Quamtana nyahururu, Bernhard A. Huber & Charles M. Warui, 2012

Bernhard A. Huber & Charles M. Warui, 2012, East African pholcid spiders: an overview, with descriptions of eight new species (Araneae, Pholcidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 29 (29), pp. 1-44 : 39-41

Quamtana nyahururu sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:CE25DF38-4C5F-4638-98C4-0AA71A061B70

Figs 6 , 59-61 , 111-115

Quamtana Kenya 10: Dimitrov, Astrin & Huber 2012 (DNA sequence data).

Diagnosis

Distinguished from known congeners by combination of male cheliceral armature ( Fig. 113 ), male palp (shapes of procursus and bulbal process; Figs 111, 112 ), and absence of AME. The South African Quamtana ciliata ( Lawrence, 1938) and Q. mbaba Huber, 2003 are similar but both have AME and are much larger (total body length ~3.0).

Etymology

The species name is derived from the type locality; noun in apposition.

Type material

Holotype

♂, in ZFMK ( Ar 8767 ) .

Paratypes

4 ♂♂, 1 ♀, in ZFMK (3 ♂♂, 1 ♀: Ar 8768 ) and NMKE (1 ♂) .

Type locality

KENYA, Rift Valley Province, Thompson Falls near Nyahururu (0°02.7’N, 36°22.1’E), 2350 m a.s.l., on underside of leaf, 30 Jan. 2010 (B.A. Huber).

Other material examined

KENYA: Rift Valley Province: 1 ♀, 2 juvs. in pure ethanol, in ZFMK ( Ken 132 ), Thompson Falls near Nyahururu : same data as types above . Central Province: 3 ♂♂, in CJFM ( 4248 ), Naro Moru [~ 0°10’S, 37°02’E], 2000 m a.s.l., riverside scrub, 17 Aug. 1974 (Murphy) ; 1 ♂, in ZFMK ( Ar 8718 ), Kikuyu Escarpment, Gatamaiyu (0°58’S, 36°42’E), 2330 m a.s.l., mountain forest , fogging of Podocarpus latifolius, Feb. 1999 (T. Wagner) . Nairobi Area: 6 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, in CJFM ( 3540, 6635 ), Nairobi, Muthaiga Golf Club rough [1°15’S, 36°50’E], 1600 m a.s.l., 15 Jul. 1974 and 26 Sep. 1977 (2 vials) (Murphy) . Eastern Province: 1 ♂, in MRAC ( 215394 ), Kirimeri Forest near Runyenjes [0°25.4’S, 37°32.9’E], 1700 m a.s.l., 27 Apr. 2004 (R. Jocqué, C. Warui, van den Spiegel) . TANZANIA: Tanga Region: 3 ♂♂ (3 vials), in ZMUC, Lushoto Dist., Mazumbai Forest Reserve (4°49’S, 38°29’S), 1650-1730 m a.s.l., 22 Nov. 1995 (ZMUC Expedition), “Fog 25-BO”, “Fog 25-FL”, “Fog 25-EJ” ; 1 ♂, in ZMUC, same locality, date not given, “Fog 4-DF” ; 1 ♀ in ZMUC, Mazumbai Forest Reserve at 4°49’S, 38°31’E, 1370-1435 m a.s.l., 4 Oct. 1995, “Fog 31-DO” .

Description

Male (holotype)

MEASUREMENTS. Total body length 1.6, carapace width 0.65. Leg 1: 13.0 (3.3 + 0.3 + 3.5 + 4.8 + 1.1), tibia 2: 2.0, tibia 3 missing, tibia 4: 2.0; tibia 1 L/d: 56. Distance PME-PME 175 µm, diameter PME 70 µm, distance PME-ALE 20 µm, no trace of AME.

COLOR. Prosoma pale whitish with wide dark median band on carapace including clypeus but not ocular area, legs pale ochre-yellow, without darker rings, abdomen monochromous pale grey.

BODY. Habitus as in Figs 59 and 60 ; ocular area barely elevated, each triad on low hump; no thoracic furrow; clypeus unmodified. Chelicerae as in Fig. 113 , with proximal lateral apophyses and distal frontal apophyses provided with two long modified hairs each ( Fig. 114 ), without stridulatory ridges. Sternum wider than long (0.48/0.40), unmodified.

PALPS. As in Figs 111 and 112 , coxa unmodified, trochanter with short retrolatero-ventral apophysis, femur barely modified, procursus simple except distally, bulb with T-shaped process and transparent straight embolus arising from bulb next to T-shaped process.

LEGS. Without spines and curved hairs, few vertical hairs (most hairs missing); retrolateral trichobothrium on tibia 1 at 9%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1, present on other tibiae; pseudosegments not visible in dissecting microscope.

VARIATION. Tibia 1 in 15 other males: 2.8-3.7 (mean 3.3). In most males, the bulb is rotated out from its normal position (cf. figs 79, 80, 107, 108 in Huber 2003b).

Female

In general similar to male but triads even less elevated and much closer together (distance PME-PME 105 µm). Tibia 1 in 5 females: 2.3-2.5. Epigynum extremely simple externally, unsclerotized ( Fig. 61 ) with pair of tiny pockets near posterior rim; internal genitalia as in Fig. 115 .

Distribution

Known from several localities in Kenya and Tanzania ( Fig. 25 ).

Figures

Figs 1 - 15. — 1. Artema atlanta Walckenaer, 1837 from Mbutali, Kenya. — 2. Leptopholcus tipula (Simon, 1907) from Semuliki, Uganda. — 3. Smeringopus mpanga Huber, 2012 from Kalinzu F. R., Uganda. — 4. Pholcus taita Huber, 2011 from Taita Mountains, Kenya. — 5. Quamtana kabale Huber, 2003 from Ruwenzori, Uganda. — 6. Quamtana nyahururu sp. nov. from Thompson Falls, Kenya. — 7 - 8. Spermophora minotaura Berland, 1920 from Mt. Kenya (7: dark morph; 8: light morph). — 9. Spermophora mau sp. nov. from near Elburgon, Kenya. — 10. Spermophora kirinyaga sp. nov. from Mt. Kenya, Kenya. — 11. Buitinga nigrescens (?) (Berland, 1920) from Ol Donyo Sabuk, Kenya. — 12. Buitinga ruhiza Huber, 2003 from Buhoma, Uganda. — 13. Buitinga batwa sp. nov. from Mgahinga Gorilla N. P., Uganda. — 14. Buitinga ruwenzori Huber, 2003 from Ruwenzori, Uganda. — 15. Buitinga griswoldi Huber, 2003 from Buhoma, Uganda. Photos BAH.

Figs 50-69. — 50-52. Spermophora kirinyaga sp. nov., ♂ (50) and ♀ (51, 52). — 53-56. Spermophora minotaura Berland, 1920, ♀♀, dark morph (53, 54) and light morph (55, 56). — 57-58. Spermophora kyambura sp. nov., ♂. — 59-61. Quamtana nyahururu sp. nov., ♂ (59, 60) and ♀ (61). — 62-63. Crossopriza johncloudsleyi Deeleman-Reinhold & van Harten, 2001, cleared ♀ genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. — 64-65. Buitinga batwa sp. nov., cleared ♀ genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. — 66-67. Spermophora maathaiae sp. nov., cleared ♀ genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. — 68. Spermophora bukusu sp. nov., cleared ♀ genitalia, ventral view. — 69. Spermophora kyambura sp. nov., cleared ♀ genitalia, dorsal view .

Figs 111 - 115. Quamtana nyahururu sp. nov. 111 - 112. Right ♂ palp, retrolateral and prolateral views. 113. ♂ chelicerae, frontal view. 114. ♂ cheliceral apophysis with modified hairs. 115. ♀ genitalia, cleared dorsal view. b: genital bulb; ba: bulbal apophysis; e: embolus; ep: epigynal pockets; pr: procursus. Scale lines: 0.05 mm (114), 0.2 mm (113, 115), 0.5 mm (111 - 112).

Figs 24 - 27. Known distributions of the genera Physocyclus, Quamtana, Smeringopus and Spermophora in East Africa. For detailed maps of Quamtana see Huber (2003 b), of Smeringopus see Huber (2012) and of Spermophora see Huber (2003 a). Squares: unidentified / undescribed specimens.