Buitinga wamitii Yao & Li, 2019

Yao, Zhiyuan, Kioko, Grace M., Kioko, Esther N. & Li, Shuqiang, 2019, Three new species of the spider family Pholcidae (Arachnida: Araneae) from Taita-Taveta, Kenya, Zootaxa 4651 (1), pp. 114-124 : 118

Buitinga wamitii Yao & Li sp. nov.

Figs 3–4 , 7

Type material. Holotype: male (NMK-Ar29691), Ngangao Forest (wet side) (3°21.299′S, 38°20.410′E, elev. 1821 m), Taita Hills Blocks , Wundanyi Town, Taita-Taveta County, Kenya, 23 July 2016, G.M. Kioko, Z. Yao and Q. Zhao leg.

Etymology. The specific name is a patronym in honor of Wanyoike Wamiti (National Museums of Kenya), who helps us during the field collection in Kenya, and is a noun (name) in genitive case.

Diagnosis. This species resembles B. kadogo Huber, 2003 (see Huber 2003: 562, figs 1, 26, 51–57, 71–79) with similar prolateral view of procursus ( Figs 3A, C ) but can be distinguished by shorter male cheliceral frontal apophysis without distal projections ( Fig. 4C ), procursus without sclerotized retrolateral apophyses ( Figs 3B, D ) and by bulbal apophysis with two branches ( Fig. 4A ).

Description. Male (holotype): Total length 2.06 (2.25 with clypeus), carapace 0.81 long, 0.95 wide, opisthosoma 1.25 long, 0.88 wide. Leg I: 14.92 (3.56 + 0.40 + 3.80 + 5.13 + 2.03), leg II: 8.89 (2.25 + 0.39 + 2.19 + 2.81 + 1.25), leg III: 6.89 (1.88 + 0.34 + 1.66 + 2.20 + 0.81), leg IV: 8.84 (2.40 + 0.38 + 2.25 + 2.97 + 0.84); tibia I L/d: 35. Distance PME-PME 0.08; diameter PME 0.08; distance PME-ALE 0.04; AME absent. Sternum wider than long (0.65/0.60). Habitus as in Figs 4 D–F. Carapace yellowish, with dark brown lateral marks and narrow, dark median line; ocular area and clypeus yellowish; sternum dark brown. Legs yellowish, but slightly whitish on distal parts of femora and tibiae, with darker rings on subdistal parts of femora and tibiae. Opisthosoma yellowish, with distinctive dark brown pattern. Ocular area slightly elevated. Thoracic furrow absent. Chelicerae as in Figs 4 B–C, with pair of proximo-lateral apophyses, pair of swollen frontal apophyses, and pair of distal apophyses, each with four teeth. Pedipalps as in Figs 3 A–B; trochanter with retrolatero-ventral apophysis; trichobothria on tibia very distal; procursus simple, with two membranous process distally; bulb with weakly sclerotized embolus and sclerotized apophysis provided with two branches ( Fig. 4A ). Retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia I at 11%; legs with vertical setae on metatarsi, without spines and curved setae; tarsus I with 30 distinct pseudosegments.

Female: Unknown.

Distribution. Kenya (Taita-Taveta, type locality; Fig. 7 ).

Natural History. The species was found on the web on a tree root.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Buitinga wamitii Yao & Li sp. nov., holotype male. A–B. Pedipalp (A. Prolateral view; B. Retrolateral view); C–D. Distal part of procursus (C. Prolateral view; D. Retrolateral view). b = bulb, ba = bulbal apophysis, dt = dorsal trichobothrium, e = embolus, pr = procursus. Scale bars: 0.10 (A–B), 0.05 (C–D).

FIGURE 4. Buitinga wamitii Yao & Li sp. nov., holotype male. A. Bulb, prolateral view; B–C. Chelicerae (B. Frontal view; C. Lateral view); D–F. Habitus (D. Dorsal view; E. Lateral view; F. Ventral view). b = bulb, ba = bulbal apophysis, da = distal apophysis, e = embolus, fa = frontal apophysis, pa = proximo-lateral apophysis. Scale bars: 0.03 (A), 0.05 (B–C), 0.30 (D–F).

FIGURE 7. Distribution records of new species from Kenya. 1. Buitinga qingyuani Yao & Li sp. nov.; 2. B. wamitii Yao & Li sp. nov.; 3. Smeringopus voi Yao & Li sp. nov.