Hortipes aurora, 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 aurora , new species Figures 12h–j , 13e ; Map 3

TYPES: Male holotype: in elephant dung, Ruindi plains, elev. 1000 m, Kivu, Congo S00°48', E29°18' (9 July, 1972; M. Lejeune) ( MRAC 144.393 ). Paratypes: 1♀ together with holotype ( MRAC; now in AMNH) ; 1♀: Butembo , Musosa valley, elev. 1745 m, Kivu, Congo N00°09', E29°17' (April 1968; M. Lejeune) ( MRAC) ; 16 in superficial litter in forest, elev. 2200 m, Musyenene region , Kyondo, Congo N00°00', E29°24' (April 1976; M. Lejeune) ( MRAC) .

ETYMOLOGY: The specific name is a noun in apposition meaning dawn. It refers to the fact that this was the very first species described in the course of the present work.

DIAGNOSIS: Males of H. aurora are easily recognized by the simple palp: the RTA is an almost cylindrical prong with slightly indented tip, the MA is evenly curved and gradually tapered from base to end. Females are close to those of H. echo but can be distinguished from the latter species through the smaller reniform cavities and a simpler structure of the vulva, with ID turning 540° before entering ST1.

MALE: Measurements. Total length 1.73; carapace 0.95 long, 0.73 wide; length of fe: I 0.70, II 0.76, III 0.62, IV 0.89. Leg spination. Fe: I rv 2; IV plt 0 rlt 0–1; ti: I, II vsp 5; mt: III plt 0–1 vt 0 rlt 0; IV plt 1 vt 1 rlt 1. Coloration. Carapace and chelicerae ochraceous yellow. Sternum yellow, with yellow brown border. Abdomen pale yellow. Legs yellow. Palp. Tibia with simple, roughly cylindrical, RTA with tip slightly indented dorsally; cymbium elongate, with shallow lateral concavity with a few long hairs along its rim; sperm duct with wide basal part, hardly narrowed in distal part, with S­shaped turn just before embolus; MA simple, evenly curved and gradually tapered from base to tip; embolus originating on posterior part of tegulum, with fairly broad, triangular base, fairly short, whiplike, looped over 270–360° (fig. 12h, i).

2000 BOSSELAERS AND JOCQUÉ: HORTIPES 47

of fe: I 0.86, II 0.92, III 0.73, IV 1.08. Leg spination. Fe: I rv 2; IV plt 0 rlt 0; ti: I, II vsp 6; mt: III plt 1 vt 0 rlt 0; IV plt 1 vt 1 rlt 1. Coloration. Carapace ochraceous yellow. Chelicerae yellow. Sternum pale yellow, with yellow brown border. Abdomen pale yellow. Legs I and II ochraceous yellow, III and IV yellow. Genitalia. Vulva: ID coiled over 540° and widened halfway into reniform cavity about as large as ST1 (figs. 12j; 13e).

OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED: Congo: 16, Lubero mountain range, N slope of Mt. Lubwe , Kivu, elev. 2200 m, N00°02', E29°18' (2 August 1963; M. Celis) ( MRAC) ; 1♀ from humus in montane forest with Hagenia , fen at the Kahalolo spring, Itombwe, Uvira region , Kivu, elev. 2800 m, S03°15', E28°50' (January 1960; N. Leleup) ( MRAC) ; 1♀ in moss on humus layer, Lubero­Butembo road, Lukanga region, Vukengete Forest , elev. 2180 m (December 1974 – January 1975; M. Lejeune) ( MRAC) ; 1♀ in litter under grasses, Lubero­Butembo road, Lukanga region, Vukengete Forest , elev. 2200 m (December 1974 – January 1975; M. Lejeune) ( MRAC) .

VARIABILITY: The number of mt III plt spines (0 or 1) and fe IV rlt spines (0 or 1) in males as well as the transparency of the vulva in females are variable.

DISTRIBUTION: Mountain region, from Bujumbura in the south to Butembo in the north, Kivu, Congo.

Figures

Map 3. Distribution of Hortipes species in the Kivu region. Hortipes amphibolus D, H. auriga., H. aurora •, H. echo O, H. falcatus ^, H. hastatus, H. horta V, H. lejeunei Δ, and H. narcissus v.

Fig. 12. a–c. Hortipes cucurbita, new species. a, b. Male left palp, ventral and retrolateral views. c. Epigyne. d. Hortipes hesperoecius, new species, epigyne. e–g. Hortipes silvarum. e, f. Male left palp, ventral and retrolateral views. g. Epigyne. h–j. Hortipes aurora, new species. h, i. Male left palp, ventral and retrolateral views. Arrow indicates insertion of MA on tegulum. j. Epigyne. k. Hortipes klumpkeae,

Fig. 13. a. Hortipes scharffi, new species, vulva, ventral view. b. Hortipes klumpkeae, new species, vulva, ventral view. c. Hortipes cucurbita, new species, vulva, ventral view. d. Hortipes silvarum, vulva, ventral view. e. Hortipes aurora, new species, vulva, ventral view. Arrow indicates ID entrance. f. Hortipes hesperoecius, new species, vulva, ventral view. Scale line: 0.1 mm.