Chinja chinja Polotow & Griswold 2018, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Polotow, Daniele
name: Griswold, Charles
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Zoropsidae
Chinja
Chinja chinja

description: Chinja chinja sp. nov.
Figures 1, 2B–C, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10
Type material. Holotype male from East Usambara Mountains at Amani, 5°5.7'S, 38°38'E, elev. 950 m, lringa
Region, Tanzania, collected 1–10 November 1995 by C. Griswold, D. Ubick, and N. Scharff, CASENT9006127, deposited in CAS.
Etymology. The species epithet is an arbitrary combination of letters.
Diagnosis. Males of C. chinja can be distinguished from those of C. scharffi by having the apex of the embolus jagged or irregular in outline (Figs 3B, 7F), with the proximal margin of the embolus entire (Figs 3A, 7A, E), in having a retrodorsal projection middorsally on the palpal tibia (Fig. 3C), and the RTA with the ventral branch broad and the retrobasal branch pointed (Fig. 3C). The females of C. chinja can be distinguished from those of C. scharffi by having the epigynum lateral teeth narrower (Fig. 3D) and the median plate not extending as far posteriad (Figs 3D, 6A) as in C. scharffi (Fig. 4D).
Description. Male (holotype): Total length 3.40. Markings as in Fig. 1A. Carapace 2.05 long, 1.30 wide, 0.75 high; clypeus 0.90 high. Eye diameters: AME 0.06, ALE 0.10, PME 0.09, PLE 0.10. Chelicerae 0.70 long; sternum 0.95 long, 0.90 wide; labium 0.30 long, 0.30 wide; palpal coxae 0.55 long, 0.25 wide. Spination: palp: d0-0-1, p0- 0-1, r0-0-1; leg I: femur d1-1-1, p0-0-2, tibia p0-1-1-0, v2-2 -2-2, metatarsus p0-1-0, v2-2 -2; leg II: femur d1-1-1, p0-0-1, tibia p0-1-1-0, r0-1-0-0, v2-2 -2-2 [retroventral spines much stouter than proventral], metatarsus p0-1-2-0, r0-1-1-0, v2-2 -2; leg III: femur d0-1-1-1, p0-1-1-0, r0-0-2, tibia d0-1-1-0, p0-1-1-0, r0-1-1-0, v2-2 -2, metatarsus d1-0-0-0, r0-1-2-0, v2-2 -2; leg IV: femur d0-1-1-1, p0-0-1-2, r0-0-1-1, tibia d0-1-1-0, p0-0-1-1, r0-0-1-1, v2-2 -2, metatarsus p1-1-1, r0-1-1, v2-2 -2. Leg measurements (Femur + Patella + Tibia + Metatarsus + Tarsus = [Total]): I: 1.80 + 0.80 + 1.70 + 1.30 + 0.90 = [6.50]; II: 1.60 + 0.80 + 1.30 + 1.15 + 0.80 = [5.65]; III: 1.50 + 0.65 + 1.10 + 1.30 + 0.75 = [5.30]; IV: 1.95 + 0.80 + 1.65 + 1.95 +1.15 = [7.50]; palpus: 0.80 + 0.30 + 0.40 + NA + 0.70 = [2.20]. Palp: palpal cymbium 0.88 femur length, tibia with a retrodorsal projection middorsally (Fig. 3C), and RTA with ventral branch broad and the retrobasal branch pointed (Fig. 3C); tegulum with large prolateral projection (Fig. 3A); MA short, less than ½ length of tegulum, with an apical hook (Figs 3A, C, 7D–G); apex of embolus jagged or irregular in outline (Figs 3B, 7F), with proximal margin of the embolus entire (Figs 3A, 7A, E); prolateral locking lobe present (Fig. 3B). Female (Amani, CASENT9006132): Total length 3.70. Markings as in male and as in Figs 1B, 2B–C. Carapace 1.75 long, 1.35 wide, 0.56 high; clypeus 0.03 high. Eye diameters: AME 0.05, ALE 0.10, PME 0.09, PLE 0.11. Chelicerae 0.84 long; sternum 0.95 long, 0.85 wide; labium 0.30 long and wide; palpal coxae 0.60 long, 0.25 wide. Spination: palp: femur d0-0-1-1, tibia d0-1-0, p0-1-0, tarsus d0-1-0, p0-2-1-0; leg I: femur d0-0-0-1, tibia v2-2 -2, metatarsus v2-2 -2; leg II: femur d10-0-0, tibia v2-2 -2-2 [retroventral spines much stouter than proventral], metatarsus v2-2 -2; leg III: femur d1-1-1, tibia d0-1-0, p1-0-1-0, r1-0-1-0, v1 [pv.]-2-2, metatarsus p0-1-0-2, r0-1-0-0, v2-2 -2; leg IV: femur d1-0-0-0, r0-0-0-1, tibia d0-1-1-0, p1-0-0-1, r0-1-0-1, v1 [pv.]-2-2, metatarsus d1-0-0-0, p1-0-0-2, r0-1-0-2, v0-2-2-2. Leg measurements (Femur + Patella + Tibia + Metatarsus + Tarsus = [Total]): I: 1.50 + 0.70 + 1.25 + 1.00 + 0.75 = [5.20]; II: 1.20 + 0.70 + 1.00 + 0.95 + 0.90 = [4.75]; III: 1.20 + 0.55 + 0.85 + 1.00 + 0.70 = [4.30]; IV: 1.55 + 0.65 + 1.40 + 1.60 + 0.90 = [6.10]; palpus: 0.65 + 0.35 + 0.35 + NA + 0.60 = [1.95]. Epigynum lateral teeth narrow (Fig. 3D) and median lobe not extending as far posteriad (Figs 3D, 6A) as in C. scharffi (Fig. 4D); vulva as in Fig. 3E.
Variation. Male (N=10): total length 2.40–3.80; ratios of carapace length/width1.30–1.38, carapace width/ height 2.07–2.90, PER/AER 1.21–1.34, OAL/OQL 1.07–1.33, cheliceral length/clypeal height 18.67–30.00, sternum length/width 1.06–1.40, length femur I/carapace length 0.80–0.93, palpal tarsus/femur 0.85–1.20. Female (N=10): total length 3.70–5.00; ratios of carapace length/width 1.30–1.57, carapace width/height 1.91–2.88, PER/ AER 1.20–1.37, OAL/OQL 1.00–1.27, cheliceral length/clypeal height 25.00–36.67, sternum length/width 1.06– 1.22, length femur I/carapace length 0.74–0.89, palpal tarsus/femur 0.87–1.00.
Material examined. TANZANIA: lringa Region: East Usambara Mts., Amani, 5°5.7'S, 38°38'E, elev. 950 m, [palpus drawn] 1–10 November 1995, C. Griswold, D. Ubick, and N. Scharff leg., holotype ♂, CASENT9006127 (CAS); 1♂, 2♀, CASENT9006126 (CAS); 1♂, 1♀, CASENT9065520 (CAS); collected by sifting leaf litter from tree buttress, [measured], 1♀, CASENT9006132 (CAS); pitfall traps, 1–10 November 1995, C. Griswold, D. Ubick, and N. Scharff leg., 1♂, CASENT9006130 (CAS); Amani, East Usambara Mts., elev. 1000m, [SEM preparation 16-8], 15 June 1980, M. Stoltze & N. Scharff leg., 1♂, CASENT9006135 (ZMUC); Sangarawe Forest, 5°6.5'S, 38°35.7'E, elev. 990 m, 5–6 November 1995, C. Griswold, D. Ubick, and N. Scharff leg., 1♀, CASENT9006133 (CAS); 1♂, CASENT9006123 (CAS); 12 km SE Amani, Kihuhwi-Zigi Forest Reserve, 5°6.3'S, 38°40.6'E, 400–450 m elev., [female habitus drawn, JS], 2–4 November 1995, C. Griswold, D. Ubick, and N. Scharff leg., 1♀, CASENT9006139 (CAS); 1♀, CASENT9006138 (CAS), [SEM preparation, ♀ opisthosoma, stub 19-1], 1♀, CASENT9006140 (CAS); 2♀, 3 juveniles, CASENT9006124 (CAS); 2♀, 2 juveniles, CASENT9006125 (CAS); sifting leaf litter, 4 November 1995, D. Ubick, 1♀, CASENT9006134 (CAS); Tanga Region: Muheza District, Marimba Forest Reserve, 5°01'S, 38°41'E, 1995, Frontier Tanzania Expeditions leg., 1♂, CASENT9065521 (ZMUC); Kambai Forest Reserve, 4°59'S, 38°41'E, 1995, pitfall traps in vegetation plot #27, Frontier Tanzania Expeditions leg., 4♂, CASENT9006137 (ZMUC); pitfall traps in vegetation plot #30, Frontier Tanzania Expeditions leg., 2♂, CASENT9006136 (ZMUC).
Natural history. This species occurs in the leaf litter and on the soil surface of closed-canopy, moist forest.
Distribution. Eastern Usambara Mountains, Tanzania (Fig. 10).
description: Published as part of Polotow, Daniele & Griswold, Charles, 2018, Chinja, a new genus of spider from the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania (Araneae, Zoropsidae), pp. 545-562 in Zootaxa 4472 (3) on pages 548-552, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4472.3.7, http://zenodo.org/record/1440327