Corresponding author: Charles R. Haddad (
Academic editor: Y. Mutafchiev
A new species of the spider family
Wang C, Li S, Haddad CR (2018) A new species of the spider genus
The spider family
The genus
In this paper, a new species of
Two specimens (one male, one female) were collected by sifting leaf litter in an Afromontane forest and were subsequently examined and measured using a Leica M205 C stereomicroscope. Further details were studied under an Olympus BX41 compound microscope. All drawings were made using a drawing tube attached to an Olympus BX41 compound microscope and then inked onto ink jet plotter paper. The male left palp and female genitalia were examined and illustrated after they were dissected from the spiders’ bodies. The internal genitalia of the female were removed and treated in lactic acid before illustration. All type specimens were preserved in 80% ethanol solution. Photographs were taken with an Olympus C7070 wide zoom digital camera (7.1 megapixels) mounted on an Olympus SZX12 stereomicroscope. The images were montaged using Helicon image stacking software. All measurements are given in millimetres. Leg measurements are shown as: total length (femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus). Leg segments were measured on their dorsal side.
Abbreviations used in text include
The specific name is derived from the Latin word “
Males of this new species can be distinguished from all other species in the genus by the distally broadened embolus, forming two rounded lobes (Figs
Male (paratype,
Total length 1.32. Prosoma 0.63 long, 0.55 wide. Opisthosoma 0.66 long, 0.63 wide. Carapace, sternum saffron yellow (Fig.
Female (holotype,
Similar to male in colouration and general features, but with smaller body size and shorter legs (Figs
Holotype ♀, SOUTH AFRICA:
After the male paratype was photographed and measurements taken, the abdomen broke off and was lost.
Locality records for
Species of
Females of
Although these genitalic features potentially provide useful evidence regarding the phylogenetic relationships between
The field work that led to the discovery of this species was made possible through a grant to the third author from the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) in the Thuthuka programme (TTK2008050500003). Jan-Andries Neethling (University of the Free State) kindly provided the material he collected for study. This study was financially supported by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China to Chunxia Wang (NSFC-31471977) and Shuqiang Li (NSFC-31530067, 31471960) and by the NRF Competitive Funding for Rated Researchers programme to Charles Haddad (grant #95569).