Spermophora ziama Huber &amp; Kwapong, 2013, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Huber, Bernhard A.
name: Kwapong, Peter
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Pholcidae
Spermophora
Spermophora ziama

description: <i>Spermophora ziama</i> sp. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0 ACE 7F4F-6D69-4F46-A1D3-ED54AAE3846D Figs 34, 92-105 <i>Spermophora</i> cf. <i>tonkoui</i> – Dimitrov <i>et al.</i> 2013 (DNA data). Diagnosis Distinguished from <i>S. tonkoui</i> (the only similar species and probably closest known relative; see below) by relatively shorter palpal elements (femur, tibia, bulb; Figs 100-101), by large hooked apophysis on bulb (Fig. 100; in <i>S. tonkoui</i> pair of small apophyses distally on long bulb), by shorter proximal frontal apophyses on male chelicerae (Fig. 103), and by pair of small pockets in posterior epigynal plate (Fig. 104). Etymology The species name is a noun in apposition, derived from the type locality. Type material Holotype &amp;male;, in ZFMK (Ar 10532). Type data GUINEA: Guinée Forestière: Forêt Classée de Ziama (8°24.2’N, 9°19.3’W), 640 m a.s.l., 2 Dec. 2008 (B.A. Huber). Other material examined GUINEA: Guinée Forestière: 1 &amp;male; 3 &amp;female;&amp;female; in ZFMK (Ar 10533), same data as holotype; 1 &amp;male; 1 &amp;female; in ZFMK (Ar 10534), same data, taken alive and died from heat; 4 &amp;female;&amp;female; 1 juv. in pure ethanol in ZFMK (Gui 67), same data. Description Male (holotype) MEASUREMENTS. Total body length 2.0, carapace width 0.9. Leg 1: 19.3 (4.6 + 0.4 + 5.0 + 7.1 + 2.2), tibia 2: 3.0, tibia 3: 2.1, tibia 4: 2.8; tibia 1 L/d: 57. Distance PME-PME 345 µm, diameter PME 70 µm, distance PME-ALE 35 µm, no AME. COLOR. Carapace and clypeus mostly light brown except lighter median band, sternum dark brown, legs ochre-yellow, abdomen mostly dark except dorsal median mark and book-lung covers pale gray. BODY. Habitus as in Figs 92-93; ocular area barely elevated, each triad on short stalk directed laterally, with pair of elongate furrows behind each stalk; carapace without median furrow; clypeus unmodified; sternum wider than long (0.65/0.50), unmodified. Chelicerae as in Figs 102-103, with pair of lateral processes proximally, pair of frontal apophyses proximally close together, and pair of frontal apophyses distally provided with five tiny modified (conical) hairs each; without stridulatory ridges. PALPS. As in Figs 94-95 and 100-101, coxa unmodified, trochanter with retrolateral apophysis curved towards dorsally, femur with retrolatero-dorsal process proximally, widened distally, tibia very long, dorso-distal rim slightly projecting, procursus complex, apparently with two hinges in proximal part, with long membranous process arising from hinge retrolaterally, distal whitish part provided with many short pseudotrichia ventrally; bulb elongated, with hooked apophysis and long weakly sclerotized embolus. LEGS. Without spines and curved hairs, few vertical hairs (most hairs missing); retrolateral trichobothrium on tibia 1 at 14%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1, present on other tibiae; tarsus 1 with&gt;30 very indistinct pseudosegments. VARIATION. Tibia 1 in 2 other males: 4.8, 5.4. Female In general similar to male but triads closer together (distance PME-PME 185 µm), furrows behind ocular area less distinct (Fig. 96). Tibia 1 in 2 females: 4.6 (both). Epigynum large bulging area with median internal tube-like structure, posterior narrow plate with pair of small pockets (Figs 97, 98, 104); internal genitalia as in Figs 99, 105. Relationships Several unique characters indicate that <i>S. ziama</i> sp. nov. is closely related to <i>S. tonkoui</i>: curved retrolateral apophysis on male palpal trochanter; procursus with long transparent retrolateral process and distinctive prolateral sclerite between two putative hinges; distal whitish part of procursus with many short pseudotrichia ventrally; male cheliceral armature (proximal frontal apophyses close together); and tube-like internal structure in female genitalia. The relationships of these two species to other taxa remain obscure. <i>Spermophora tonkoui</i> was explicitly assigned tentatively to the genus (Huber 2003b), and recent analyses of molecular data of <i>S. ziama</i> sp. nov. (Dimitrov <i>et al.</i> 2013: 12 S, 18 S, h3) provided contradicting results, mostly poorly supported but suggesting an affinity to a group consisting of African <i>Spermophora</i> and the genera <i>Buitinga</i> Huber, 2003, <i>Paramicromerys</i> Millot, 1946, <i>Spermophorides</i> Wunderlich, 1992, and <i>Belisana</i> Thorell, 1898 (Dimitrov <i>et al.</i> 2013: supplement fig. S 2). Natural history The spiders were found in crevices in the ground, between soil and roots or between soil and rocks. Distribution Known from type locality only (Fig. 34).
description: Published as part of <i>Huber, Bernhard A. &amp; Kwapong, Peter, 2013, West African pholcid spiders: an overview, with descriptions of five new species (Araneae, Pholcidae), pp. 1-44 in European Journal of Taxonomy 59</i> on pages 34-38, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2013.59, http://zenodo.org/record/1406590
description: {"references": ["Dimitrov D., Astrin J. J. &amp; Huber B. A. 2013. Pholcid spider molecular systematics revisited, with new insights into the biogeography and the evolution of the group. Cladistics 29 (2): 132 - 146. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1096 - 0031.2012.00419. x", "Huber B. A. 2003 b. High species diversity in one of the dominant groups of spiders in East African montane forests (Araneae: Pholcidae: Buitinga n. gen., Spermophora Hentz). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 137 (4): 555 - 619. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1046 / j. 1096 - 3642.2003.00053. x", "Huber B. A. 2003 a. Cladistic analysis of Malagasy pholcid spiders reveals generic level endemism: revision of Zatavua n. gen. and Paramicromerys Millot (Pholcidae, Araneae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 137 (2): 261 - 318. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1046 / j. 1096 - 3642.2003.00046. x"]}