Hortipes merwei, 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 merwei , new species Figures 19a–c , 20e ; Map 4

TYPES: Male holotype in pitfall trap in grass, Ngome State Forest , Kwazulu­Natal, South Africa S27°49', E31°26' (August 1992; M. v. d. Merwe) ( NCA 93 /867). Paratypes: 3♀ together with holotype ; 1♀ in pitfall trap in grass, same locality (February 1992; M. v. d. Merwe) ( NCA) ; 1♀ in pitfall trap in pine plantation, same locality (October 1992; M. v. d. Merwe) ( NCA) ; 26, 2♀ in pitfall trap in pine plantation, same locality (April 1992; M. v. d. Merwe) ( NCA; 16, 1♀ in AMNH) ; 3♀ in pitfall trap in pine plantation, same locality (April 1992; M. v. d. Merwe) ( NCA) ; 16, 3♀ in pitfall trap in pine plantation, same locality (January 1993; M. v. d. Merwe) ( NCA) ; 26, 4♀ in pitfall trap in grass, same locality (March 1992; M. v. d. Merwe) ( NCA) ; 4♀ in pitfall trap in grass, same locality (June 1992; M. v. d. Merwe) ( NCA) ; 16, 3♀ in pitfall trap, same locality (1992; M. v. d. Merwe) ( NCA) ; 16, 1♀ in pitfall trap in pine plantation, same locality (March 1992; M. v. d. Merwe) ( NCA) ; 2♀ in pitfall trap in pine plantation, same locality (March 1992; M. v. d. Merwe) ( NCA) ; 16, 6♀ in pitfall trap in grass, same locality (July 1992; M. v. d. Merwe) ( NCA) .

ETYMOLOGY: The species is named in hon­ or of Marius van de Merwe, who collected almost all of the specimens available.

DIAGNOSIS: Hortipes merwei is easily distinguished from all other Hortipes species by the long, coiled palpal embolus and MA in the male and by the solenoidally coiled ID of the vulva in the female.

MALE: Measurements. Total length 1.62; carapace 0.76 long, 0.62 wide; length of fe: I 0.54, II 0.57, III 0.41, IV 0.68. Leg spination. Fe: I rv 2; IV plt 0 rlt 0; ti: I, II vsp 5; mt: III plt 0 vt 0 rlt 0; IV plt 0 vt 1 rlt 0. Coloration. Carapace reddish brown, lighter at the fovea. Chelicerae, legs, and sternum yellow brown. Abdomen yellowish white, no pattern, sparsely covered with thin, pointed grey setae. Palp. Tibia with simple RTA with long sharp tip pointing up; cymbium fairly elongate, without retrolateral concavity or series of long curved setae; sperm duct fairly narrow over entire course with sharp turn in front of embolus; MA originating in center of tegulum, large, broad, coiled twice; embolus originating on anterior part of tegulum, with base fairly narrow, long, whiplike, looped in figure 8 turn (fig. 19a, b).

FEMALE: Measurements. Total length 1.89; carapace 0.86 long, 0.73 wide; length of fe: I 0.65, II 0.68, III 0.54, IV 0.81. Leg spination. Fe: I rv 2; IV plt 0 rlt 0; ti: I, II vsp 6; mt: III plt 0 vt 0 rlt 0; IV plt 0 vt 1 rlt 0. Coloration. Carapace yellow ochre, chelicerae, legs, and sternum yellow brown. Abdomen pale peach, no pattern, sparsely covered with thin, pointed grey setae. Genitalia. Vulva: first stretches of IDs fused into one weakly sclerotized, deeply bifurcated en­

68 BULLETIN AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY NO. 256 2000 BOSSELAERS AND JOCQUÉ: HORTIPES 69 70 BULLETIN AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY NO. 256

furcated entrance chamber completely encircled by second, normally sclerotized part of ID, which first makes three corkscrew turns in caudal direction before entering the small, tear­shaped ST1. The small, elongate ST2 protrudes laterally from the solenoidally coiled second part of ID, halfway along its length, and is attached to anterior end of weakly sclerotized entrance chamber by a long, thin, weakly coiled stalk running in posterior direction (figs. 19c; 20e).

OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED: South Africa: 16 hand­captured in litter, Lake St Lucia , elev. 100 m, Natal S27°45', E32°30' (14 September 1978; G.L. Loots) ( NCA) ; 1 female caught with a sweepnet in low forest undergrowth, Dukuduku Forest , elev. 100 m, Lake St Lucia, Natal S28°23', E32°20' (7 November 1990; M. Filmer) ( NCA) .

VARIABILITY: The exact position of the curled MA of the male palp, the transparency of the vulva and the details in the shape of the thin­walled entrance chamber as well as the course of the ID loops are variable.

DISTRIBUTION: from Ngome State Forest to the coastal region around Lake St. Lucia, Kwazulu­Natal South Africa.

Figures

Map 4. Distribution of Hortipes species in South Africa. Hortipes aelurisiepae V, H. atalante h, H. coccinatus •, H. contubernalis O, H. griswoldi., H. hyakutake, H. irimus, H. licnophorus D, H. luytenae Δ, H. merwei *, H. mesembrinus, H. rothorum v, H. schoemanae n, and H. wimmertensi ^.

Figs. 19. a–c. Hortipes merwei, new species. a, b. Male left palp, ventral and retrolateral views. c. Epigyne. d. Hortipes atalante, new species, epigyne. e–g. Hortipes leno, new species. e, f. Male left palp, partly expanded, ventral and retrolateral views. g. Epigyne. h. Hortipes mulciber, new species, epigyne. i–k. Hortipes libidinosus, new species. i, j. Male left palp, ventral and retrolateral views. k. Epigyne. l–n. Hortipes delphinus, new species. l. Epigyne. m, n. Male left palp, ventral and retrolateral views. Scale line: 0.25 mm.

Fig. 20. a. Hortipes penthesileia, new species, vulva, ventral view. b. Hortipes zombaensis, new species, vulva, ventral view. c. Hortipes atalante, new species, vulva, ventral view. d. Hortipes mulciber, new species, vulva, ventral view. e. Hortipes merwei, new species, vulva, ventral view. f. Hortipes leno, new species, vulva, ventral view. g. Hortipes libidinosus, new species, vulva, ventral view. Scale line: 0.1 mm.