Mallinus " sp.

Haddad, Charles R., Henrard, Arnaud & Jocque, Rudy, 2019, Revision of the ant-eating spider genus Mallinus Simon, 1893 (Araneae, Zodariidae), ZooKeys 822, pp. 141-158 : 150-154

" Mallinus " sp. Figs 58-64

Material examined.

NAMIBIA: remote place in north-west Namibia about 50 km from coast, 17°37'S, 12°12'E, 13-16.X.1988, leg. E. Griffin (pitfall traps), 1♂ (SMN 40843).

Remarks.

We have included the description of a second species in this paper based on a single poorly preserved male from Namibia without formally naming it, as it shows several clear differences to M. nitidiventris that make its generic placement dubious: 1) the lack of a palpal conductor on the palp, and 2) the AME that are much larger than the others, and the ALE that are very wide apart and situated in the far lateral corners of the clypeus. This species most likely represents a new genus, and we hope that its description and illustration here will encourage researchers to find fresh material of both sexes and describe and diagnose this taxon thoroughly.

Male (Namibia, SMN 40843). Measurements: CL 1.35, CW 0.92, AL 1.25, AW 1.18, AH 1.12, TL 2.70, SL 0.71, SW 0.64, AME–AME 0.05, AME–ALE 0.25, ALE–ALE 0.69, PME–PME 0.18, PME–PLE 0.13, PLE–PLE 0.53, MOQAW 0.33, MOQPW 0.30, MOQL 0.28.

Length of leg segments: I 0.82 + 0.33 + 0.51 + 0.66 + 0.44 = 2.76; II 0.77 + 0.34 + 0.56 + 0.77 + 0.49 = 2.93; III 0.79 + 0.33 + 0.51 + 0.80 + 0.48 = 2.91; IV 1.00 + 0.36 + 0.74 + 1.15 + 0.54 = 3.79.

Colour: carapace medium brown (Figs 58, 60), with dark area around AME, darker stripe between PME (Fig. 61) and dark radiating striae; chelicerae medium brown; endites and labium pale brown; sternum pale brown, with thin darker margin (Fig. 59); leg femora, patellae and tibiae uniform pale brown; metatarsi and tarsi yellow; abdomen dark sepia dorsally (Fig. 58), pale grey laterally and ventrally, area in front of epigastric furrow yellow; spinnerets creamy-yellow. Carapace: cephalic region very broad, almost as broad as thoracic region (Fig. 58); texture finely granulate, without setae. Eyes: AME largest, diameter 1.9 times ALE diameter; AME separated by distance equal to 0.3 times their diameter; AME separated from ALE by 1.6 times AME diameter; clypeus height 1.9 times AME diameter at AME, 2.9 times ALE diameter at ALE; ALE very far apart, situated in far lateral corners of clypeus (Fig. 61); PME and PLE subequal in diameter; PME separated by distance equal to 3.0 times their diameter; PME separated from PLE by distance slightly less than 2.2 times PME diameter; CW:PERW = 2.06:1. Sternum shield-shaped (Fig. 59), shallowly rebordered along lateral margins, with few scattered short setae. Legs with few spines (spination of specimen probably incomplete: FII v1 III v1; TI v1-1 II v1), with some dispersed short erect setae and incised setae. Abdomen slightly shorter than carapace, almost as high as long or broad, with shiny scutum covering most of dorsum and clear circumferential folds (Fig. 62); dorsum sparsely covered in short straight setae, denser on posterior slope and venter; venter sclerotized in front of epigastric fold, with wide, transverse inframamillary sclerite. Palp with long, straight, strongly tapered, sharp RTA; embolus simple, slightly curved; MA membranous, looping; conductor absent (Figs 63, 64). Other characters as in genus description of Mallinus .

Female unknown.

Distribution.

Only known from a single locality in north-western Namibia (Fig. 67).