Spermophora awalai Huber

Bernhard A. Huber, Philippe Le Gall & Jacques Francois Mavoungou, 2014, Pholcid spiders from the Lower Guinean region of Central Africa: an overview, with descriptions of seven new species (Araneae, Pholcidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 81, pp. 1-46 : 38-41

Spermophora awalai Huber , sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0F2AB0B0-5E64-4F4E-9C10-D62EBE8BEAFA

Figs 5-6 , 34 , 97-107

Diagnosis

Easily distinguished from most congeners by procursus ( Figs 102-103 ; strongly bent towards ventral; with large hinged ventral process); from similar (East African) species ( S. morogoro Huber, 2003 ; S. usambara Huber, 2003 ; S. masisiwe Huber, 2003 ; cf. figs 222, 239, 245 in Huber 2003b) by long apophyses on male chelicerae ( Figs 104-105 ); from these and other congeners also by distinctive pair of round structures with concentric rings in female internal genitalia ( Figs 98 , 106 ).

Etymology

Named for the Cameroonian writer Alexandre Biyidi Awala (1932-2001), known as Mongo Beti.

Type material

Holotype ♂, in ZFMK ( Ar 11953 ) .

Type locality

CAMEROON, Southwest Region, near Dschang , Attuleh , ‘site 2’ (5°27.9’N, 9°56.5’E), 1800 m a.s.l., underside of leaves, 20 Apr. 2009 (B.A. & J.C. Huber).

Other material examined

CAMEROON: Southwest Region: 7 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀ in ZFMK ( Ar 11954 ), same data as holotype ; 1 ♀ in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Cam 125 ), same data . 5 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀ in ZFMK ( Ar 11955 ), near Dschang , Attuleh , ‘site 1’ (5°27.7’N, 9°56.5’E), 1880 m a.s.l., underside of leaves, 20 Apr. 2009 (B.A. & J.C. Huber) ; 1 ♀ in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Cam 128 ), same data . 1 ♂, 1 ♀ in ZFMK ( Ar 11956 ), Mt. Koupé above Nyasoso (4°49.6’N, 9°41.1’E), ~ 1600 m a.s.l., near ground, 23 Apr. 2009 (B.A. Huber) ; 3 ♀♀ in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Cam 145 ), same data . Centre Region: 1 ♂, 3 ♀♀ in ZFMK ( Ar 11957 ), near Yaoundé, Mt. Kala (3°51.0’N, 11°20.3’E), 730 m a.s.l., underside of leaves, 14 Apr. 2009 (B.A. Huber) ; 2 ♀♀, 2 juvs in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Cam 106 ), same data .

Description

Male (holotype)

MEASUREMENTS. Total body length 2.2, carapace width 0.8. Leg 1: 21.5 (5.2 + 0.3 + 5.2 + 7.9 + 2.9), tibia 2: 3.3, tibia 3: 2.0, tibia 4: 2.9; tibia 1 L/d: 73. Distance PME-PME 220 µm, diameter PME 95 µm, distance PME-ALE 35 µm, absent.

COLOR. Carapace ochre-yellow with black lateral margins and light brown median mark ( Fig. 97 ), ocular area with dark band between eye triads, clypeus with a few black spots, sternum whitish, legs ochreyellow, with black spots on femora proximally, black patellae and tibia-metatarsus joints, dark rings subdistally on femora and tibiae (unusually far from tip), abdomen ochre gray with black marks dorsally and laterally.

BODY. Habitus as in Fig. 97 ; ocular area barely elevated, each triad on low hump; carapace without median furrow; clypeus unmodified; sternum wider than long (0.58/0.42), unmodified. Chelicerae as in Figs 104-105 , with pair of proximal lateral apophyses and long frontal apophyses provided with three modified hairs each at tips, without stridulatory ridges.

PALPS. As in Figs 100-103 , coxa unmodified, trochanter with short retrolatero-ventral apophysis, femur unmodified, procursus strongly bent towards ventral, with complex tip and large ventral hinged process; bulb with long, weakly sclerotized embolus and short, hooked apophysis.

LEGS. Without spines and curved hairs, few vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium on tibia 1 at 8%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1, present on other tibiae. Tarsus 1 with>20 pseudosegments, only distally fairly distinct.

VARIATION. Tibia 1 in 12 other males: 4.1-5.5 (mean 4.9). Some specimens with additional indistinct dark ring on each femur and tibia.

Female

In general similar to male; tibia 1 in 10 females: 3.6-4.6 (mean 4.2). Epigynum light brown area with pair of distinctive internal structures with concentric rings visible through cuticle ( Figs 98 , 106 ), with median pocket between epigynum and spinnerets; internal genitalia as in Figs 99 and 107 .

Distribution

Known from several localities in Southwest and Centre Regions, Cameroon ( Fig. 34 ).

Figures

Figs 1 - 9. Leaf-dwelling Central African pholcids. 1. Leptoholcus gabonicus sp. nov., ♂ from Mayebout, Gabon. 2 - 3. Pholcus baka Huber, 2011, ♂ from Sahoué (2) and ♀ with juveniles from Mayebout (3), Gabon. 4. Smeringopus cylindrogaster (Simon, 1907), ♀ with eggsac from Loum, Cameroon. 5 - 6. Spermophora awalai sp. nov., pair from Nyasoso (5) and a ♀ with eggsac from Attuleh (6), Cameroon. 7. Spermophora akwamu Huber & Kwapong, 2013, ♀ from NE Makokou, Gabon. 8 - 9. Quamtana oku Huber, 2003, ♀♀ with eggsacs from Mt. Oku, Cameroon. Photos BAH.

Figs 33 - 34. Known distributions of the genera Smeringopus Simon, 1890 and Spermophora Hentz, 1841 in Central Africa. For detailed distribution maps of Smeringopus species see Huber (2012). Question marks denote uncertain identifications (females from Cameroon; one pair from Príncipe Island).

Figs 97 - 101. Spermophora awalai sp. nov. 97. ♂, dorsal view. 98. ♀ epigynum, ventral view. 99. Cleared ♀ genitalia, dorsal view. 100 - 101. Left ♂ palp, prolateral and retrolateral views.

Figs 102 - 107. Spermophora awalai sp. nov. 102 - 103. Left ♂ palp, prolateral and retrolateral views. 104 - 105. ♂ chelicerae, lateral and frontal views. 106 - 107. Cleared ♀ genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. b = bulb; ba = bulbal apophysis; e = embolus; hp = hinged process; pr = procursus. Scale lines: 102 - 103 = 0.5 mm; 104 - 105 = 0.2 mm; 106 - 107 = 0.3 mm.