Eleleis haddadi, Rodrigues & Rheims, 2020

Rodrigues, Bruno V. B. & Rheims, Cristina A., 2020, An overview of the African genera of Prodidominae spiders: descriptions and remarks (Araneae: Gnaphosidae), Zootaxa 4799 (1), pp. 1-80 : 33

Eleleis haddadi sp. nov.

Figs 12F , 23 A–C

Type material. Female holotype from South Africa, Free State, Clocolan, Mpetsane Conservation Estate , 28°55′12″S 27°34′48″E, 8 March 2007, C. Haddad leg., deposited in NCA 2007 /1708.

Etymology. The specific name is a patronym in honor of the arachnologist Charles Haddad, who collected the holotype.

Diagnosis. Females of Eleleis haddadi sp. nov. resemble those of E. etosha sp. nov. and E. solitaria sp. nov. by the epigyne with the atrium larger than the posterior median excavation, but differ by atrium subrectangular, more than two times wider than long (bullet-shaped in E. etosha sp. nov. and large and round in E. solitaria sp. nov.) ( Fig. 23A ), and by the vulva with bulbous part of the copulatory ducts at the copulatory openings ( Fig. 23B ). Males are unknown.

Description. Female. Total length: 2.06. Carapace 0.72 long, 0.64 wide; Abdomen 1.25 long, 0.80 wide; Sternum 0.65 long, 0.44 wide; Spinnerets ALS 0.19 long, 0.14 wide. Eye diameters: AME 0.04, ALE 0.06, PME 0.06, PLE 0.07; interdistances: AME–AME 0.03, PME–PME 0.04. Chelicerae 0.19 long. Leg measurements: I: 2.07 (0.62, 0.35, 0.42, 0.34, 0.34); II: 1.76 (0.53, 0.31, 0.33, 0.30, 0.29); III: 1.63 (0.45, 0.26, 0.28, 0.33, 0.31); IV: 2.13 (0.59, 0.35, 0.44, 0.40, 0.35). Epigyne: posterior median excavation twice longer than wide, smaller than median atrium ( Fig. 23A ). Vulva: secondary spermathecae apparently absent; bulbous part of duct laterad; fertilization ducts arising posteriorly from primary spermathecae ( Fig. 23B ).

Male. Unknown.

Distribution. South Africa, only known from the type locality ( Fig. 24 ).

Figures

FIGURE 12. Habitus, dorsal view: (A) Eleleis limpopo sp. nov., male; (B) E. okavango sp. nov., male; (C) E. etosha sp. nov., male; (D) E. himba sp. nov., male; (E) E. leleupi sp. nov., male; (F) E. haddadi sp. nov., female; (G) E. luderitz sp. nov., female; (H) E. solitaria sp. nov., female.

FIGURE 23. Eleleis haddadi sp. nov. Female: (A) epigyne, ventral view; (B) vulva, dorsal view; (C) vulva, schematic course of internal duct system. E. luderitz sp. nov. Female: (D) epigyne, ventral view; (E) vulva, dorsal view; (F) vulva, schematic course of internal duct system. E. solitaria sp. nov. Female: (G) epigyne, ventral view; (H) vulva, dorsal view; (I) vulva, schematic course of internal duct system. A—atrium; CD—copulatory duct; CoD—connecting duct; FD—fertilization duct; PMEx—posterior median excavation; PS—primary spermathecae; SS—secondary spermathecae. Scale bars: 0.25 mm.

FIGURE 24. Known distribution records of species of Eleleis crinita, E. limpopo sp. nov., E. leleupi sp. nov., E. okavango sp. nov. and E. haddadi sp. nov. from Africa.