Spermophora bukusu, Bernhard A. Huber & Charles M. Warui, 2012

Bernhard A. Huber & Charles M. Warui, 2012, East African pholcid spiders: an overview, with descriptions of eight new species (Araneae, Pholcidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 29 (29), pp. 1-44 : 32-34

Spermophora bukusu sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:79B65098-2BC0-4922-A582-9669C9FB099F

Figs 45, 47-49 , 68 , 97-101

Spermophora Kenya 45: Dimitrov, Astrin & Huber 2012 (DNA sequence data).

Diagnosis

Distinguished from the similar S. minotaura Berland, 1920 by male clypeus modification (without sclerotized elements projecting below eye triads), cheliceral armature (distal apophyses with simple rows of cone-shaped modified hairs; Fig. 99 ), details of male procursus and bulb (shapes of ventral ‘flap’; distal procursus elements; embolus; Figs 97, 98 ), and female genitalia (triangular scape; absence of abdominal modification behind epigynum; Figs 68 , 100 ). Easily distinguished from similar species with horns between eye triads ( S. mau sp. nov.; S. berlandi Fage, 1936 ; S. maathaiae sp. nov.) by general shapes of procursus, bulb, and epigynum.

Etymology

The species is named after the Bukusu, a Kenyan tribe located mainly on the foothills of Mount Elgon; noun in apposition.

Type material

Holotype

♂, in ZFMK ( Ar 8751 ) .

Paratypes

4 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, in ZFMK (3 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀: Ar 8752 ) and NMKE (1 ♂) .

Type locality

KENYA, Rift Valley, Mt. Elgon N.P., along Kimothon River (1°04.6’N, 34°43.5’E), 2510 m a.s.l., 31 Jan. 2010 (B.A. Huber).

Other material examined

KENYA: Rift Valley: 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, 2 juvs. in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Ken 133 ), Mt. Elgon N.P., along Kimothon River , same data as types above ; 3 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, in ZFMK ( Ar 8753 ), Kitale Museum Forest (~ 1°01.3’N, 34°59.7’E), 1880 m a.s.l., 2 Feb. 2010 (B.A. Huber) ; 1 ♂, 4 ♀♀, 1 juv. in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Ken 144 ), same data ; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, in ZFMK ( Ar 8754 ), Mt. Elgon N.P., Kitum Cave (1°01.8’N, 34°45.4’E), 2410 m a.s.l., in forest outside cave, 31 Jan. 2010 (B.A. Huber) . Western Province: 1 ♀, in ZFMK ( Ar 8755 ), Mt. Elgon N.P. , forest fragment (1°04.3’N, 34°40.2’E), 3070 m a.s.l., 1 Feb. 2010 (B.A. Huber) . UGANDA: Eastern Region: 2 ♂♂, 29 ♀♀ (6 vials), in ZFMK ( Ar 8756-61 ), Mt. Elgon (Dist. Mbale) (1°10’N, 34°26’E), 2900 m a.s.l., fogging of Ilex mitis, Sep. 1999 (T. Wagner) .

Description

Male (holotype)

MEASUREMENTS. Total body length 3.2, carapace width 1.3. Leg 1: 22.6 (5.8 + 0.4 + 5.9 + 7.9 + 2.6), tibia 2: 3.5, tibia 3: 2.7, tibia 4: 3.5; tibia 1 L/d: 49. Distance PME-PME 205 µm, diameter PME 125 µm, distance PME-ALE 45 µm, no AME.

COLOR. Prosoma ochre-yellow with large lateral black marks and Y-mark behind ocular area, ocular area laterally darkened, sternum monochromous black, legs ochre-yellow, with darker rings on femora (subdistally) and tibiae (proximally, subdistally), abdomen grey with distinct black pattern, also ventrally.

BODY. Habitus as in Figs 47-49 ; ocular area elevated, with pair of horns between triads ( Fig. 45 ); carapace only anteriorly with shallow thoracic furrow, clypeus barely modified, only large membranous area that appears collapsed (in all males examined). Chelicerae as in Fig. 99 , each distal frontal apophysis with straight row of six cone-shaped modified hairs, proximal frontal apophyses slightly flattened (more slender in lateral view). Sternum wider than long (0.86/0.70), unmodified.

PALPS. In general very similar S. minotaura Berland, 1920 (cf. figs 268 and 269 in Huber 2003a) but embolus distal elements different shape, procursus ventral ‘flap’ and distal elements also distinctive ( Figs 97, 98 ).

LEGS. Without spines and curved hairs, few vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium on tibia 1 at 9%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1, present on other tibiae; tarsus 1 with>30 pseudosegments, distinct distally.

VARIATION. Tibia 1 in 8 other males: 4.3-6.1 (mean 5.1). Males from Kitum Cave and from Kitale differ slightly in several respects (arrows in Figs 97 and 98 ): pointed process on ventral flap of procursus larger and more curved; shapes of distal procursus structures slightly different; bulbal pointed process slightly longer and more curved.

Female

In general similar to male but triads slightly closer together (distance PME-PME 170 µm), without horns. Tibia 1 in 4 females: 4.1, 4.2, 4.7, 4.9. Epigynum a simple protruding plate with strong transversal ridges, small posterior triangular scape, posteriorly some transversal ridges but no median modification ( Figs 68 , 100 ); internal genitalia as in Fig. 101 .

Distribution

Known from Mt. Elgon area only (Kenya and Uganda) ( Fig. 27 ).

Figures

Figs 28 - 49. — 28 - 31. Crossopriza johncloudsleyi Deeleman-Reinhold & van Harten, 2001, ♂ (28, 29) and ♀ (30, 31). — 32 - 35. Buitinga wataita sp. nov., ♂ (32 - 34) and ♀ (35). — 36 - 39. Buitinga batwa sp. nov., ♂ (36 - 38) and ♀ (39). — 40 - 44. Spermophora mau sp. nov., ♂ (40, 41, 44) and ♀ (42, 43). — 46. Spermophora maathaiae sp. nov., ♂. — 45, 47 - 49. Spermophora bukusu sp. nov., ♂.

Figs 50-69. — 50-52. Spermophora kirinyaga sp. nov., ♂ (50) and ♀ (51, 52). — 53-56. Spermophora minotaura Berland, 1920, ♀♀, dark morph (53, 54) and light morph (55, 56). — 57-58. Spermophora kyambura sp. nov., ♂. — 59-61. Quamtana nyahururu sp. nov., ♂ (59, 60) and ♀ (61). — 62-63. Crossopriza johncloudsleyi Deeleman-Reinhold & van Harten, 2001, cleared ♀ genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. — 64-65. Buitinga batwa sp. nov., cleared ♀ genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. — 66-67. Spermophora maathaiae sp. nov., cleared ♀ genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. — 68. Spermophora bukusu sp. nov., cleared ♀ genitalia, ventral view. — 69. Spermophora kyambura sp. nov., cleared ♀ genitalia, dorsal view .

Figs 97 - 101. Spermophora bukusu sp. nov. 97 - 98. Left ♂ procursus and bulb, prolateral and retrolateral views (arrows point to variable structures; see text). 99. ♂ chelicerae, frontal view. 100 - 101. ♀ genitalia, ventral and cleared dorsal views. b: genital bulb; e: embolus; pr: procursus. Scale lines: 0.3 mm (99), 0.5 mm (97 - 98, 100 - 101).

Figs 24 - 27. Known distributions of the genera Physocyclus, Quamtana, Smeringopus and Spermophora in East Africa. For detailed maps of Quamtana see Huber (2003 b), of Smeringopus see Huber (2012) and of Spermophora see Huber (2003 a). Squares: unidentified / undescribed specimens.