Smeringopus ngangao Huber 2012, new species
Creators: name: HUBER, BERNHARD A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Pholcidae
Smeringopus
Smeringopus ngangao

description: Smeringopus ngangao new species
Figs. 6–7, 138–154, 165–168
Type. Male holotype from Kenya, Coast Province, Taita Hills, Ngangao Forest (3°22.2’S, 38°20.4’E), 1810 m a.s.l., 19.i.2010 (B.A. Huber), in ZFMK (Ar 8546).
Etymology. The name is a noun in apposition, derived from the type locality.
Diagnosis. Small species, easily distinguished from known congeners by shapes of procursus and embolus (Figs. 149–152) and by cheliceral armature (one pair of relatively large apophyses in unusual frontal and proximal position; Figs. 144, 153).
Male (holotype). Total body length 4.5, carapace width 1.7. Leg 1: 39.6 (10.6 + 0.6 + 9.6 + 17.5 + 1.3), tibia 2: 6.9, tibia 3: 5.5, tibia 4: 7.1; tibia 1 L/d: 62. Habitus as in Figs. 138 and 139. Carapace brown with lighter areas beside ocular area, clypeus with indistinct pair of brown lines and brown rim, sternum monochromous brown, legs brown, tips of femora and tibiae lighter, abdomen with distinct pattern dorsally and ventrally. Distance PME-PME 115 µm, diameter PME 170 µm, distance PME-ALE 45 µm, distance AME-AME 45 µm, diameter AME 140 µm. Ocular area slightly elevated, secondary eyes apparently without ‘pseudo-lenses’; deep thoracic pit. Chelicerae as in Fig. 153, with one pair of relatively large apophyses in unusual frontal and proximal position; each with one modified hair at tip (Fig. 166). Palps as in Figs. 142 and 143, coxa unmodified, trochanter with small retrolateral projection, femur with retrolateral furrow, proximal rim with apophysis, cymbium without projection near tarsal organ, procursus with large whitish protrusion prolaterally (Figs. 149, 150), bulb with simple hooked embolus (Figs. 151, 152). Legs without spines, few vertical hairs, without curved hairs, retrolateral trichobothrium on tibia 1 at 1.5%; prolateral trichobothrium present on tibia 1. Gonopore with two epiandrous spigots (Fig. 165).
Variation. Tibia 1 in 9 other males: 8.0–9.6 (mean 9.1). In males from Amani (Figs. 140, 141), the tip of the procursus is minimally different and the embolus is slightly more slender.
Female. In general similar to male; tibia 1 in 10 females: 7.6–8.4 (mean 7.9). Epigynum simple anterior plate with pair of dark dots, without pockets, simple arc-shaped posterior plate (Figs. 145, 146, 168); internal genitalia as in Figs. 147 and 154. ALS with eight spigots each (Fig. 167). Females from Amani with distinct x-shaped structure in internal female genitalia (Fig. 148).
Distribution. Known from Taita Hills in southern Kenya and Usambara Mountains in northeastern Tanzania (Fig. 58).
Material examined. KENYA: Coast Prov.: Taita Hills, Ngangao Forest: 1♂ holotype above; same data, 3♂ 7♀ in ZFMK (2♂ 6♀, Ar 8547-48) and NMKE (1♂ 1♀); same data, 3♀ 2 juvs in pure ethanol in ZFMK (Ken 90). Taita Hills, roadside near Ngangao Forest (~ 3°22.2’S, 38°20.4’E), 1810 m a.s.l., 19.i.2010 (B.A. Huber), 1♂ in ZFMK (Ar 8549). Taita Hills, Chavia Forest (3°28.8’S, 38°20.4’E), 1590 m a.s.l., 20.i.2010 (B.A. Huber), 4♂ 1♀ in ZFMK (Ar 8550); same data, 1♂ 2♀ in pure ethanol in ZFMK (Ken 96).
TANZANIA: Tanga Region: East Usambara Mountains, Amani (5°05.7’S, 38°38’E), 950 m a.s.l., 27.x.–9.xi.1995 (C.E. Griswold, N. Scharff, D. Ubick), 2♂ 4♀ in CAS.
description: Published as part of HUBER, BERNHARD A., 2012, Revision and cladistic analysis of the Afrotropical endemic genus Smeringopus Simon, 1890 (Araneae: Pholcidae), pp. 1-138 in Zootaxa 3461 (1) on pages 31-33, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3461.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6415657