Mystaria soleil Honiball Lewis & Dippenaar-Schoeman 2014, sp. n.
Creators: name: Honiball Lewis, Allet S.
name: Dippenaar-Schoeman, Ansie S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Thomisidae
Mystaria
Mystaria soleil

description: Mystaria soleil sp. n.
Figs 4, 36, 37, 79–82, 107–110, 125
Type material: Holotype: ♀, UGANDA: Masindi District, Budongo forest [01°45’N, 31°25’E], alt 1200 m, secondary forest canopy fogging of Cynometra alexandri, 15–25 January 1997, T. Wagner (ZFMK AR1287).
Paratypes: KENYA: Western Province, 2 ♂, 1 ♀, Kakamega forest [00°22’N, 34°50’E], alt. 1600 m, middleaged secondary forest canopy fogging of Teclea nobilis — 12 m canopy height, January–February 2002, 2003, W. Freund (ZFMK AR 098, 147, 1274); 1 ♂, same locality, old secondary-aged forest canopy fogging T. nobilis — 10 m canopy height, September–October 2001, W. Freund (ZFMK AR 1273). UGANDA: Masindi District, 5 ♀, 6 ♂, Budongo forest [01°45’N, 31°25’E], alt. 1200 m, secondry forest canopy fogging of Rinorea beniensis — 14.5 m canopy height, 5–25 January 1997, T. Wagner (ZFMK AR 1275, 1277, 1278, 1279, 1282, 1286, 1289); 7 ♀, 9 ♂, same locality, secondary forest canopy fogging C. alexandri, 15–25 January 1997, T. Wagner (ZFMK AR 1288, 1290, 1291, 1292, 1294); 4 ♀, 1 ♂, same locality, 35 m canopy height, June—July 1995, T. Wagner (ZFMK AR 1283, 1284, 1285, 1293); 1 ♂, same locality, primary forest canopy fogging C. alexandri — 35 m canopy height, 1–10 July 1995, T. Wagner (ZFMK AR 1280); 2 ♀, 1 ♂, same locality, swamp forest canopy fogging R. beniensis, 11–31 July 1995, T. Wagner (ZFMK AR 1295, 1276); 1 ♀, same locality, swamp forest canopy fogging T. nobilis — 16 m canopy height, 1–10 July 1995, T. Wagner (ZFMK AR 1281).
Etymology. ‘ Soleil’ is French for the sun, as this species is characteristically yellow in colour. Noun in apposition.
Diagnosis. Both sexes distinct and recognised by the orange-yellow carapace decorated with a brown patch centrally on cephalic and thoracic region, abdomen with brown longitudinal median band (Figs 36, 37). Females differ by having the largest eye tubercles of any species, all eyes situated on silver-white tubercles. Female epigyne with wide, curved hood, situated anteriorly (Fig. 81), differ from M. stakesbyi n. sp. that have a narrow hood. Male palp with RTA short and slender, situated close to bulb, tip extending laterally (Fig. 79); VTA slender and small (Fig. 80).
Description. Female. Size, measurements (n = 8). TL: 3.32 (3.13–3.48); CL: 1.32 (1.20–1.41); CW: 1.15 (1.13–1.20); CI: 1.15 (1.06–1.25); CH: 0.77 (0.71–0.80); CLL: 0.21 (0.19–0.24); MOQ-L: 0.27 (0.27–0.28). Colour. Abdomen dorsally pale brown with darker band, a whitish border with two small dark spots posterolaterally (Fig. 36); legs orange-yellow, patellae with dark brown patches. Carapace. With highest part in foveal region sloping laterally and anteriorly; texture granulate with small holes; covered with fine, short setae, a few long, erectile spiniform setae on posterior edge and laterally of lateral eyes. Chelicerae. Cheliceral teeth as in Fig. 4. Sternum. Longer than wide; SL: 0.59; SW: 0.52; SI: 1.15. Eyes. Eye measurements: AME–AME: 0.24; ALE–AME: 0.28; AME–AME/AME–ALE: 0.83; PME–PME: 0.33; PLE–PME: 0.29; PME–PME/PME–PLE: 1.15; ALE/AME: 1.20; PLE/PME: 0.87; MOQ-AW/MOQ-PW: 0.71; MOQ-L/MOQ-W: 0.39; Clyp/AME–AME: 0.90. Legs. Leg I–II nearly twice the length of leg III–IV; femora, patellae and tibiae with few medium to short spiniform setae; metatarsi and tarsi with fine, shorter setae, small spiniform setae on postero-ventral side; leg formula: I:II:IV:III; leg measurements: leg I—Fe 1.26, Pat 0.42, Tib 1.06, Mt 0.84, Ta 0.52, total 4.10; II—Fe 1.25, Pat 0.44, Tib 1.05, Mt 0.81, Ta 0.48, total 4.03; III—Fe 0.88, Pat 0.32, Tib 0.65, Mt 0.43, Ta 0.32, total 2.60; IV—Fe 0.92, Pat 0.31, Tib 0.70, Mt 0.50, Ta 0.32, total 2.74. Abdomen. Wider posteriorly than anteriorly. AL: 2.00; AW: 1.59; AI: 0.26. Epigyne. Atrium wide with postero-laterally rounded rims (Fig. 81). Intromittent orifices visible as two small circular openings antero-laterally from hood; intromittent canals as in Fig. 82.
Male. Size, measurements (n = 2). TL: 2.60 (2.46–2.70); CL: 1.18 (1.08–1.25); CW: 1.05 (1.00–1.08); CI: 1.12(1.08–1.15); CH: 0.78 (0.72–0.85); CLL: 0.21 (0.20–0.21); MOQ- L: 0.23 (0.23–0.24). Differ from female as follows: Colour. Carapace with a larger copper-brown patch (Fig. 37); eye tubercles dark; abdomen dorsally orange-yellow with large band starting anteriorly narrowing posteriorly, two spots postero-laterally and; ventrally pale yellow. Legs orange-yellow, patellae I–IV partially brown, femora I–II distally brown and tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi I–II brown. Carapace. Elevated in thoracic area; texture smooth, with few long erectile setae present on postero-lateral thoracic edge. Sternum. SL: 0.56; SW: 0.47; SI: 1.19. Eyes. Eye tubercles not as large as in females; eye measurements: AME–AME: 0.21; ALE–AME: 0.26; AME–AME/AME–ALE: 0.82; PME–PME: 0.30; PLE–PME: 0.27; PME–PME/PME–PLE: 1.12; ALE/AME: 1.23; PLE/PME: 0.89; MOQ-AW/MOQ-PW: 0.70; MOQ-L/MOQ-W: 0.34; Clyp/AME–AME: 0.99. Legs. All legs except tarsi I–IV with dense short setae and medium spiniform setae dorsally and laterally; tibia and metatarsi I–IV with shorter spiniform setae distally on ventral side; tibiae III–IV with longer spiniform setae; tarsal claws differ from other species, in 2 nd comb strongly curved at tip (Figs 107–110); leg formula: I:II:IV:III; leg measurements: leg I—Fe 1.23, Pat 0.36, Tib 1.13, Mt 0.92, Ta 0.57, total 4.21; II—Fe 1.26, Pat 0.36, Tib 1.16, Mt 0.86, Ta 0.54, total 4.17; III—Fe 0.79, Pat 0.27, Tib 0.62, Mt 0.43, Ta 0.33, total 2.43; IV—Fe 0.80, Pat 0.24, Tib 0.62, Mt 0.49, Ta 0.32, total 2.47. Abdomen. Longoval, with oval scutum. AL: 1.43; AW: 1.05; AI: 1.36. Palp. Bulb large with a well-defined, dark tegulum, slightly tilted to the lateral side (Fig. 79), differs from M. stakesbyi sp. n. whose tegulum is less sclerotized and smaller; VTA slender, slightly longer than RTA (Fig. 80).
Natural history. Newly sampled material suggests that individuals occur in secondary- and middle-aged primary rainforests and swamp forests. Canopy fogging indicated that they occur on trees species such as Teclea nobilis, Rinorea beniensis and Cynometra alexandri. Adults were present from January until October.
Distribution. Uganda and Kenya (Fig. 125).
description: Published as part of Honiball Lewis, Allet S. & Dippenaar-Schoeman, Ansie S., 2014, Revision of the spider genus Mystaria Simon, 1895 (Araneae: Thomisidae) and the description of a new genus from the Afrotropical region, pp. 101-144 in Zootaxa 3873 (2) on pages 130-131, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3873.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4948115