Spermophorides Wunderlich, 1992

Huber, Bernhard A., 2007, Two new genera of small, six-eyed pholcid spiders from West Africa, and first record of Spermophorides for mainland Africa (Araneae: Pholcidae), Zootaxa 1635, pp. 23-43 : 36-38

Spermophorides Wunderlich, 1992

Spermophorides Wunderlich, 1992: 324 –325

Diagnosis. A diagnosis that reliably covers all known representatives of this genus is beyond the scope of this paper and must await a revision or at least a large comparative study of the genus. The original diagnosis of the genus does not allow a distinction from several other small six-eyed pholcids, like Spermophora , Buitinga , Quamtana (part), Belisana , and others. The only character visible using untreated specimens and light microscopy that seems to reliably identify most Spermophorides species is the peculiar attachment site of the procursus to the cymbium, i.e. rather distal than proximal (see e.g., figs. 228, 243 in Wunderlich 1987; figure 229 in Wunderlich 1992; figs. 3, 11, 19, 27, 35, 41 in Senglet 1972; fig. 3 in Senglet 1973).

A further character that is easily accessible and that seems to separate most Spermophorides species from most other pholcids, is the relationship between tibia 1 length and metatarsus 1 length. Figure 75 shows that in most pholcids with comparable tibia 1 lengths (~ 2.5–5.5 mm) the metatarsus 1 is significantly longer than the tibia 1. In Spermophorides , both leg segments are approximately the same length. Only a few species of the South American genus Chibchea fall among the Spermophorides species in the scatter in Figure 75 . Remarkably, the Seychelles species ( S. lascars ) does not group with the other Spermophorides species (measurements according to fig. 64 in Saaristo 2001: tibia 1: 1,8; metatarsus 1: 2,2).

A distinctive character that seems to unite the Mediterranean, at least some Canary Island, and the Tanzanian species below requires clearing or SEM study of the epigynum: the pockets on the posterior epigynal plates. Senglet (1972) emphasized the importance of these pockets (his “alvéoles d’ancrage de la lèvre postérieure de l’épigyne”) for the identification of Mediterranean “ Spermophora ” (now Spermophorides ) species. They have not been described or illustrated for Canary Island species, but were found to be present in S. mercedes (Wunderlich) and an unidentified species from Lanzarote checked for this character (B. A. Huber, unpublished data).

Finally, the absence of male epiandrous spigots is very rare in pholcines (outside Spermophorides only known in Nyikoa limbe , see above), and has been verified in one Mediterranean species ( S. mediterranea [Senglet]), two Canary Island species ( S. cuneata [Wunderlich], S. mercedes ), and the Tanzanian species below (Figs. 68–70).

Relationships. As in previous analyses (e.g., Huber 2005), Spermophorides falls in a group of African genera including Buitinga (East Africa) and Paramicromerys ( Madagascar) , as well as some species tentatively assigned to Spermophora (East Africa, Madagascar, Comoros). All these taxa (clade 5 in Fig. 1 A) share the loss of the “piriform gland spigots” on the ALS (Figs. 67, 73). More important than these intergeneric relationships are, in the present context, the data that support inclusion of the Tanzanian species below in a genus that was previously known only from the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean, and one species from the Seychelles. Three characters support this assignment: pair of pockets on the posterior epigynal plate ( Figs. 65, 66 ; unique in pholcids), loss of epiandrous spigots (Fig. 68; in pholcines otherwise only known in Nyikoa limbe ), and the peculiar attachment site of the procursus to the cymbium (rather distal than proximal, similar only in Spermophora sangarawe , see fig. 235 in Huber 2003b). Whether the Seychelles species ( S. lascars Saaristo ) shares any of these characters is unknown.

Distribution. The genus was previously known from the Canary Islands (plus the Salvage Islands), southwestern Europe ( Spain, France, Corsica, Sardinia, Italy), and one uncertain species from the Seychelles. The new species below extends the known distribution to include mainland Africa.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Cladograms of pholcines, using equal character weights (A) and successive weighting (B) in NONA. Wedge-shaped branches represent multiple taxa in a clade. Numbered clades are supported as follows: 1. (Pholcinae) proximo-lateral apophyses on male chelicerae, six eyes, embolus tubular and membranous. 2. Male palpal tibia-tarsus joints shifted to prolateral side. 3. Male palpal trochanter with retrolateral apophysis. 4. Genital bulb attached dorsally. 5. ALS “ piriform gland spigots ” absent. 6. Eye triads widely separated. 7. Like 2 above, plus male palpal tibia spindleshaped. 8. Proximo-lateral apophyses on male chelicerae directed upwards, not backwards.

FIGURE 75. Tibia 1 length and relationship between tibia 1 and metatarsus 1 lengths in 422 species of pholcids. Each species is represented by a single male specimen, usually the type specimen measured in the original description or in a redescription. Large marks indicate Spermophorides species (round marks: 18 Canary Island species, six Mediterranean species, and S. africana [arrow]; square: S. lascars from the Seychelles). Data are mainly from taxonomic papers by B. A. Huber (http: // www. uni-bonn. de / ~ bhuber 1 / publications. htm); data on Spermophorides are from Wunderlich (1987, 1992), Saaristo (2001), and from B. A. Huber (herein and unpublished).

FIGURES 62 – 66. Spermophorides africana, n. sp. 62, 63. Left palp, prolateral and retrolateral views. 64. Male chelicerae, frontal view. 65, 66. Cleared epigynum, ventral and dorsal views. b, genital bulb; ba, bulbal apophysis; e, embolus; p, procursus. Scale lines: 0.1 mm.