Amblyothele togona Roewer, 1960

Russell-Smith, Tony, Jocqué, Rudy & Alderweireldt, Mark, 2009, A revision of the African wolf spider genus Amblyothele Simon, ZooKeys 16 (16), pp. 149-180 : 174-178

Amblyothele togona Roewer, 1960

Figs 1-9 , 33-39 , Map 8

Diagnosis. The median apophysis of the male palp most resembles that of A. longipes but the apical lobe is considerably broader in relation to its length and the basal lobe is shorter and not forked at its tip. The embolus is broader in relation to length than that of A. longipes and is more apparent in ventral view. The female epigyne has a very deeply notched posterior margin that is distinctive. The stout banded legs are characteristic.

Type material. Holotype. Female : TOGO. Without further data ( SMF).

Other material examined. CÔTE D’IVOIRE: 1 ♀ (with egg-sac): Ganhoué, near Touba , 8°11’N 7°51’W, 27.VIII.1993, pitfall trap in upland rice field, A. Russell-Smith leg. ; 1♀: Bouaflé , 6°59’N 5°45’W, 28.I.1981, pitfalls, J. Everts leg. ( MRAC 174006 ) . CAMEROON: 5 ♁ 3 ♀: Ebolowa , 02°54’N 011°09’E, IV.1980, pitfall traps, A. Russell- Smith leg. ( MRAC 223302 ) ; ♀: Chabal Mbabo , 7°25’N 12°47’E, 8.IV.1983, from litter in gallery forest, Bosmans and Van Stalle leg. ( MRAC 162625 ) . KENYA: 1 ♀: Kakamega Forest , 00°13’N 034° 54’E, 17-24.III.2002, Malaise trap, D. Shilabira Smith leg. ( MRAC 212619 ) ; 1 ♀: Kakamega Forest , 00°13’N 034°54’E, 6.IV.2002, malaise trap, D. Shilabira Smith leg. ( MRAC 220463 ) . CONGO DR: 1 ♁ 3 ♀: Kisangani, Forêt de Masako , N 00°35’ E 025°11’, 20.VII.2001, young fallow, J.-L. Juakaly leg. ( MRAC 211829 ) ; 1 ♁ 1 ♀: same locality, 27.VII.2001, young fallow, J.-L. Juakaly leg. ( MRAC 211842 ) ; 2 ♀: same locality, 18.VII.2001, young fallow, J.-L. Juakaly leg. ( MRAC 211854 ) ; 2 ♀: same locality, 20.VII.2001, young fallow, J.-L. Juakaly leg. ( MRAC 211866 ) ; 1 ♀: same locality, 13.VII.2001, young fallow, J.-L. Juakaly leg. ( MRAC 211926 ) ; 2 ♀: same locality, 12.VII.2001, young fallow, J.-L. Juakaly leg. ( MRAC 211978 ) ; 1 ♁ 4 ♀: same locality, 13.VII.2001, young fallow, J.-L. Juakaly leg. ( MRAC 212019 ) ; 1 ♀: same locality, 12.VII.2001, young fallow, J.-L. Juakaly leg. ( MRAC 212033 ) ; 2 ♀: same locality, 5.VII.2001, young fallow, J.-L. Juakaly leg. ( MRAC 212063 ) ; 1 ♀: same locality, 11.VII.2001, young fallow, J.-L. Juakaly leg. ( MRAC 212070 ) ; 2 ♀: same locality, 11.VII.2001, young fallow, J.-L. Juakaly leg. ( MRAC 212111 ) ; 1 ♀: same locality, 5.VII.2001, young fallow, pitfall, J.-L. Juakaly leg. ( MRAC 212115 ) ; 2 ♁: same locality, 17.XII.2002, young fallow, pitfall, J.-L. Juakaly leg. ( MRAC 214364 ) ; 1 ♁: same locality, 24.IX.2002, young fallow, pitfall, J.-L. Juakaly leg. ( MRAC 214572 ) .

Description. Female (holotype): Total length, 3.33 mm. Carapace. Length 1.42 mm, width 1.20 mm. Orange brown suffused with greyish black except for central longitudinal band. Head region not noticeably raised. Fovea relatively short. Immediate surroundings of eyes suffused with black. Eyes. Anterior row very slightly recurved. AME 2 × diameter of ALE and touching them, separated by ca 0.2 × their own diameter. Middle eyes 1.75 × diameter of AME, separated by 0.43 × their own diameter. PLE 0.57 × diameter of PME separated by 3.75 × their own diameter. Chelicerae. Greyish orange. Relatively short and stout for genus, with a few dark bristles. Posterior margin with two teeth, that nearest fang the larger, anterior margin with three small teeth, the central largest. Maxillae and labium. Maxillae ca 2 × length of labium and with relatively rounded distal margins. Labium as long as wide, sub-quadrate. All pale yellow except for darker triangle at base of labium. Sternum. Pale yellow. Shield-shaped and produced between hind coxae. Legs. Only three legs surviving on specimen. Pale yellow with two dark grey rings on femora and tibiae. Relatively stout, ratio of length/breadth of tibia IV 9.1:1. Ventral spines of leg I; metatarsus 2-2-(2), tibia 2-2-(2). Spines long, thin and pale. With three tarsal claws, the outer pair with three long thin teeth, the central claw small, on a raised pad and bent at right angles. Abdomen. Dorsally very

dark greyish brown with a feint paler central folium. Ventrally pale whitish yellow. Spinnerets. Coloured as abdomen. PLS long, the distal segment 0.8 × length of basal segment. Epigyne. Figs 3 , 35-39 . Very similar in general appearance to that of A. longipes . Epigynal plate almost twice width of that of A. longipes . Outline of spermathecae through cuticle larger and sperm ducts shorter and broader. Notch on hind margin of epigynal plate broader than that of A. longipes and lobes pointed.

Male. Total length 3.50 mm. Carapace. Length 1.75 mm, width 1.17 mm. Head region not at all raised. Fovea long, 0.25 × length of carapace. With a broad pale yellowbrown dorsal stripe along carapace and with grey-black wedges radiating from fovea to carapace margin. A series of long dark bristles along the central stripe of the carapace. Eyes. Anterior row recurved. AME 1.67 × diameter of ALE and almost touching them. Middle eyes 1.80 × diameter of AME and separated by 0.33 × their own diameter. PLE 0.78 × diameter of PME and separated by 2.1 × their own diameter. Immediate eye region suffused with black. Chelicerae. Relatively long and narrow. Chestnut brown with a narrow darker stripe extending along half the length of the anterior face. Hind margin with two teeth, that nearest to fang the larger, posterior margin with one large tooth. Maxillae and labium. Maxillae ca 2 × length of labium and strongly truncate at distal end. Pale yellow-brown. Labium subquadrate, as long as broad, coloured as maxillae. Sternum. Shield shaped and somewhat produced between hind coxae. Pale yellow. Legs. Relatively long and thin, ratio of length/breadth of tibia IV 15:1. Leg IV 1.33 × length

of leg I. Ventral spines of leg I; metatarsus 2-2-(2), tibia 2-2-(2). Spines relatively short for genus. All segments pale orange-yellow, clothed in short dark setae. Tarsal claws (fig. 9) with 2-3 fine teeth, typical of genus. Inferior claw with five small teeth. Tarsal organ with keyhole shaped opening ( Fig. 8 ). Abdomen. With greyish-brown markings on a paler yellow background. With a dark dorsal folium anteriorly and behind this 3 faint chevrons. Ventrally pale whitish. Spinnerets ( Figs 4-5 ). PLS ca 2 × length of AMS. Terminal segment of PLS 0.7 × length of basal segment. Coloured as the abdomen.

Male Palp. Figs 6, 7 , 33, 34 . Median apophysis rather similar to that in A. longipes . Apical lobe sickle-shaped but not tapering to a narrow tip as in A. longipes . Basal lobe with short forward pointing projection which is truncate at tip. Anterior and posterior lobes of MA do not approach close to one another. Embolus very broad, clearly visible alongside MA.

Variation. Total length, males 3.50-3.83 mm (5 specimens). There is some variation in depth of pigmentation between individuals and in the distinctness of the dorsal pattern of the abdomen varies. The shape of the epigyne may vary considerably depending on the inclination. In the holotype the V-shaped notch is not conspicuous because the posterior part of the epigyne is slightly invaginated.

Distribution. Known from Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, D.R. Congo and Kenya ( Map 8 ).

Biology. Unlike other species of the genus, A. togona has been recorded in the litter of a riverine forest.

Figures

Figure 1. Amblyothele togona Roewer, female, habitus (MRAC 223302). Scale = 1 mm.

Figures 2-9. Amblyothele togona Roewer (specimens from Masako, Congo DR) Scanning electron micrographs 2 female carapace, frontal view 3 epigyne, ventral view 4 anterior lateral spinneret; retro-caudal view 5 posterior lateral spinneret, last segment, ventral view 6 male palp, ventral view 7 male palp, detail, ventral view 8 tarsal organ on leg 2 9 tarsal claws, leg 2. (E: embolus; MA: median apophysis;TA: tegular apophysis).

Map 8. Localities of A. togona.

Figures 33-38. Amblyothele togona Roewer (male from Ebolowa, Cameroon).33 right male palp, ventral view 34 right male palp, prolateral view 35 epigyne (specimen from Ebolowa, Cameroon) 36 epigyne, specimen from Masako, DR Congo 37 epigyne, holotype 38 epigyne, dorsal view, cleared, specimen from Masako, DR Congo. Scales: 33-34 0.5 mm 35-38 0.1 mm.

Figures 39-42. Epigynes, cleared, dorsal view 39 Amblyothele togona sp. n. (Masako, Congo DR) 40 Amblyothele longipes sp. n. (Mbé, Ivory Coast) 41 Amblyothele latedissipata sp. n. (Mkomazi, Tanzania) 42 Amblyothele albocincta (Okavango). Scale = 0.1 mm.