Afroneutria, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Polotow, Daniele
name: Jocqué, Rudy
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Ctenidae
Afroneutria

description: Genus Afroneutria gen. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:59ECDA85-C86E-416E-A98D-CB1DD6AB5DA1
Type species
Ctenus velox Blackwall, 1865. Designated here.
Diagnosis
Afroneutria species can be distinguished from the remaining Ctenidae by the presence of a synapomorphic laminar projection on the embolus tip (Fig. 1 B; Polotow & Brescovit 2014: character 25, fig. 3). The genus can also be distinguished from the remaining Cteninae spiders by the presence of the following set of characters: elongated cup-shaped median apophysis and elongated and laminar embolus on the male palp (Fig. 1 A–B); large lateral projections on the epigynum and the spermathecae divided into two parts, dorsal and ventral, in the vulva (Fig. 1 C).
Etymology
The generic name is a combination of the first part of Afrotropical and the last part of Phoneutria Perty, 1833, a Neotropical genus that bears superficial similarities with the genus described here. The gender is feminine.
Description
Ecribellate ctenids. Total body length (males and females) 12.40–32.00. Carapace piriform (Fig. 2 A, C), brown, covered by white hairs in longitudinal median area and in lateral area; tuft of long white hairs between PME; border with white hairs; thoracic groove longitudinal, in posterior third; except A. erythrochelis comb. nov., which is covered by golden hairs. Chilum divided. Clypeus with long erect black bristles. Ctenid eye pattern 2-4-2, with anterior and posterior row recurved in dorsal view. Eyes round, except oval anterior lateral eyes. Chelicerae dark brown, covered by white hairs (except A. erythrochelis comb. nov., covered with golden hairs); promargin with three teeth, the median higher than the laterals; retromargin with four similar sized teeth; prominent basal condyle; intermarginal denticles present only in A. immortalis comb. nov. and A. hybrida sp. nov. Endites reddish brown with lighter apical area, external lateral margin excavated, distally bearing dense apical scopulae and subapical serrula. Labium dark brown, distally rounded, bearing dense apical scopula. Sternum reddish brown, oval, not extending between coxae IV. Legs reddish brown. Male legs more elongated and slender than female legs. Trochanter notched. Tarsus with claw tufts (Fig. 1 D–F) composed of tenent setae, specialized in adhesion to smooth surfaces (Ramírez 2014). Abdomen oval, with tufts of white hairs and numerous black setae on anterior dorsal area (Figs 2 A–D, 4 A–D, 6 A–D, 8 A–D, 10 A–B). Males and females with specific ventral coloration pattern on abdomen (Figs 2 B, D; 4 B, D; 6 B, D; 8 B, D; 10 B). Male palp (Figs 1 A–B, 3 A–C, 5 A–C, 7 A–B, 9 A–C, 11 A–B, 13 A–D, 14 A–B, 15 A–D): tibia with short VTA; short RTA with three projections, except A. erythrochelis comb. nov. with two projections and A. hybrida sp. nov. with truncated tip; cymbium with elongated tip; subtegulum prolateral, except A. erythrochelis comb. nov. with retrolateral subtegulum; tegulum oval; median apophysis cup-shaped and elongated; embolus elongated with retrolateral area hyaline and complex tip; locking lobes present; conductor short and partially sclerotized. Epigynum (Figs 3 D–E, 5 D–E, 7 C–D, 9 D–E, 12 A–D): divided in median field and two lateral fields; median field with anterior area narrow and posterior area swollen and large; lateral field with lateral projections; lateral projections covering part of median field; copulatory opening with lighter area; spermathecae divided in two parts, ventral and dorsal; copulatory duct ending in ventral part; fertilization duct arising of dorsal part (Figs 1 C, 3 D–E, 5 D–E, 7 C–D, 9 D–E).
Composition
Five species: Afroneutria velox comb. nov., A. immortalis comb. nov., A. erythrochelis comb. nov., A. quadrimaculata sp. nov. and A. hybrida sp. nov.
Distribution
Central and southeast Africa (Figs 16 A–B).
description: Published as part of Polotow, Daniele & Jocqué, Rudy, 2015, Afroneutria, a new spider genus of Afrotropical Ctenidae (Arachnida, Araneae), pp. 1-27 in European Journal of Taxonomy 121 on pages 3-5, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2015.121, http://zenodo.org/record/885459