Sicarius testaceus Purcell, 1908

Lotz, L. N., 2012, Present status of Sicariidae (Arachnida: Araneae) in the Afrotropical region, Zootaxa 3522, pp. 1-41 : 12-13

Sicarius testaceus Purcell, 1908

( Figs. 2E, 3E, 4F, 7B)

Sicarius testaceus Purcell, 1908: 224 ; Newlands 1986: 57, f. 30–32.

Types: 3♀ and 1juv. from South Africa: Kamaggas [Komaggas], [2948'S, 1730'E], L. Schultze, July 1904 [ SAMC collection] [examined in part, see note] .

Note: Purcell’s (1908) description mentions 3 females and 1 juvenile, but no collection number. A juvenile specimen in the SAMC collection (SAM-ENW-X 150520) was located with the label reading: Sicarius testaceus Purc. / ♀ (ex typ.) / Kamaggas, L Namaq. / L. Schultze 7107. If this was the vial with the types used by Purcell, then the 3 females seem to be lost. A male from the type locality and females from the distribution area were also looked at .

Diagnosis: Leg femora in both sexes with long, medially widened setae dorsal ( Fig. 2E), wider than in all other species and not scoop shaped as in S. spatulatus . Male embolus ending in a thin pointed apex ( Fig. 3E), this is similar to most of the other species except for S. spatulatus where the embolus apex is broad and blunt. Female spermathecae ( Fig. 4F) consist of four or more long finger-like sacs that branch of away from the copulatory tube end in a similar way to S. damarensis and S. hahni , but not like S. albospinosus , in S. dolichocephalus the spermathecae is unbranched and in S. spatulatus there is a multitude of spherical spermathecae; the copulatory tube has a short extension tube at the base and is narrow over most of its length, with a slight lateral hump distal in some specimens; in S. albospinosus the distal widening lateral is triangular, in S. damarensis it is a smooth arc and in S. hahni it is rounded humps or short finger-like extentions.

Female: (CAS specimen from Papensdorp): TL = 13.5; CL = 5.8; CW = 5.9; CLL = 0.8. AME-LE 0.7; Eye diameter 0.2.

Leg measurements:

Distribution: Sicarius testaceus is distributed in the south-western part of South Africa ( Fig. 7B).