Pholcus punu Huber

Bernhard A. Huber, Philippe Le Gall & Jacques Francois Mavoungou, 2014, Pholcid spiders from the Lower Guinean region of Central Africa: an overview, with descriptions of seven new species (Araneae, Pholcidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 81, pp. 1-46 : 28-32

Pholcus punu Huber , sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C721A4A8-5D18-467B-A433-7E526A641082

Figs 12-13 , 27 , 63-74

Diagnosis

Distinguished from P. moca Huber, 2011 (the most similar species and probably closest known relative) by shape of procursus (longer retrolateral process; absence of distinct ridge between retrolateral process and tip; compare Fig. 70 with fig. 946 in Huber 2011b); also by shape of uncus (not bilobed as in P. moca ), presence of proximal frontal processes on male chelicerae and slightly different shape of epigynal plate (narrower in P. moca ; compare Fig. 64 with fig. 921 in Huber 2011b).

Etymology

Named for the Punu (or Bapunu, Bapounou), one of the four major peoples of Gabon; noun in apposition.

Type material

Holotype ♂, in ZFMK ( Ar 11938 ) .

Type locality

GABON, Haut Ogooué , forest above Canyon rose near Lékoni (1°38.6’S, 14°17.5’E), 600 m a.s.l., 19 Aug. 2011 (B.A. & S.R. Huber).

Other material examined

GABON: Haut Ogooué : 2 ♂♂, 10 ♀♀ in ZFMK ( Ar 11939 ), same data as holotype ; 2 ♀♀, 2 juvs in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Gab 209 ), same data . 1 ♂ in ZFMK ( Ar 11940 ), forest at Lékoni River (1°10.7’S, 13°32.3’E), 305 m a.s.l., 18 Aug. 2011 (B.A. & S.R. Huber) ; 1 ♀, 1 juv. in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Gab 213 ), same data . 1 ♂, 3 ♀♀ in ZFMK ( Ar 11941 ), forest near Bongoville (1°36.7’S, 13°57.4’E), 600-650 m a.s.l., 20 Aug. 2011 (B.A. Huber) ; 2 juvs in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Gab 207 ), same data . Ogooué-Ivindo: 5 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀ in ZFMK ( Ar 11942 ), near Mohoba Mozeye (0°16.8’N, 13°20.9’E), 510 m a.s.l., forest along road, 17 Aug. 2011 (B.A. & S.R. Huber) ; 2 ♀♀, 3 juvs in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Gab 169 ), same data . Ogooué-Lolo: 1 ♂, 1 ♀ in ZFMK ( Ar 11943 ), forest at brook near Lastoursville, near Grotte de Pahon Pira (0°48.8’S, 12°45.2’E), 290 m a.s.l., 22-23 Aug. 2011 (B.A. Huber) . 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀ in ZFMK ( Ar 11944 ), forest near Lastoursville (0°48.0’S, 12°44.4’E), 300 m a.s.l., 21 Aug. 2011 (B.A. Huber) ; 3 juvs in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Gab 221 ), same data . 1 ♂, 1 ♀ in ZFMK ( Ar 11945 ), near Moudouma (1°23.5’S, 12°09.6’E), 475 m a.s.l., forest along brook, 24 Aug. 2011 (B.A. & S.R. Huber) ; 1 juv in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Gab 157 ), same data . Ngounié: 2 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀ in ZFMK ( Ar 11946 ), Massif du Chaillu , ‘site 2’, near Moukabou (1°36.6’S, 11°40.7’E), 560 m a.s.l., forest, 25 Aug. 2011 (B.A. & S.R. Huber) ; 3 juvs in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Gab 174 ), same data . 4 ♂♂, 7 ♀♀ in ZFMK ( Ar 11947 ), Massif du Chaillu , ‘site 3’, between Mimongo & Yéno (1°38.1’S, 11°32.6’E), 570-650 m a.s.l., forest, 26 Aug. 2011 (B.A. & S.R. Huber) ; 3 juvs in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Gab 233 ), same data. 1 ♂ in ZFMK ( Ar 11948 ), Massif du Chaillu , ‘site 4’, between Yéno and Mouila (1°43.7’S, 11°18.4’E), 650 m a.s.l., forest along river, 26 Aug. 2011 (B.A. & S.R. Huber) . 3 ♂♂, 7 ♀♀ in ZFMK ( Ar 11949 ), near Moulandoufouala (1°38.1’S, 10°42.5’E), 110 m a.s.l., forest along road, 27 Aug. 2011 (B.A. & S.R. Huber) ; 4 juvs in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Gab 184 ), same data . Moyen-Ogooué: 3 ♂♂ in ZFMK ( Ar 11950 ), S of Lambaréné near Tchad (0°58.1’S, 10°22.7’E), 165 m a.s.l., forest, 27 Aug. 2011 (B.A. & S.R. Huber) .

Description

Male (holotype)

MEASUREMENTS. Total body length 3.0, carapace width 0.9. Leg 1: 27.0 (6.4 + 0.4 + 6.5 + 11.5 + 2.2), tibia 2: 4.5, tibia 3: 2.7, tibia 4: 4.1; tibia 1 L/d: 82. Distance PME-PME 265 µm, diameter PME 95 µm, distance PME-ALE 45 µm, AME absent (only black spots without lenses).

COLOR. Carapace ochre-orange with large brown median mark, ocular area also brown, sternum medially slightly darkened; legs with dark rings on femora subdistally, patellae plus tibiae proximally, and tibiae subdistally; abdomen grey with internal black and whitish spots dorsally and laterally.

BODY. Habitus as in Fig. 63 ; ocular area slightly elevated, each triad on short hump directed laterally; carapace without median furrow; clypeus unmodified; sternum wider than long (0.66/0.52), unmodified. Chelicerae as in Fig. 72 , with pair of lateral processes proximally, pair of frontal apophyses proximally, and pair of frontal apophyses distally provided with two modified hairs each; without stridulatory ridges.

PALPS. As in Figs 66-71 , coxa unmodified, trochanter with short and wide retrolatero-ventral apophysis, femur with short retrolatero-dorsal process proximally, procursus complex, with distinctive sclerotized and membranous elements; bulb with large uncus, simple weakly sclerotized embolus, and hooked appendix.

LEGS. Without spines and curved hairs, few vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium on tibia 1 at 3%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1, present on other tibiae; tarsus 1 with>20 pseudosegments, only distally fairly distinct.

VARIATION. Tibia 1 in 22 other males: 6.7-8.8 (mean 7.9). Clypeus variably dark; AME spots sometimes fused. In most males the palps are extended and the bulbs rotated as in Fig. 71 .

Female

In general similar to male; tibia 1 in 36 females: 5.3-7.1 (mean 6.3). Epigynum with distinct plate and ‘knob’, anterior area weakly sclerotized, ‘valve’ and other internal structures visible through cuticle ( Fig. 64 ); internal genitalia as in Figs 65 and 73-74 .

Natural history

The spiders were mostly found in the leaf litter and in cavities in the ground ( Fig. 12 ), sometimes sharing the microhabitat with a representative of Smeringopina (e.g. S. moudouma Huber, 2013 in forest near Lastoursville; S. fang Huber, 2013 between Yéno and Mouila; S. lekoni Huber, 2013 at Lékoni River). The two specimens from Moudouma were found at the rock surface ( Fig. 13 ) close to a small brook.

Distribution

Known from various localities in Gabon south of the Ogooué-Ivindo Rivers ( Fig. 27 ; the closely related P. moca Huber, 2011 seems to be confined to the north of these rivers).

Figures

Figs 10 - 18. Litter, bark and ground-dwelling Central African pholcids. 10. Anansus kamwai sp. nov., ♀ with eggsac from near Bamenda, Cameroon. 11. Pholcus moca Huber, 2011, ♂ from near Ndjole, Gabon. 12 - 13. Pholcus punu sp. nov., pair from between Mimongo and Yéno (12) and ♂ from Moudouma (13), Gabon. 14 - 15. Pholcus rawiriae sp. nov., ♀ with eggsac (14) and ♂ from Mohoba, Gabon (15). 16. Smeringopina fang Huber, 2013, ♀ with eggsac from Mayebout, Gabon. 17. Smeringopina belinga Huber, 2013, ♂ from Monts de Belinga, Gabon. 18. Smeringopus lesserti Kraus, 1957, ♂ from Mayebout, Gabon. Photos BAH.

Figs 27 - 28. Known distributions of the bamboutos and circularis species groups (sensu Huber 2011 b) of Pholcus Walckenaer, 1805 in Central Africa. The question mark denotes an undescribed species represented by a single male in USNM.

Figs 63 - 68. Pholcus punu sp. nov. 63. ♂, dorsal view. 64. Epigynum, ventral view. 65. Cleared ♀ genitalia, dorsal view. 66 - 68. Left ♂ palp, prolateral, dorsal, and retrolateral views.

Figs 69 - 74. Pholcus punu sp. nov. 69 - 70. Left ♂ palp, prolateral and retrolateral views. 71. Extended palp with rotated bulb. 72. ♂ chelicerae, frontal view. 73 - 74. Cleared ♀ genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. a = appendix; b = bulb; e = embolus; pr = procursus; u = uncus. Scale lines: 69 - 71, 73 - 74 = 0.5 mm; 72 = 0.3 mm.