Hortipes wimmertensi, BOSSELAERS & JOCQUÉ, 2000

BOSSELAERS, JAN & JOCQUÉ, RUDY, 2000, Hortipes, A Huge Genus Of Tiny Afrotropical Spiders (Araneae, Liocranidae), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2000 (256), pp. 4-4 : 4-

Hortipes wimmertensi , new species Figures 15i–k , 18a ; Map 4

TYPES: Male holotype: humus at Oribi Gorge , Alfred district, Natal, South Africa S30°35', E30°00' (November 1961; N. Leleup) ( MRAC 132.051 ). Paratypes: 16, 1♀ together with holotype ( MRAC 132.051 ) .

ETYMOLOGY: The species is named in hon­ or of the Flemish composer Wim Mertens, protagonist of the European romantic minimalist school.

DIAGNOSIS: Males of H. wimmertensi are recognized by the RTA with trifid extremity, each prong pointing in a different direction. Females can be easily recognized by the large, ellipsoidal ST2 with stalk attached to the anterior end and by the S­shaped second part of the ID.

2000 BOSSELAERS AND JOCQUÉ: HORTIPES 59

I 0.62, II 0.65, III 0.54, IV 0.78. Leg spination. Fe: I rv 2; IV plt 0 rlt 0; ti: I, II vsp 5; mt: III plt 0 vt 0 rlt 0; IV plt 0 vt 1 rlt 0. Coloration. Carapace orange yellow, lighter at the fovea. Chelicerae, sternum, and legs yellow. Abdomen pale yellow, no pattern. Palp. RTA a ventrolateral swelling, its retrolateral side provided with three, short, sharp prongs: one pointing up, the external one pointing outward, the inferior one pointing down; cymbium fairly elongate, without retrolateral concavity nor series of long curved setae; sperm duct fairly narrow over entire course, slightly more narrowed toward embolus, with sharp turn before entering triangular swelling at base of embolus; MA originating in center of tegulum, with fairly long narrow, transverse base, sharply curved downward, then backward, ending in slightly curved, flattened part pointing down; embolus originating on triangular swelling on posterior part of tegulum, whiplike, looped over 360° (fig. 15i, j).

FEMALE: Measurements. Total length 2.19; carapace 0.97 long, 0.78 wide; length of fe: I 0.78, II 0.84, III 0.65, IV 0.95. Leg spination. Fe: I rv 2; IV plt 0 rlt 0; ti: I, II vsp 6; mt: III plt 0 vt 0 rlt 0; IV plt 0 vt 1 rlt 0. Coloration. Carapace orange, lighter at the fovea. Chelicerae and legs orange yellow, sternum yellow. Abdomen apricot, no pattern. Genitalia. Vulva: first stretches of IDs fused into one weakly sclerotized elongate, anteriorly bifurcated entrance chamber with entrance toward posterior side. Anterior ends of this weakly sclerotized part merge into two more heavily sclerotized, inward­pointing tips, attached to the very large, stalked, ellipsoidal ST2. Stalk attached to anterior end of ST2. End of inward­pointing sclerotized tip of entrance chamber connected to second, normally sclerotized stretch of ID, which first makes small outward U­loop, followed by S­shaped stretch running in posterior direction, connected to the small, globular ST1 (figs. 15k; 18a).

DISTRIBUTION: Known only from the type locality.

Figures

Map 4. Distribution of Hortipes species in South Africa. Hortipes aelurisiepae V, H. atalante h, H. coccinatus •, H. contubernalis O, H. griswoldi., H. hyakutake, H. irimus, H. licnophorus D, H. luytenae Δ, H. merwei *, H. mesembrinus, H. rothorum v, H. schoemanae n, and H. wimmertensi ^.

Fig. 15. a–c. Hortipes luytenae. a, b. Male left palp, ventral and retrolateral views. c. Epigyne. d. Hortipes irimus, new species, epigyne. e–g. Hortipes coccinatus, new species. e, f. Male left palp, ventral

Fig. 18. a. Hortipes wimmertensi, new species, vulva, ventral view. b. Hortipes irimus, new species, vulva, ventral view. c. Hortipes schoemanae, new species, vulva, ventral view. d. Hortipes licnophorus, new species, vulva, ventral view. e. Hortipes aelurisiepae, new species, vulva, ventral view. f. Hortipes oronesiotes, new species, vulva, ventral view. Scale line: 0.1 mm.