Selenops zairensis Benoit, 1968

Corronca, J. A., 2002, A taxonomic revision of the afrotropical species of Selenops Latreille, 1819 (Araneae, Selenopidae), Zootaxa 107, pp. 1-35 : 32

Selenops zairensis Benoit, 1968 ( Figs. 81­83 )

Selenops zairensis Benoit, 1968 . Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr. 77(1­2):128, figs. 11­12. Female holotype from Zaïre, Ile Biawa, 7/VIII/38, Vissers Col., in MRAC N° 22715, examined. S. zairensis Benoit, 1968 . Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr. 83:128.

Diagnosis. In the females of S. zairensis and S. pygmaeus the general shape of the spermathecae ( Fig. 82 ) are very similar. However they can be distinguished from each other by the shape of the elongated middle field and the lateral lobes present near the midline in S. zairensis ( Fig. 81 ).

Female. The female was described by Benoit (1968). Colour pattern of opisthosoma is shown in Fig. 83 and the epigynum and spermathecae in Figs. 81­82 .

New records. LIBERIA?: Aircraft from Liberia, 1 female, 31/III/67, Byrnes Col., CAS. ZAÏRE: Luholo River (900m), 1 female subadult, 10/IX/57, E. Ross & R. Leech Col., CAS. ANGOLA: Porto Amboim, 1 female subadult, 4/X/49, B. Malkin Col., CAS.

Known distribution. Ivory Coast ( Benoit 1971), Angola, Zaïre and Liberia?

Figures

FIGURES 74 ­ 83. 74 ­ 78. Selenops vigilans Pocock, Fig 74. Male palp, lateral view. 75. Male palp, ventral view. 76. Epigynum, ventral view. 77. Vulva, dorsal view. 78. Colour pattern of opisthosoma, dorsal view. 79 ­ 80. Selenops viron sp. nov., female holotype, 79. Epigynum, ventral view. 80. Vulva, dorsal view. 81 ­ 83. Selenops zairensis Benoit, female holotype, 81. Epigynum, ventral view. 82. Vulva, dorsal view. 83. Colour pattern of opisthosoma, dorsal view. Scale: genitalia = 0.25 mm, other drawings = 1 mm.