Hortipes centralis, 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 centralis , new species Figures 27c , 29a, b ; Map 1

TYPES: Female holotype: humus in swamp forest, Coquilhatville , Ikela region, Lusosa River 20 km N of Ikela, Congo S01°11', E23°16' (August 1959; N. Leleup) ( MRAC 127.745 ) .

ETYMOLOGY: The species is named centralis because it was collected in the central part of Congo, the so­called cuvette centrale.

DIAGNOSIS: Females are easily recognized by the simple epigyne combined with very complex, heavily looped IDs almost completely hiding the ST from view.

MALE: Unknown.

FEMALE: Measurements. Total length 2.59; carapace 1.13 long, 0.92 wide; length of fe: I 0.95, II?, III 0.78, IV 1.13. Leg spination. Fe: I rv 2–3; IV plt 0 rlt 1; ti: I, II vsp 6; mt: III plt 1 vt 0 rlt 0; IV plt 1 vt 2 rlt 1. Coloration. Carapace and legs yellow, chelicerae and sternum pale yellow. Abdomen peach, without pattern, rather densely covered with thin, pointed grey setae. Genitalia. Epigyne restricted to two hemicircular ID entrances, situated anterior to ST and close to symmetry axis (fig. 27c). Vulva: first stretch of ID wide, thick walled, and associated with gland, connected to ST1 through complex sequence of horseshoe loops and coils, 2 Χ passing along dorsal side of ST1

DISTRIBUTION: Known only from the type locality.

Figures

Map 1. Distribution of Hortipes species described in this publication. Hortipes baerti n, H. centralis h, H. hesperoecius O, H. machaeropolion D, H. orchatocnemis ^, H. oronesiotes Δ, H. penthesileia v, H. silvarum •, H. tarachodes V, H. terminator, and H. zombaensis.. Rectangles enclose regions (hatched) where high numbers of Hortipes species were found (number of species in parentheses). See detailed maps 2–5.

Fig. 27. a, b. Hortipes auriga, new species, male left palp, ventral and retrolateral views. c. Hortipes centralis, new species, epigyne. d–g. Hortipes tarachodes, new species. d, e. Epigynes. f, g. Male right palp, ventral and retrolateral views. h, i. Hortipes terminator, new species, male left palp, ventral and retrolateral views. Scale lines: 0.25 mm.

Fig. 29. a, b. Hortipes centralis, new species. a. Vulva, ventral view. b. Vulva, schematic representation. c. Hortipes robertus, new species, vulva, ventral view. Arrow indicates gland associated with widened portion of ID. d. Hortipes abucoletus, new species, vulva, ventral view. Arrow indicates gland associated with widened portion of ID. e–g. Hortipes tarachodes, new species. e, f. Vulva, left half, ventral and dorsal views. g. Vulva, left half, schematic representation. Scale line: 0.1 mm.