Apneumonella taitatavetaensis Zhao & Li

Song, Yang, Zhao, Huifeng, Luo, Yufa, Kioko, Grace M., Kioko, Esther N. & Li, Shuqiang, 2017, The first record of Telemidae from Kenya, with the description of two new species (Arachnida, Araneae), ZooKeys 725, pp. 1-15 : 3-6

Apneumonella taitatavetaensis Zhao & Li sp. n. Figs 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10

Type material.

Holotype ♂(NMK). Kenya: Taita-Taveta County: Wundanyi Town, Ngangao Forest, S03°21.30', E38°20.41', 1821 m, 23.VII.2016, G.M. Kioko, Q.Y. Zhao & Z.Y. Yao. Paratypes. 1♂ and 3♀ (IZCAS), same data as holotype.

Etymology.

The specific name refers to the type locality; adjective.

Diagnosis.

This new species is similar to A. oculata but females can be distinguished by their globular abdomen with two outgrowths near the carapace (arrowed on Fig. 6A), which are not present in A. oculata . Another difference is that the diameter of the receptacle is four times the diameter of the insemination duct (Fig. 6C) as compared to that of A. oculata , whose receptacle is twice the diameter of the insemination duct. The ocular quadrangle width is half of the carapace width while that of A. oculata is one-third of the carapace width.

Description.

Male (holotype). Total length 1.06. Carapace 0.45 long, 0.41 wide. Abdomen 0.58 long, 0.46 wide. Carapace reddish brown, with dark spots on the mid-thoracic area and obscure radial stripes around it (Fig. 4A). Six eyes, well-developed, encircled by black rings, clypeus 0.05 long. Chelicerae, labium, endites, sternum and legs yellow, with dark brown pattern. Cheliceral promargin with 2 big teeth and 5 granulous denticles and retromargin with 4 triangular denticles. Leg measurements: I 2.10 (0.62, 0.16, 0.59, 0.38, 0.35); II 1.75 (0.53, 0.12, 0.46, 0.34, 0.30); III 1.41 (0.40, 0.10, 0.33, 0.34, 0.24); IV 1.83 (0.54, 0.11, 0.50, 0.38, 0.30). Secretory orifices of tibial glands round (Fig. 9 B–C). Abdomen light brown with a yellow spot centrally.

Palp: tibia thick, 1.7 times longer than patella; cymbium straight and thick, 1.8 times longer than tibia. Bulb ovoid, with a finger-like tegular apophysis on its middle-upper part and several wrinkles basally (arrowed on Fig. 5 A–B). The bulb apex extends into a nearly conical embolus (Figs 4 B–D, 5 A–D), the surface of the embolus is rough with dense spine-like structures (arrowed on Fig. 5D).

Female. Total length 0.98. Carapace 0.42 long, 0.37 wide. Abdomen 0.55 long, 0.46 wide. Eyes encircled by black rings, clypeus 0.04 long. Carapace light brown, sternum dark brown. Abdomen globular with two outgrowths near carapace (arrowed on Fig. 6A). Other coloration and pattern similar to male (Fig. 6 A–B). Leg measurements: I 1.83 (0.54, 0.13, 0.50, 0.34, 0.32); II 1.58 (0.48, 0.11, 0.43, 0.28, 0.28); III 1.34 (0.38, 0.11, 0.35, 0.27, 0.23); IV 1.78 (0.53, 0.11, 0.48, 0.39, 0.27). Insemination duct thin and short, receptacle membranous and baglike with a single tube gradually expanding as a concave sac, and the diameter of receptacle four times larger than that of the insemination duct (Fig. 6C).

Habitat.

Leaf litter in cloud forest.

Comments.

Apneumonella Fage, 1921 was described with A. oculata Fage, 1921 from Tanzania as the type species. The new species shares several characters with A. oculata , including the shape of the receptacle and denticulation of the chelicerae. Furthermore, the shape of tibial glands in this species is different from the plate-shaped structure of the tibial glands in Telema and Usofila , but similar to the lined structure in Apneumonella ( Emerit 1985). The collection locality of A. taitatavetaensis sp. n. is approximately 150 km from the type locality of A. oculata .

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality (Fig. 10).