Loxosceles meruensis Tullgren, 1910

Lotz, L. N., 2012, Present status of Sicariidae (Arachnida: Araneae) in the Afrotropical region, Zootaxa 3522, pp. 1-41 : 22

Loxosceles meruensis Tullgren, 1910

( Figs. 10D, 13A)

Loxosceles meruensis Tullgren, 1910: 100 , pl. 1, f. 11.

Loxoscella meruensis, Caporiacco, 1947: 104 .

Types: 1♀ type from Kenya: Meru, [0005'N, 3744'E], Sjöstedt ; 1juv. ♂ from Tanzania: Kilimandjaro, Kibonoto, [0311'S, 3706'E], Sjöstedt [not seen, see note] .

Note: The location of the type specimens is unknown at present. Two specimen on loan from the HNHM collection were examined: A juvenile female labeled— Loxosceles meruensis (Tullg.) / HNHM Araneae —5340 / Urso, Kovács 1283; and a male labeled— Loxosceles sp. / 1283 Urso / 1912 Lg. Kovács Ödön. The drawings depicted here are from the male specimen. The Urso locality is— Ethiopia: Urso, [0936'N, 4138'E]. These specimens seem to be the specimens mentioned by Caporiacco (1947) (same locality, collector and collector number), except he mentions two females and not a male and female.

Diagnosis: Male palp tibia and cymbium long similar to L. parramae and L. speluncarum ; differing from both these species by having an angular bend and not a smooth curve in the cymbium close to the palp bulb ( Fig. 10D). Female not seen.

Female: (from type description): CL = 3.0; CW = 2.8.

Leg measurements:

Distribution: Loxosceles meruensis is distributed in caves in Ethiopia and Kenya ( Fig. 13A).