Micaria Westring 1851
Creators: name: Booysen, Ruan
name: Haddad, Charles R.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Gnaphosidae
Micaria

description: Key to the Micaria species of the Afrotropical Region (excluding Arabian Peninsula).
1) Males .............................................................................................. 2
- Females............................................................................................ 18
2) Retrolateraltibial apophysis (RTA) absent (Figs 146, 150, 160, 168) ............................................. 3
- Oneormore RTAspresent (Figs 112, 120, 124, 148, 164) ..................................................... 6
3) Palpaltibiamorethan 0.5 timescymbiumlength (Figs 111, 112, 115, 116) ........................................ 5
- Palpaltibialessthan 0.5 timescymbiumlength (Figs 149, 150, 159, 160)......................................... 4
4) Embolus broadest in middle, tapered from middle to tip; two ventral terminal spines confined to prolateral half of cymbium (Fig. 149 arrows); spermductcurveshalfwaybetweenmiddleandbaseof tegulum (Figs 27, 149) .. M. parvotibialis sp. nov.
- Embolus equal in thickness, tapering near tip; sperm duct makes ¾ circle following tegular ridge before ending at embolus base; twoventralterminalspineswidelyseparated (Figs 32, 159) ........................ M. quinquemaculosa sp. nov.
5) Embolus broad at base, leaf–like, tapered to short tip; median apophysis broad and facing ventrally; three ventral terminal spinesintransverserowwithmiddlespinemoreproximalthanlateralspines (Figs 25, 145) .............. M. laxa sp. nov.
- Embolus thin and elongate, curving inwards towards center; median apophysis thin, curving sharply inwards and downwards; characteristic “kink” in lower retrolateral section of sperm duct; three ventral terminal spines in straight transverse row in front of embolus (Figs 36, 167). .......................................................... M. tersissima Simon, 1910
6) Two RTAspresentonpalpaltibia (Figs 16, 124) ............................................. M. bispicula sp. nov.
- One RTApresentonpalpal tibia. ......................................................................... 7
7) RTAlocatedonapical ridgeof palpaltibia (Figs 116, 128).................................................... 10
- RTAlocatedsub–apically (Figs 120, 142, 148) .............................................................. 8
8) RTAlocatedat leastmidwayonpalpaltibia (Figs 26, 148). .................................. M. mediospina sp. nov.
- RTAlocatedsub-apically, nomore thantwiceitslengthawayfrom apex. ......................................... 9
9) Embolus large and curved laterally inwards, with tip almost perpendicular to base; median apophysis large, broadest at base; small bent tip; three ventral terminal spines in front of embolus with retrolateral spine more distal than rest; both sexes with two largewhite spotsonabdomen (Figs 14, 119, 120)........................................... M. bimaculata sp. nov.
- Embolus moderate in size with sharp elongate tip slanting inwards; median apophysis similar in size to embolus and thin; two ventralterminalspinesinfrontof embolus; abdomenwithoutspots (Figs 23, 141, 142) ............. M. koingnaas sp. nov.
10) RTAlocatedondorsalsurfaceof palpaltibia. .............................................................. 11
- RTAlocatedonretrolateral surfaceof palpaltibia........................................................... 12
11) Median apophysis large; located centrally on tegulum and slightly prolaterally; embolus elongate straight and slanting towards midline of tegulum; three ventral terminal spines present with two in front of embolus and one small one retrolaterally; RTA small (Figs 10, 111, 112) ............................................................. M. basaliducta sp. nov.
- Median apophysis located above center towards prolateral margin of tegulum, sharply curved and facing slightly prolaterally; embolus curved retrolaterally, short with broadened base; two ventral terminal spines located anteriorly and proximally to embolus (Figs 10, 115, 116) ......................................................... M. beaufortia (Tucker, 1923)
12) Tibia Iwith no ventral spines; embolus with short tip; median apophysis large, thickened basally, tip curved prolaterally; sperm ductwithbasalloopslightlyskewedretrolaterally, U-shaped (Figs 29, 153, 154) ...................... M. plana sp. nov.
- Tibia Iwith two prolateral ventral and two retrolateral ventral spines; median apophysis structurally otherwise.......... 13
13) Basalloopof spermductwithsmallerandsharperbend, usuallyextendingintomiddleof tegulum (Fig. 163) ........... 14
- Basal loop of sperm duct with large bend, extending distally past midpoint of tegulum (Fig. 127)..................... 15
14) Median apophysis located off–centre retrolaterally; embolus with broad base and thin tip slanting towards middle of tegulum (Figs 34, 163, 164) ..................................................................... M. sanipass sp. nov.
- Median apophysis large, thin and curved inwards, located centrally towards apical margin of tegulum; embolus elongate with moderatelybroadbase, tiponlyslightlyslantingprolaterally (Figs. 20, 135, 136)....................... M. felix sp. nov.
15) Abdomen uniform in colour and with two small white spots close to anterior margin; embolus straight with thin short tip; sperm ductendinginslightcurvedtube; darkbrowntoblackincolour (Figs 17, 127) ................. M. chrysis (Simon, 1910)
- Abdomen divided into two parts by median transverse constriction (usually light in colour), with anterior half sometimes lighter thanposteriorhalf (Figs 18, 19); embolusandspermduct otherwise ............................................ 16
16) Scutum broad (in males only), covering most of anterior half of abdomen; embolus broad at base, slightly curved retrolaterally attip (Figs 35, 165, 166) ............................................................... M. scutellata sp. nov.
- Scutum narrow or barely visible, when present only 1/3 width of abdomen; embolus broad at base, tip slightly or sharply curved retrolaterally (Figs 18, 21, 131, 132, 139, 140) ............................................................. 17
17) Median apophysis thick (ventral view); sperm duct ending in elongate open curve posterior to embolus; embolus with short tip; retrolateralspineoncymbiumpresent atheightof tipof embolus; lightbrown toyellow incolour (Figs 19, 131). .......... .................................................................................... M. durbana sp. nov.
- Median apophysis thin (ventral view); sperm duct ending in short sharply curved tube well below embolus base; embolus tip elongate; retrolateralspineoncymbiumpresentatbaseof embolus; browntodarkbrownincolour (Figs 22, 139, 140) ..... ..................................................................................... M. gagnoa sp. nov.
18) Anteriorhoodofepigynedividedintotwoparts (Figs 109, 113, 114, 118, 143, 151, 155, 157) ....................... 19
- Anteriorhoodof epigynecontinuous (Figs 121, 125, 129, 133, 161) ............................................ 24
19) Copulatory ducts with short, secondary duct below midpoint of duct; copulatory ducts elongate and aligned parallel to each otheruptoheightof anteriorhood (Figs 9, 109, 110) ....................................... M. basaliducta sp. nov.
- Copulatory ducts without any secondary ducts; other characters variable......................................... 20
20) Copulatory ducts narrowed and curved closely above spermathecae, extending laterally towards tapered tip; anterior hood close copulatoryducts; posteriorpocketslocatedcentrallyastwoverticalsclerites (Figs 28, 151, 152) ......... M. plana sp. nov.
- Copulatory ducts rounded at tip, or bulbous, but if tapered then thickened at base (M. lata) (Figs 113, 114, 143, 144, 155, 156, 159, 160). .......................................................................................... 21
21) Anteriorhoods widelyseparated (Figs 113, 117, 155). ....................................................... 23
- Anteriorhoodsclosetoeachother, separatedbynomorethanhalfthelengthofonesection (Figs 143, 157) ............ 22
22) Copulatory ducts bifurcated and closely bent backwards over itself with apices not extending past interior margin of spermathecae; anteriorhoodalmosttouchingin middle; nodorsalspotsvisibleinholotype (Figs 24, 143, 144)..... M. lata sp. nov.
- Copulatory ducts without any bifurcation and separated from spermathecae; five spots present on abdomen, three medially and 2 (may sometimes fade) anteriorly (Figs 31, 157, 158) ................................. M. quinquemaculosa sp. nov.
23) Posterior pockets located basal to spermatheca, presenting as elongate laterally expanding structures with inwards curve on outer lateral ends; abdomen dark brown with median white band and white (sometimes dotted) longitudinal stripe from median bandtowardsspinnerets; anteriorhoodscurved (Figs 11, 113, 114)… ...................... M. beaufortia (Tucker, 1923)
- Anterior hood elongated, curving around copulatory openings; copulatoryducts square-shaped, posterior pockets elongate Lshaped, extending up to copulatory openings; abdomen light brown with two antero-lateral white markings, median white stripe onposteriorhalf intersectingwithmedianwhitetransverse band. (Figs 30, 155, 156). ............... M. quadrata sp. nov.
24) Anterior hood “wave–like” with middle section procurved and lateral section recurved; copulatory ducts short and thick, with bifurcatingapices (Figs 15, 121, 122) ..................................................... M. bispicula sp. nov.
- Anteriorhoodentirelyrecurved; copulatoryductselongate ................................................... 25
25) Abdomen with two small white spots anteriorly; black to dark brown in colour; moderately sized atrium, curved anterior hood that is slightly flattened in middle, posterior pockets present centrally on epigyne as two longitudinal sclerites (Fig. 17, 125, 126)............................................................................. M. chrysis (Simon, 1910)
- Abdomenpatternvariable; anteriorhoodotherwise ......................................................... 26
26) Anteriorhoodstronglycurved (Figs 133, 137) ............................................................. 27
- Anteriorhood flattened, withonlytipscurvingslightly (Figs 129, 161). ......................................... 28
27) Atriumlarge; anteriorhoodelongate; spermathecaewiderthanlong (Figs 21, 137, 138) ............... M. gagnoa sp. nov.
- Atriumnormal; anteriorhoodshort; spermathecaelongerthanwide (Figs 133, 134) .................... M. felix sp. nov.
28) Anteriorhoodbroadandelongate, extendingfarlaterally, closeto spermathecae; brown incolour (Figs 33, 161, 162). ...... .................................................................................... M. rivonosy sp. nov.
- Anterior hood normal, hardly extending laterally to copulatory openings; tips of anterior hood curved sharply downwards; yellowtolightbrownincolour (Figs 18, 129, 130) .............................................. M. durbana sp. nov.
description: Published as part of Booysen, Ruan & Haddad, Charles R., 2021, Revision and molecular phylogeny of the spider genus Micaria Westring, 1851 (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) in the Afrotropical Region, pp. 1-82 in Zootaxa 4940 (1) on pages 18-25, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4940.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4580917