Asceua palustris, Jocqué & Henrard, 2024

Jocqué, Rudy & Henrard, Arnaud, 2024, A revision of Afrotropical Asceua (Araneae, Zodariidae), ant-eating spiders with puzzling distributions, African Invertebrates 65 (2), pp. 161-198 : 161-198

Asceua palustris sp. nov.

Figs 17 , 24

Type material.

Holotype D. R. Congo • ♀; Kwango. territoire de Feshi. rive gauche de la Kwenge ; 4°50'S, 18°54'E; 840 m a. s. l.; IV. 1959; îlot de forêt marécageux inondée; J. Leleup leg.; RMCA_113670 . Paratype: • 1 ♀; II. 1959; further as Ht; RMCA_113489 .

Other material examined.

D. R. Congo • 1 ♀; Kivu-N., Visiki, forêt de Visiki ; 0°12'N, 29°15'E; 23. XII. 1971; M. Lejeune leg.; RMCA_140837 ; • 1 subadult ♂: Kwango, Feshi, tête de source de la Mvula myeji, rive gauche de la Kwenge ; 4°50'S 18°54'E; 840 m a. s. l.; III. 1959; forêt de terre ferme; J. Leleup leg.; RMCA_113520 ; 1 subadult ♂: as previous; RMCA_113523 .

Diagnosis.

Females of this species are recognised by the ventral aspect of the epigyne with two central smooth areas, surrounded by loops of the copulatory ducts visible in transparency; the crossing of the copulatory ducts at the beginning is unique in the Afrotropical species; the dorsum of the abdomen is provided with two pairs of spots.

Etymology.

The specific name refers to the type of habitat.

Description.

Female Holotype. Fig. 17 A – C, H, I . Total body length 3.52. Colour in ethanol: carapace and chelicerae uniform medium brown with narrow dark rings around eyes; endites and labium medium brown with pale anterior margin; sternum medium brown with pale central longitudinal triangle in posterior half; legs pale with narrow, pro- and retrolateral dark stripes; dorsum of abdomen dark sepia with sinuous margin on sides, provided with two oblique pale triangles in anterior half and two transverse rectangular spots, touching in the middle; venter pale, spinnerets pale yellow. Carapace 1.52 long, 0.96 wide, 0.60 high. Eye sizes and interdistances: AME: 0.07; ALE: 0.08; AME – AME: 0.05; AME – ALE: 0.02; PME: 0.07: PLE: 0.13; PME – PME: 0.08; PME – PLE: 0.07. MOQ: frontal width 0.18, posterior width 0.23, length 0.26. Clypeus 0.33 high. Chilum: small triangle 0.10 wide and as high. Sternum shield-shaped, 0.72 long, 0.60 wide. Spination: all femora with short proximal dorsal spine; measurements in Table 8 .

Epigyne (Fig. 17 D – G ): Scape (Sc) short reaching centre of epigyne, widened near posterior tip; with smooth area on either side of scape, surrounded by looped copulatory ducts visible in transparency; copulatory openings posterior of scape tip; copulatory ducts crossing near the entrances; anterior part of ducts looped in longitudinal direction, posterior parts occupying a wider are than the frontal part.

Male. Unknown.

Distribution.

The species is known from south-western and eastern D. R. Congo (Fig. 24 ).

Figures

Figure 17. Asceua palustris sp. nov. A – D, G, H holotype female (RMCA _ 113670). E, F, I. paratype female (RMCA _ 113489) A habitus, dorsal view B idem, ventral view C idem, lateral view D, G epigyne, ventral view E idem, cleared F vulva, dorsal view H, I abdomen, dorsal view. Abbreviations: Sc = scape. Scale bars: 1 mm (A – C, H, I); 0.1 mm (D – G).

Figure 24. Distribution map of Asceua species occurring in the Afrotropics.