Camafroneta oku Frick & Scharff 2018, gen. et sp. nov.
Creators: name: Frick, Holger
name: Scharff, Nikolaj
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Linyphiidae
Camafroneta
Camafroneta oku

description: Camafroneta oku gen. et sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F50C5BCF-9115-4077-B335-AC9FAE5DB66E
Figs 1–3
Diagnosis
The males are recognised by the moderately sclerotised embolic membrane that is enlarged with an ectal outwards fold (see Frick & Scharff 2014: fig. 12B, EME) emerging on the prolateral side of the embolic membrane, encircling the distal half of the embolus. The retrolateral side of the embolic membrane has a fleshy appearance and is broadened distally before it narrows towards the tip. The size, degree of sclerotisation and complexity of the embolic membrane is unique within African mynoglenines.
The females can be diagnosed by their large dorsal plate scape that is almost as broad as the dorsal plate (Fig. 1C–D). It almost entirely extends over the posterior margin of the ventral plate, which is exceptional in mynoglenines.
Etymology
The species epiphet oku is derived from the type location close to Lake Oku near Mount Oku in western Cameroon. It is a name in apposition.
Type material
Holotype CAMEROON: ♂, Northwest Prov., Menchum Div., near Lake Oku, 06°12 ′ N, 10°27 ′ E, ca 2150 m a.s.l., 7–12 Feb. 1992, forest, C. Griswold, S. Larcher, N. Scharff and C. Wanzie leg. (ZMUC00046889).
Allotype CAMEROON: ♀, same data as for holotype, epigyne separate (ZMUC00046889).
Other material examined (9 ♂♂, 33 ♀♀)
CAMEROON: 1 ♀, together with holotype (ZMUC00046889); 1 ♀, same locality and collecting date, forest litter (ZMUC 00046893); 1 ♀, same locality and collecting date, forest litter (ZMUC00046898); 3 ♀♀, same locality and collecting date, forest litter (ZMUC00046897); 1 ♀, same locality and collecting date, forest litter (ZMUC00046892); 2 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀, same locality and collecting date, forest litter (ZMUC00046901); 1 ♂, 6 ♀♀, same locality and collecting date, forest (ZMUC00046900); 1 ♀, same locality and collecting date, forest, pitfall traps (ZMUC00046899); 1 ♀, same locality and collecting date, forest litter (ZMUC00046891); 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀, same locality and collecting date, forest (ZMUC00046895); 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀, same locality and collecting date, forest litter (ZMUC00046896); 2 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, same locality and collecting date, forest litter (ZMUC00046894); 2 ♀♀, same locality and collecting date, forest, pitfall traps (ZMUC00046890); 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀, same locality and collecting date, forest litter (ZMUC00046888).
Description
Holotype (holotype, ZMUC 00046889)
SIZE. Total length 2.98. Cephalothorax 1.44 long, 0.98 wide. Sternum 0.85 long (0.76 without labium), 0.65 wide. Abdomen 1.70 long, 0.96 wide. AME diameter 0.04. Femur I 1.31 long, 0.91 times as long as cephalothorax.
COLOUR (preserved specimen, Fig. 3B, E–F). Cephalothorax and chelicerae yellowish brown mottled with grey. Legs and pedipalps yellowish white, without annulations. Black rings around eyes. Abdomen light grey, with white markings.
BODY. Sternum shield–shaped with labium fused to sternum and long narrow extension of sternum between coxae IV (merged to carapace at the end) (Fig. 3C, G). Cephalothorax without setae. Fovea present, elongated, faint and shallow. Ocular area with several short thin setae between eyes. Clypeus height 5.5 times AME diameter. Subocular sulci present below ALE, long and wide, not clearly demarcated (Fig. 3B, lines).
CHELICERAE. With 3 large widely spaced prolateral teeth (middle tooth largest) (Fig. 3B). With faint stridulating ridges. Three small closely spaced retrolateral denticles, positioned between the two first prolateral teeth.
LEGS. All femora with one short stout setae dorsally. Leg formula 1243 (legs 1, 2 of 4 almost same length). Tibial spinal formula 2222. Metatarsus I with 3 dorsal trichobothria.
PEDIPALP (Figs 1A–B, 2A–D). Patella with long strong distal dorsal spine (Figs 1A, D, 2A). Tibia with two retrolateral and one prolateral trichobothrium (Fig. 1A). Cymbium with one distal ventral and three prolateral macrosetae. Paracymbium U-shaped, with large broad base and two basal hairs (Figs 1A, 2A). Protegulum elongated, triangular (Figs 1A, 2A). Suprategulum finger-like pointing retrolaterally. Radix drop-shaped with a tiny, in the light microscope almost invisible thorn on its retrolateral side (Fig. 1B). It resembles the radix retrolateral appendix described by Frick & Scharff (2014) for Metamynoglenes Blest, 1979, but it is much smaller in Camafroneta gen. nov. Embolus long and thin embedded in the embolic membrane (Figs 1B, 2B–C). Embolic membrane moderately sclerotised and enlarged (compared to other African mynoglenines), exceeding the alveolus. Distal half peculiarly shaped with folds and seemingly fleshy sections.
Female (allotype, ZMUC00046889)
SIZE. Total length 3.22. Cephalothorax 1.43 long, 0.99 wide. Sternum 0.91 long (0.84 without labium), 0.66 wide, shield–shaped. Abdomen 1.69 long, 1.17 wide. AME diameter 0.04. Femur I 1.20 long, 1.19 times as long as cephalothorax.
COLOUR (preserved specimen). As holotype, but abdomen darker, greyish black (Fig. 3A, D).
BODY. Similar to male. Clypeus height 5.75 times AME diameter. Subocular sulci present below ALE, long and wide, not clearly demarcated (Fig. 3A).
CHELICERA. Cheliceral teeth and stridulation file as in male (Fig. 3A).
LEGS. Leg formula 1243. Metatarsus with 3 trichobothria (Fig. 1E). Spination of legs as in male.
EPIGYNUM AND VULVA (Figs 1C–D, 2F–H). The epigyne has a large dorsal plate scape. It is almost as broad as the dorsal plate in ventral view (Fig. 1C), extending the posterior margin of the ventral plate almost entirely (Fig. 1C–D). The copulatory ducts are simple, curved and extend beyond the round receptaculum anteriorly.
Variation
Males (n = 5): total length 2.79–3.06, cephalothorax length 1.28–1.51, cephalothorax width 0.87–1.05, femur I length 1.20–1.41. Females (n = 5): total length 2.98–3.90, cephalothorax length 1.36–1.60, cephalothorax width 0.97–1.13, femur I length 1.13–1.41.
Distribution
Only known from the type locality, forests around Lake Oku (06°12 ′ N, 10°27 ′ E), Cameroon, at an altitude of 2150 m.
Life history
Little is known about the biology of this species. Specimens have been collected in forest litter and pitfall traps in montane rain forest.
Phylogenetic position
Camafroneta oku gen. et sp. nov. scored as follows in the phylogenetic analysis. The exact same methods (the same batch files in TNT) were used to run the analyses as described in Frick & Scharff (2014): 10000 0 1101 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 10001 0 1200 0 0 0 0 1 10001 10100 - 1101 0 0 0 11 0 0 110 11110 11011 0 1000 10010 0 0 0 0 0 11010 11000 10200 0 1101 11100 11011 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 00--- 0 0 100 11011 0 1122 0 0 110 10010 0 0 220 0 1021 0 1111 0 1211 11100 12101 0 0 101.
The analysis resulted in three most parsimonious trees of 893 steps (160 hits out of 1000). The three trees only differ in changes within Haplinis Simon, 1894 and are, apart from the addition of Camafroneta oku gen. et sp. nov., equal to the three trees found in Frick & Scharff (2014).
Camafroneta oku gen. et sp. nov. is a sister to the highly supported genus Laminafroneta (Fig. 14). Together they are sister to Afroneta Holm, 1968. However, both relationships are not well supported (Bremer = 1; Jackknife <50%) and therefore likely to change. Since Camafroneta oku gen. et sp. nov. did not emerge within a supported genus and morphologically differs highly from both presumably closely related genera Laminafroneta and Afroneta, a new monotypic genus is described. Erecting a new monotypic genus can also be justified by the fact, that the African mynoglenine fauna is highly undersampled. It is therefore likely, that more species of the genus will be discovered once the mountainous areas of central to western Africa are more thoroughly investigated. It could be argued, that as sister taxa to Laminafroneta, we should place it within Laminafroneta, but this would leave Laminafroneta hard to define morphologically. Camafroneta gen. nov. is morphologically very different (see remarks).
description: Published as part of Frick, Holger & Scharff, Nikolaj, 2018, Description of one new genus and four new species of mynoglenine spiders from Africa (Araneae: Linyphiidae: Mynogleninae), pp. 1-27 in European Journal of Taxonomy 415 on pages 4-8, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2018.415, http://zenodo.org/record/1211253