Tafana quelchi
Creators: name: De Oliveira, Luiz Fernando M.
name: Brescovit, Antonio Domingos
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Anyphaenidae
Tafana
Tafana quelchi

description: Tafana quelchi (Pocock, 1895)
Figs 13, 32H, 34
Aysha quelchii Pocock, 1895: 140–143, fig. 1 (syntypes: adult male and immature male from Monte Roraima [frontier between Brazil and Venezuela], deposited in BMNH, examined).
Anyphaena quelchii – Pocock 1900: 67, figs 2c–d. — Bonnet 1955: 347.
Tafana quelchii – Brescovit 1997: 89 (designation of lectotype and paralectotype).
Diagnosis
Males of Tafana quelchi differ from those of all other species in the genus by the presence of a bifid retrolateral tibial apophysis and by the apical prolateral tibial apophysis (Fig. 13C–E). Females are readily recognized by having the copulatory ducts coiled, covering the primary spermathecae (Figs 13G, 32H).
Material examined
Syntypes BRAZIL • 1 ♂, 1 immature ♂; Monte Roraima [frontier between Brazil and Venezuela]; J.J. Quelch leg.; BMNH 1895.3.30.1.
Other material
GUYANA • 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀; Monte Roraima [frontier between Brazil and Guyana]; 14 Mar. 1899; J.J. Quelch leg; BMNH 1899.3.14-23.
VENEZUELA – Bolívar • 1 ♀; Monte Roraima; Parque Nacional Canaima, Trilha Chirimatá; [5°20′00″ N, 61°30′00″ W]; 15 Nov. 2001; M.O. Gonzaga leg.; IBSP 23131.
Description
Male (BMNH 1895.3.30.1)
COLOR. Exemplar probably discolored. Carapace reddish brown, darker in cephalic region (Fig. 13A). Labium, sternum and endites reddish brown. Chelicerae reddish brown. Legs I–III brown, darker at tarsi. The metatarsus and tarsus of leg IV are lost. Abdomen brown with dark dorsal spots (Fig. 13A).
MEASUREMENTS. Total length 11.3, carapace length 5.3, width 4.2. Clypeus height 0.175. Eye diameters and interdistances: AME 0.15, ALE 0.22, PME 0.26, PLE 0.26; AME–AME 0.08, AME–ALE 0.05, PME–PME 0.18, PME–PLE 0.2, ALE–PLE 0.13. Chelicerae 1.95 long, with five promarginal teeth and seven retromarginal denticles.
LEG MEASUREMENTS. I—femur 5.1 /patella 2.3/ tibia 5.2/ metatarsus 4.6 / tarsus 2.2/ total 19.4; II— 5.0/ 2.3/ 4.8 /4.3 / 1.6/ 18.0; III—4.2 /1.9 / 3.5/ 3.9/ 1.4/ 14.9; IV—5.3 / 2.1 /4.6 / 12.0.
LEG SPINATION. I—tibia v2-2-2, p1-1-0, r1-1-0, metatarsus v2-0-0, p1-0-0, r1-0-0; II—tibia v2-2-2, p1-1- 0, r1-1-0, metatarsus p1-0-0, r1-0-0; III—tibia p1-1-0, r1-1-0; IV—tibia r1-1-0.
PALP. Retrolateral tibial apophysis branching and prolateral tibial apophysis short; cymbium without retrolateral projection; embolus long; apophysis at the base of the embolus short with the apex curved; median apophysis slender and curved; ventral tegular process with hyaline area; projected subtegulum; sperm duct in vertical position with secondary looping reaching the apex of the tegulum (Fig. 13C–E).
ABDOMEN. Length 5.6, epigastric furrow 0.89 from tracheal spiracle, spiracle 2.75 from base of spinnerets.
Female (BMNH 1899.3.14)
COLOR. Exemplar probably discolored. Carapace brown, darker in cephalic region (Fig. 13B). Labium, sternum and endites reddish brown. Chelicerae reddish brown. Legs I–IV brown, darker at tarsi. Abdomen gray with dorsal spots (Fig. 13B).
MEASUREMENTS. Total length 11.8, carapace length 5.3, width 3.9. Clypeus height 0.17. Eye diameters and interdistances: AME 0.13, ALE 0.26, PME 0.25, PLE 0.25; AME–AME 0.38, AME–ALE 0.06, PME–PME 0.26, PME–PLE 0.22, ALE–PLE 0.12. Chelicerae 2.65 long, with four promarginal teeth and eight retromarginal denticles.
LEG MEASUREMENTS. I—femur 4.95 /patella 2.3 /tibia 4.8 /metatarsus 4.1 / tarsus 0.0/ total 16.15; II— absent; III—absent; IV—4.5/ 2.1/ 4.7/ 6.1 /1.75 / 19.15.
LEG SPINATION. I—tibia v2-2-2, p0-1-0, r1-1-1, metatarsus v2-0-0, p1-0-0, r1-0-0; IV—tibia p1-1-1.
EPIGYNUM. Anterior field, hood circular; lateral lobes sinuous, largest in the anterior region; atrium wide with depression in the median field. Internally, copulatory ducts large and coiled, covering the primary spermathecae; secondary spermathecae rounded and fertilization ducts long (Figs 13F–G, 32H).
ABDOMEN. Length 6.5, epigastric furrow 1.17 from tracheal spiracle, spiracle 3.25 from base of spinnerets.
Distribution
Venezuela (Fig. 34).
description: Published as part of De Oliveira, Luiz Fernando M. & Brescovit, Antonio Domingos, 2021, Taxonomic revision and cladistic analysis of ghost spiders of the genus Tafana Simon, 1903 (Araneae: Dionycha, Anyphaenidae), with the descriptions of twelve new species, pp. 1-77 in European Journal of Taxonomy 742 on pages 21-23, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2021.742.1291, http://zenodo.org/record/4655404