Yéno and Mouila; S. lekoni Huber, 2013at LékoniRiver). The two specimens from Moudoumawere found at the rock surface ( Fig. 13) close to a small brook.
Distribution Known from various localities in Gabon south of the Ogooué-Ivindo Rivers ( Fig. 27; the closely related P. moca Huber, 2011seems to be confined to the north of these rivers).
1663909550
[189,594,526,553]
forest
2011-08-19
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Cameroon
600
-1.6433333
above Canyon rose near Lekoni
130
14.291667
28
29
Ar 11938
1
1
Haut Ogooue
holotype
1663909549
[189,1154,786,812]
forest
2011-08-19
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Gabon
600
-1.6433333
Haut Ogooue
130
14.291667
28
29
Ar 11939
12
10
2
Haut Ogooue
1663909561
forest
2011-08-19
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Gabon
600
-1.6433333
Haut Ogooue
130
14.291667
28
29
Gab 209
4
2
2
Haut Ogooue
1663909563
forest
2011-08-18
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Gabon
305
-1.1783333
Lekoni River
130
13.538333
28
29
Ar 11940
1
1
Haut Ogooue
1663909555
forest
2011-08-18
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Gabon
305
30
31
-1.1783333
Lekoni River
130
13.538333
28
29
Gab 213
2
1
1
Haut Ogooue
1663909566
forest
2011-08-20
ZFMK
B. A. Huber
Gabon
625
-1.6116667
near Bongoville
130
13.956667
30
31
Ar 11941
4
3
1
Haut Ogooue
1663909564
[740,1395,302,329]
forest
2011-08-20
ZFMK
B. A. Huber
Gabon
625
-1.6116667
near Bongoville
130
13.956667
30
31
Gab 207
2
2
Haut Ogooue
1663909572
forest along road
2011-08-17
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Gabon
510
0.28
near Mohoba Mozeye
130
13.348333
30
31
Ar 11942
9
4
5
Ogooue-Ivindo
1663909554
forest along road
2011-08-17
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Gabon
510
0.28
near Mohoba Mozeye
130
13.348333
30
31
Gab 169
5
2
3
Ogooue-ivindo
1663909552
forest
2011-08-22
2011-08-23
2011-08-22
ZFMK
B. A. Huber
Gabon
290
-0.81333333
brook near Lastoursville, near Grotte de Pahon Pira
130
12.753333
30
31
Ar 11943
2
1
1
Ogooue-Lolo
1663909558
2011-08-21
ZFMK
B. A. Huber
Gabon
300
-0.8
forest near Lastoursville
130
12.74
30
31
Ar 11944
3
1
2
Ogooue-lolo
1663909568
[289,949,514,540]
2011-08-21
ZFMK
B. A. Huber
Gabon
300
-0.8
forest near Lastoursville
130
12.74
30
31
Gab 221
3
3
Ogooue-lolo
1663909569
forest along brook
2011-08-24
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Gabon
475
-1.3916667
near Moudouma
130
12.16
30
31
Ar 11945
2
1
1
Ogooue-lolo
1663909551
[189,842,584,611]
forest along brook
2011-08-24
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Gabon
475
-1.3916667
near Moudouma
130
12.16
30
31
Gab 157
1
1
Ogooue-lolo
1663909557
forest
2011-08-25
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Gabon
560
-1.6099999
Massif du Chaillu, ' site 2 ', near Moukabou
130
11.678333
30
31
Ar 11946
6
4
2
Ngounie
1663909562
[454,1113,654,681]
forest
2011-08-25
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Gabon
560
-1.6099999
Massif du Chaillu, ' site 2 ', near Moukabou
130
11.678333
30
31
3 juvs, Gab 174
3
3
Ngounie
1663909553
forest
2011-08-26
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Gabon
610
-1.635
Massif du Chaillu, ' site 3 ', between Mimongo & Yeno
130
11.543333
30
31
Ar 11947
11
7
4
Ngounie
1663909567
forest along river
2011-08-26
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Gabon
650
-1.7283334
Massif du Chaillu, ' site 4 ', between Yeno and Mouila
130
11.306666
30
31
Gab 233, Ar 11948
3
3
Ngounie
1663909598
forest along road
2011-08-27
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Gabon
110
-1.635
near Moulandoufouala
130
10.708333
30
31
Ar 11949
10
7
3
Ngounie
1663909595
[289,945,866,892]
forest along road
2011-08-27
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Gabon
110
-1.635
near Moulandoufouala
130
10.708333
30
31
Gab 184
4
4
Ngounie
1663909592
forest
2011-08-27
ZFMK
B. A. & S. R. Huber
Gabon
165
-0.9683333
S of Lambarene near Tchad
130
10.378333
30
31
Ar 11950
3
3
Moyen-Ogooue