Uduba rakotozafy Griswold, Ubick, Ledford & Polotow, 2022, new species
Creators: name: Griswold, Charles
name: Ubick, Darrell
name: Ledford, Joel
name: Polotow, Daniele
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Udubidae
Uduba
Uduba rakotozafy

description: Uduba rakotozafy, new species   
Figures 8 G, 11 E, 29 G, 58 A–C, Maps 9, 19.  
 Type material. Holotype male (CASENT9006024) from forest at 1000m elevation at Parc National Périnet, near Andasibe, Toamasina Province, Madagascar, collected 4-5 November 1993 by C. Griswold, deposited in CAS.   
 Etymology. The species epithet is a patronym in honor of the Malagasy musician Rakotozafy, a legendary player of his own customized marovany zither and one of the most celebrated valiha players of the twentieth century.   
  Diagnosis. Uduba rakotozafy  belong to Group V, the Uduba rajery group (Map 19). Males can be distinguished from those of other Uduba by the form of the male palp, with a thick, swollen VTA on the tibia, the spine-like TA3 extending through a notch at the apex of the tegulum (Fig. 29 G), and the large, triangular MA (Figs. 58 A–C). Uduba rakotozafy may be distinguished from U. rajery by having the MA apex with an apical lobe and spike (U. rajery has two spikes, Figs. 55 B, 56 E). Females are unknown.   
 Description. Make (Holotype): Total length 9.29. Markings as in Figs. 8 G. 11 E, Carapace 4.86 long, 3.71 wide, 1.57 high; clypeus 0.21 high. Eye diameters: AME 0.14, ALE 0.18, PME 0.20, PLE 0.21. Chelicerae 1.93 long; sternum 2.25 long, 1.61 wide; labium 1.04 long; palpal coxae 1.57 long. Ratios– carapace length / width = 1.31, carapace height / width = 0.42, PER / carapace width = 0.84, PER / OAL = 2.64, PER / AER = 1.42, OAL / OQL = 1.27, OQP / OQA = 1.33, clypeus height / AME = 1.50, cheliceral length / clypeus height = 9.00, sternum length / width = 1.40, palpal coxa length / width = 2.59, femur I length / carapace width = 1.10, metatarsus I length / carapace width = 1.10, femur IV length / carapace width = 1.15, cymbium length / carapace width = 0.58, cymbium length / palpal patella length = 3.00, cymbium length / palpal tibia length = 2.73, cymbium length / palpal femur length = 1.15, palpal tibia length / palpal patella length = 1.10. Cribellum divided. Spination: palpus–femur d0-1-1, p0-0-1, r0-0-1, patella p1-0, tibia p1-0; leg I– femur d1-0-1-1, p0-0-2, r0-0-1, tibia p0-1-1-0, v2-2-2-2, r0-1-1-0, metatarsus p1-1-2, v2-2-2, r1-1- 2; leg II–femur d1-1-1, p0-1-1-0, r0-1-1-0, tibia d0-0-1, p0-1-1-0, v2-2-2-2, r0-1-1-0, metatarsus p1-1-2, v2-2-2, r1-1-1; leg III–femur d1-1-1, p1-1-2, r1-1-2, tibia d0-1-0-0, p0-1-1-0, v2-2-2, r0-1- 1-0, metatarsus d0-1-0, p1-1-2, v2-2-2, r1-1-2, tarsus v0-1-0; leg IV–femur d1-1-1, p1-1-1, r0-0-1, tibia d1-0-1-0, p0-0-1-0, v2-2-2, r0-1-0-0, metatarsus d0-1-0, p1-1-2, v2-2-2, r1-1-2. Scopulae: cymbium, apicodorsal; tarsi I–IV, ventral. Leg measurements: I: 4.07 + 1.64 + 3.64 + 4.07 + 2.64 = 16.07; II: 3.57 + 1.57 + 2.93 + 3.21 + 2.07 = 13.36; III: 3.07 + 1.43 + 1.79 + 2.71 + 1.50 = 10.50; IV: 4.29 + 1.50 + 3.43 + 4.29 + 2.14 = 15.64; palpus: 1.86 + 0.71 + 0.79 + NA + 2.14 = 5.50. Leg formula 1423. Male palp (Figs. 58 A–C): palpal tibia 0.41 cymbial length, RTA broad, RTA length 0.24 tibia length, length equals width, with bluntly-pointed apex (Fig. 58 C), VTA unique, large, hammer-shaped, transversely wider than long and with apical recurved hook (Figs. 58 A–C), length 0.80 times width, length 0.32 tibia width; tibia lacking a stout retrolateral spine but with slender prolateral spine (Fig. 58 B); tegulum convex, without ridge, tegulum length 0.875 times width; TA1 with subbasal notch and broad apex, extends distad of tegulum apex, TA1 extends past TA3 apex by 1.15 times tegulum length; TA3 elongate with recurved apex extending through notch at tegular anterior margin (Figs. 29 G, 58 A), TA3 extends apicad of TA2 by 1.09 tegulum length, TA2 a small low mound partly forming the notch from which the TA3 apex emerges; MA origin at 0.17 times tegulum length, MA apex extends distad of tegulum apex, MA length (including apical processes) 1.03 times width, MA very large, covering much of tegulum, length 0.83 times tegulum length, width 0.71 times tegulum width, triangular with apical projections, retrolateral blunt and prolateral acutely-pointed (Figs. 29 G, 58 A); conductor fan entire. Female: Unknown.   
 Variation. Male. Variation unknown: Uduba rakotozafy is only known from one male, the holotype.   
 M aterial examined. MADAGASCAR: Toamasina Province: Parc National Périnet, near Andasibe, 18°56ʹS, 48°24ʹE, elev. 1000m, 4–5 November 1993, J. Coddington, N. Scharff, S. Larcher, C. Griswold, R. Andriamasimanana (Holotype, CASENT9006024, 1♂, CAS).   
 Natural history. The lone specimen of Uduba rakotozafy was collected on the ground in rainforest. The vestige of a divided cribellum on the male suggests that U. rakotozafy females deploy cribellate sticky silk, but we know nothing of their behavior.   
 Distribution. The species Uduba rakotozafy is known only from the type locality at Parc National Périnet in the central eastern escarpment of Madagascar (Maps 9, 19).
description: Published as part of Griswold, Charles, Ubick, Darrell, Ledford, Joel & Polotow, Daniele, 2022, A Revision of the Malagasy Crack-Leg Spiders of the Genus Uduba Simon, 1880 (Araneae, Udubidae), with Description of 35 New Species from Madagascar, pp. 1-193 in Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 67 on pages 75-76, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.13158554