Toxoniella tharaka Oketch & Li, 2021

Oketch, Dancun A., Kioko, Esther N. & Li, Shuqiang, 2021, Three new species of the genus Toxoniella (Araneae, Liocranidae) from Mount Kenya National Park, Kenya, African Invertebrates 62 (1), pp. 273-286 : 273

Toxoniella tharaka Oketch & Li sp. nov. Figs 1A-F , 2A, B , 3A-C

Material examined.

Holotype Kenya • ♂; Tharaka Nithi County, Chogoria Town, Mount Kenya National Park, Chogoria Forest (bamboo vegetation); 00.1896°S, 37.4717°E; 2601 m; 20 August 2018; Oketch A.D. & Kioko G. leg. Paratypes Kenya • 4 ♂, 3 ♀; same data as holotype.

Other material.

Kenya • 1 ♂, 4 ♀; Nakuru County, Lake Nakuru National Park, Nganyoi KWS Camp; 00.4903°S, 036.1858°E; 1856 m; 11 August 2018; Kioko G. & Joshua S. leg.

Diagnosis.

Males of Toxoniella tharaka sp. nov. resemble T. taitensis and T. rogoae in general appearance but differ from both by having a short, blunt, slightly slanted RTA and a claw-like embolus. The epigyne resembles that of T. rogoae by having short cul de sacs but differs by having anteriorly directed cul de sacs (laterally directed in T. rogoae ) and a wider epigynal groove (closed medially in T. rogoae ). Additionally, the new species has a medially invaginated anterior epigynal margin instead of a smoothly recurved epigynal margin found in both T. taitensis and T. rogoae (Fig. 2A, B ; Warui and Jocqué 2002, figs 4-6, 11, 12).

Description.

Male. Total length 4.59. Carapace 2.60 long, 1.73 wide, yellowish brown with lines of grey setae radiating from fovea. Fovea thin, dark brown, longitudinal. Clypeus about two times the diameter of AME. All eyes have a dark ring around each of them. Eye diameters and interdistances: AME: 0.16, ALE: 0.12, PME: 0.10 and PLE: 0.12, AME-AME: 0.04, AME-ALE: 0.03, MOQ: AW: 0.15, PW: 0.18, Length: 0.18. Chelicerae elongated, brown, reddish orange in some areas. Sternum longer than wide, heart shaped, brown with conspicuous pre-coxal triangles and sparse setae. Labium longer than wide and colored as sternum. Endites longer than wide, about twice the length of labrum. Dorsally, abdomen with grey setae, reddish anteriorly, two pairs of brown sigilla and small brown dots fading towards spinnerets. Venter pale yellowish brown with mottling. Leg measurements: I 7.04 (1.90, 0.85, 1.82, 1.37, 1.10), II 6.06 (1.60, 1.00, 1.40, 1.16, 0.90), III 4.20 (0.68, 0.60, 1.12, 1.10, 0.70), IV 7.14 (1.90, 1.00, 1.50, 1.70, 1.04). Tibiae, metatarsi, and tarsi of anterior leg pairs have long, curved setae (trichobothria) dorsally that increase in length distally. The tarsi bases have 5-6 pairs of slender tenant setae. Leg spination I: P-T v1-2-2 Mt v2-2-1; II: P-T v1-1-2 Mt v2-2; III: F P-T pl2, d2, rl2, v2-2-1 Mt 11; IV: F pl1, d1, rl1 P v1 T pl2, d1, rl2, v2-2-2. Palp as in Fig. 3A-C . Moderately elongated with blunt, stout, and slightly slanted RTA. Sperm duct U-shaped in ventral view. Embolus claw-like, tegulum apically membranous. Median apophysis small.

Female coloration as in male, with abdomen slightly darker. General body appearance as in Fig. 1A-C . Total length 5.72. Carapace 2.86 long, 1.93 wide between leg pairs II and III, pale yellow-brown, narrow at pars cephalica. Fovea as in male. Eye diameters and interdistances: AME: 0.17, ALE: 0.12, PME: 0.10 and PLE: 0.12, AME-AME: 0.04, AME-ALE: 0.03, MOQ: AW: 0.16, PW: 0.18, Length: 0.18. Chelicerae and sternum as in males. Leg measurements: I 6.40 (1.80, 0.80, 1.60, 1.20, 1.00), II 6.12 (1.40, 0.80, 1.20, 0.92, 0.80), III 4.90 (1.30, 0.60, 0.90, 1.10, 1.00), IV 7.20 (1.80, 0.90, 1.60, 1.80, 1.10). Long, curved setae dorsally on anterior leg pairs, and tenent setae as in males. Leg spination I: P-T v0-2-2 Mt v2-2-2; II: P-T v0-1-2 Mt v2-2; III: F P-T pl2, d2, rl2, v2-2-1 Mt 10; IV: P v1 T pl2, d1, rl2, v2-2-2. Epigyne (Fig. 2A, B ) sclerotized, yellowish brown and medially invaginated on the anterior epigynal margin. Median groove wide, separating two pairs of globular spermathecae. Spermathecae outline visible through the epigynal plate. Cul de sacs are short.

Etymology.

The species is named after type locality; noun in apposition.

Distribution.

Only known from Kenya.

Figures

Figure 1. Toxoniella tharaka sp. nov., habitus, female paratype (A-C) and male holotype (D-F) A, D dorsal B, E ventral C, F lateral. Scale bar: 1 mm.

Figure 2. Toxoniella tharaka sp. nov., epigyne, female paratype A ventral B dorsal. Abbreviations: CDS cul de sac, EG epigynal groove, FD fertilization duct, SP spermatheca. Scale bars: 0.25 mm.

Figure 3. Toxoniella tharaka sp. nov., right palp, male holotype A dorso-retrolateral showing the RTA B ventral C prolateral. Abbreviations: E embolus, MA median apophysis, RTA retrolateral tibial apophysis, TA tegular apophysis. Scale bar: 0.25 mm.