Tabiboka Henrard, Griswold & Jocqué, 2024, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Henrard, Arnaud
name: Griswold, Charles
name: Jocqué, Rudy
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Udubidae
Tabiboka

description: Genus Tabiboka gen. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: E7CAC38D-2089-4115-9764-56F76B3F621F
Figs 3–12, 26
Type species
Tabiboka milleri gen. et sp. nov.
Diagnosis
Tabiboka gen. nov. are ecribellate udubids where the male has palps with a short cymbial retrobasal extension (CE) extending to or just past tibial apex, lack a retrolateral paracymbial process, and have the tibia with both VTA and RTA (Figs 5A–C, 6A–C, 9A–C, 11A–C, 12A–D). The female epigyne is provided with a median lobe (ML) that extends to the posterior margin, separating lateral lobes (LL) and covering the copulatory openings (CO) (Figs 4B, 5D, 7A–B, 9D, 11D, 12G). The genus is distinguished from Uduba Simon, 1880 males by lacking the threadlike embolus and knob-like process between the palpal patella and tibia and from Uduba females by having compact spermathecae rather than multiple loops. Males differ from Zorascar gen. nov. by having the cymbial retrobasal extension short, extending to or just past the tibial apex and the palpal tibia with a VTA and RTA. Females differ from the ones of Zorascar gen. nov. by having the epigyne with a median lobe that extends to the posterior margin, separating the lateral lobes and covering the copulatory openings. Tabiboka is distinguished from Zorodictyna Strand, 1907 by lacking an entire cribellum or vestige and lacking an extensive scopulae beneath the leg metatarsi. It is distinguished from all Madagascar udubids, except Zorascar by having the posterior spinnerets (PMS and PLS) reduced in size, and the PLS less than half the size of the ALS.
Etymology
The genus name is an arbitrary combination of letters. The gender is feminine.
Description
BODY. Medium size spiders (males: 6.90–12.00; females: 8.40–17.00) with smooth teguments of carapace (Figs 3A, C–D, F, 8A–B, 10A–B), sternum and legs. Carapace piriform, longer than wide (L/W: males: 1.21–1.41; females: 1.26–1.46), with sparse cover of short, dark setae; thoracic fovea present, linear; profile higher in ocular and thoracic area and abruptly sloping posteriorly (Fig. 3G–H).
COLORATION (Figs 3, 4A, 8A–B, 10). Carapace brownish yellow with darker longitudinal pattern on carapace; chelicerae uniform brownish orange; legs faintly ringed; abdomen brownish yellow with faint complex pale pattern.
EYES (Figs 3C, F, 8B, 10A–B). In two straight rows: ALE larger than AME, PLE and PME similar to ALE; tapetum of secondary eyes canoe-shaped, shiny. Clypeus with long setae, height 1.14 to 2.86 diameter of AME in male and 1.11 to 2.40 in female.
PROSOMA. Chilum double, about three times or more as wide as high. Chelicerae (Figs 3D, F–H): paturon conical, with some long setae medially, three teeth on both margins, with retrolateral thick setae at fang base; fang with serrate texture on proximal edge. Labium (Figs 3B, E, 10C–D) roughly diamond shaped. Endites (Figs 3B, E, 10C–D) roughly rectangular, with retrolateral margins sinuous, distal part slightly wider than proximal part, with subdistal serrula present as simple row. Sternum (Figs 3B, E, 10C–D) oval, slightly longer than wide, with slightly curved margins, not extending between coxae IV.
LEGS. Slender (Figs 3A, H, 4A, 8A, 10). Formula 4123. With three tarsal claws; unpaired claw smooth, present on legs I and II, large to small, typically reduced to nubbins on legs III and IV; superior claws with six to eight teeth; without claw tufts or tenent setae; scopulae absent or rarely present (female of T. polotowae gen. et sp. nov.). Trichobothria in two or more rows on tarsi, in three or more on metatarsi, starting close to tip, all equal in lengths; distal and proximal plates of bothria well differentiated, proximal plates with transverse ridges. Tarsal organ: tear-drop or keyhole-shaped opening, close to tarsus tip. Spines numerous, with four pairs of ventral spines on tibia I, not overlapping, and with three pairs of ventral spines on metatarsus I. Calamistrum absent. Male tibial crack (autospasy suture) present or absent. Distal borders of leg trochanters with deep (forelegs) or shallow (hind legs) notch (Fig. 4C–D).
ABDOMEN (Figs 3A–B, D–E, G–H, 8A, 10). Oval, without scuta and without cribellum. Epiandrous glands absent. Colulus: as triangular hairy lobe. Spinnerets: ALS and PLS, conical, biarticulate; PMS one-segmented; ALS large, PMS and PLS small. Females with two ALS major ampullate gland spigots and field of about 20–30 piriform gland spigots and tartipores; PMS with one anterior minor ampullate gland spigot and large tartipore and one to few posterior cylindrical gland spigots and aciniform gland spigots; PLS with one to few cylindrical gland spigots; males lacking cylindrical gland spigots and second of each pair of both major and minor ampullate gland spigots reduced to nubbins.
MALE PALP (Figs 5A–C, 6, 9A–C, 11A–C). Tibia with large or stout RTA, inserted medially, provided with basal concavity (BC), with short rounded or tapered VTA and with sharp triangular dorso-prolateral process. Cymbium oval with rounded distal extremity, without dorsal patch of short setae, with cymbial retrobasal extension (CE), without retrolateral paracymbial process. Bulbus provided with retrobasal subtegulum locking lobe (SL), and tegulum rounded with well-developed prolateral conical protrusion at base of embolus (corresponding to locking lobe, TL). Embolus (E) with fixed base, originating prolateraly, directed clockwise, long, large and lamellate (Figs 5A–C, 6D–F) or slender and tapered apically (Figs 8C–F, 9A–B, 11A–C, 12A–C, E). Median apophysis (MA) hook-shaped, situated opposite of embolus; conductor (C) hyaline, well developed, fan-shaped, medially extending from narrow base to wide flattened tip. Paraconductor (Pc) as narrow, finger-like membranous extension inserted between tegulum and base of MA.
GENITALIA. Epigyne (Figs 4B, 5D, 7A–B, 9D, 11D) single, shield-shaped plate (ML) with convex median and lateral folds, lateral sector (LL) convex or with pocket. Endogyne (Figs 5E, 7C–F, 9E, 11E, 12H): copulatory ducts (CD) very short, twisted; spermatheca (S) two or three lobed, head of spermatheca provided with pores; no evidence of enlarged Bennett’s Gland pore through spermathecal base.
Species included
Tabiboka milleri gen. et sp. nov. (type species; ♂ ♀); Tabiboka milloti gen. et sp. nov. (♂ ♀); Tabiboka polotowae gen. et sp. nov. (♂ ♀).
Affinities
From the molecular analyses (Fig. 2), Tabiboka gen. nov. appears closely related to species in the Udubidae that have been identified as Zorascar gen. nov.
Distribution
Tabiboka gen. nov. are known only from mid-eastern Madagascar (Fig. 26).
description: Published as part of Henrard, Arnaud, Griswold, Charles & Jocqué, Rudy, 2024, On new genera and species of crack-leg spiders (Araneae, Udubidae) from Madagascar, pp. 1-80 in European Journal of Taxonomy 966 (1) on pages 13-15, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.966.2697, http://zenodo.org/record/14001790