Penestomus egazini, Miller, Jeremy A., Griswold, Charles E. & Haddad, Charles R., 2010

Miller, Jeremy A., Griswold, Charles E. & Haddad, Charles R., 2010, Taxonomic revision of the spider family Penestomidae (Araneae, Entelegynae), Zootaxa 2534, pp. 1-36 : 11-16

Penestomus egazini sp. nov.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0A23DECF-8B4F-408E-B0C5-F990298631E8

Figs 1, 2, 3B, 4-7, 8A-D, 9-11, 12A, B, 21

Penestomus sp. nov. 1: Miller et al., 2010, figs 1A, 1C, 2A, 2C, 2F. GenBank accession numbers FJ948973 (28 S rDNA), FJ948889 and FJ948931 (18 S rDNA), FJ949050 (Histone H 3), FJ949013 (cytochrome oxidase I).

Type material. Holotype: ♀, Grahamstown Municipal Caravan Park , Eastern Cape, South Africa, 33°19.166'S, 26°31.426'E, 580 m, 10-19 February 2006, under Eucalyptus bark, J. Miller, H. Wood, L. Lotz ( CASENT 9024958 , deposited in NCA). Paratypes: 1 ♂, same data as holotype ( CASENT 9024985 , CAS; reared to adulthood in the laboratory over a period of approximately nine months from collection) ; 2♀, 1 juvenile, same data as holotype ( CASENT 9024962 , CAS) ; 2 ♀, 1 juvenile, same data as holotype ( CASENT 9024964 , CAS) ; 4 ♀, 5 juveniles, same data as holotype ( CASENT 9024957 , CAS) ; 3 ♀, 15 juveniles, same data as holotype ( CASENT 9024965 , CAS) ; 3 ♀, 1 juvenile, same data as holotype ( CASENT 9024961 , CAS) ; 1 ♀, same data as holotype ( CASENT 9023774 , CAS, DNA voucher JM8-15) ; 1 ♀, same data as holotype ( CASENT 9023775 , CAS) ; 1 ♀, 1 juvenile, same data as holotype ( CASENT 9024960 , CAS), with egg cases and prey remains ; 1 ♀, Grahamstown [33°18'S, 26°31'E], "inside garden woodshed in untidy tangle of web next to glass pane, web like eresid but spider belongs to another group, egg sac enclosed" ( AcAT 2007/1541 , NCA) .

Additional material examined. SOUTH AFRICA: Eastern Cape: 6 ♀, 2 juveniles, Alicedale [31.467°S, 25.850°E], December 1914, F. Cruden ( AMG) .

Etymology. The specific epithet is a noun in apposition, named after the site of a pivotal 1819 battle in which the Xhosa, led by Maqana Nxele, attacked the British garrison in Grahamstown.

Diagnosis. Male distinguished by the presence of a keel on the outer margin of the embolus near the distal maximum of the embolic arc (Figs 7 C, 10 A), absent from other species (Fig. 14 A).

Female distinguished from other planus group species as follows: from P zulu sp. nov. by the lack of an invagination on the posterior margin of the PL (Fig. 16 D); from the remaining planus group species by the posterior margin of the AL, which is only slightly recurved and farther from the epigastric furrow than in other species (Fig. 12 A). Further distinguished by the presence of only two rows of ventral macrosetae on the first tibiae and metatarsi, with three rows in other species.

Description. Carapace brown, rugose, covered by fine black setae, with broad white setae concentrated in thoracic region (Fig. 9 A). Sternum dusky pale yellow (Fig. 9 B). Chelicerae brown, with six promarginal teeth, three retromarginal teeth (Fig. 2 D); with fine black setae only. Legs brown basally, pale yellow distally. Abdomen dark gray dorsally with pair of narrow light dorsolateral patches, covered with mixture of fine black and broad white setae (Fig. 9 A).

Male pedipalp. Outer retrolateral tibial apophysis ( RTA 1) with tips long, diverging, inside tip curved ventrally (Figs 7 F, 10 A). Dorsal ridge long, extending from base of RTA1 nearly to bifid part (Fig. 7 F). RTA2 with apex long, slender, curved dorsally (Figs 7 B, 10 C). MA without anterior lobe arising from tail. Embolus with keel along outer margin terminating near distal maximum of embolic arc forming notch; bifid distal region formed from transparent dorsal process and pointed distal tip (Figs 7 F, 10 A).

Epigynum: AL subtriangular, clearly differentiated from surrounding cuticle, posterior margin concave; PL nearly half length of epigynum, with parallel grooves (Fig. 12 A).

Male macrosetae: Leg I: femur d1, tibia r2-1-2, v1-2 -2, metatarsus r1-1, v2-2 -2; leg II: femur d1, tibia r2- 2, v2-2 -2, metatarsus r1-1, v2-2; leg III: femur d1, tibia p1-1, r1, v2-2 -2, metatarsus p1, r1-2, v1-2; leg IV: femur d1, tibia p1-1-1-1-2-1, v2-2 -2-2, metatarsus p1-1, r1, v1-2, tarsus r1.

Female macrosetae: Leg I: tibia v1-2, metatarsus v2-2; leg II: metatarsus v2-2; leg III: metatarsus v2; leg IV: metatarsus v1-1 -2, tarsus r1. All femora with one dorsal seta slightly thicker and longer than the others.

Paratype male (CASENT 9024962): Total length 5.3, carapace 2.22 long, 1.61 wide, 0.45 high, sternum 1.23 long, 0.75 wide. Leg measurements:

Holotype female (CASENT 9024985): Total length 4.6, carapace 1.75 long, 1.30 wide, 0.38 high, sternum 1.06 long, 0.59 wide. Leg measurements:

Natural history. Prey remains (CASENT 9024960) suggest a diet dominated by Formicidae (especially Camponotus and Lepisiota ) with some Coleoptera and Hemiptera.

Distribution. Known from Eastern Cape Province, South Africa (Fig. 21).