A taxonomic revision of the afrotropical species of Selenops Latreille, 1819 (Araneae, Selenopidae)
Author
Corronca, J. A.
text
Zootaxa
2002
107
1
35
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.155794
51879752-88bc-44e0-bfe6-ef6f9008a1af
11755326
155794
Selenops
Latreille, 1819
Selenops
Latreille, 1819
: 579
.
Type
species:
Selenops radiatus
Latreille, 1819
.
Hypoplatea
MacLeay, 1839: 6.
Type
species:
Hypoplatea celer
MacLeay, 1839. First synonymized by
Walckenaer (1842: 457)
.
Orops
Benoit, 1968
: 116
.
Type
species:
Selenops littoricola
Strand, 1913
. First synonymized by
Corronca (1996a: 60)
.
Diagnosis.
Selenops
differs from other selenopid genera by the arrangement of the eyes. The anterior median eyes (AME), posterior median eyes (PME) and anterior lateral eyes (ALE) aligned or slightly recurved (
Fig. 88
D), with the PME equal or subequal in size to AME. Leg II> leg IV; tibiae and metatarsi III with
v22
2 (
Fig. 88
E) and
v22
spines respectively.
Male
palp with a retrolateral tibial apophysis (RTA), with a dorsal part (dra) and a ventral part (vra); RTA usually not flattened with dra> vra. Median apophysis (am) small and simple with one or two branches. Female epigynum with central area welldeveloped, with distinct lateral lobes and epigynal pockets bigger than genital openings.
Description.
Prosoma brown to reddish brown, usually with dark spots. Chelicerae brown, normally with black or grey spots. Labium and sternum usually paler in colour. Anterior part of opisthosoma truncated and grey or yellowish with brown or black dorsal marks; several species with a distinct colour pattern on dorsal opisthosoma (
Fig. 88
B). Venter of the opisthosoma yellowish, without markings; lateralposterior margins with dark spots, lines or bands. Some species with tufts of white hairs posteriorly on the opisthosoma. AME, ALE and PME in one line, PLE largest, situated on a posterolateral tubercle; ALE the smallest. Prosoma wider than long (
Fig. 88
A), clypeus <AME. Chelicerae with distinct lateral condyles and cheliceral furrows with three prolateral and two retrolateral teeth (
Fig. 88
F). Labium as wide as or wider than long. Sternum subcircular, sometimes slightly bifurcated posteriorly (
Fig. 88
C). Palps usually with tibia longer than patella. Legs long, laterigrade and with second pair usually longer than the fourth. Tarsi twoclawed, with one claw slightly pectinated, the other generally smooth. Trichobothria on tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi. Leg spination: femora IIV with d1.1.1; tibiae III with v2.2.2 and metatarsi III v2.2, males normally with many more spines than the females. Dorsal part of male RTA in a few cases with two branches or hypertrophied. Petiolus (sclerite of basal haematodocha) well developed, triangular or elongated; subtegulum with 15 anelli and with terminal depression, the latter with one interlocking prolateral projection. Embolus short and broad or long and slender, but always with a large sclerotized conductor covering a large part of it. The form of the conductor varies between species from Tshaped and subtriangular to falciform. Median apophysis with one or two branches. Epigynum with middle field well developed or reduced. Middle field consists of a septum or a depression, in which the lateral lobes of the epigynum may reach each other or not at the midline. Secondary epigynal pockets present. Spermathecae usually simple, in several cases complex.
Species inquirendae.
The
type
specimens of
Selenops fugitivus
Walckenaer, 1837
,
S. modestellus
Strand, 1907
and
S. nanus
Strand, 1907
were destroyed during the two World Wars and the species cannot be identified from the original descriptions (
Benoit 1968
). The above mentioned species are not included in this study.