Pholcid spiders from the Lower Guinean region of Central Africa: an overview, with descriptions of seven new species (Araneae, Pholcidae)
Author
Bernhard A. Huber
Author
Philippe Le Gall
Author
Jacques Francois Mavoungou
text
European Journal of Taxonomy
2014
81
1
46
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Bernhard_Huber/publication/265864695_Pholcid_spiders_from_the_Lower_Guinean_region_of_Central_Africa_an_overview_with_descriptions_of_seven_new_species_Araneae_Pholcidae/links/541ff0df0cf241a65a1ae4f6/Pholcid-spiders-from-the-Lower-Guinean-region-of-Central-Africa-an-overview-with-descriptions-of-seven-new-species-Araneae-Pholcidae.pdf
journal article
31879
10.5852/ejt.2014.81
347a4cd6-19e4-4116-9429-0d2796f033b5
830852
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:AC69F89F-C11B-49B1-8EEE-183286EDA755
Pholcus punu
Huber
,
sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C721A4A8-5D18-467B-A433-7E526A641082
Figs 12-13
,
27
,
63-74
Diagnosis
Distinguished from
P. moca
Huber, 2011
(the most similar species and probably closest known relative) by shape of procursus (longer retrolateral process; absence of distinct ridge between retrolateral process and tip; compare
Fig. 70
with fig.
946 in
Huber 2011b
); also by shape of uncus (not bilobed as in
P. moca
), presence of proximal frontal processes on male chelicerae and slightly different shape of epigynal plate (narrower in
P. moca
; compare
Fig. 64
with fig.
921 in
Huber 2011b
).
Etymology
Named for the
Punu
(or Bapunu, Bapounou), one of the four major peoples of Gabon; noun in apposition.
Type
material
Holotype
♂
, in
ZFMK
(
Ar 11938
)
.
Type
locality
GABON
,
Haut
Ogooué
,
forest
above Canyon rose near
Lékoni
(
1°38.6’S
,
14°17.5’E
),
600 m
a.s.l.,
19 Aug. 2011
(
B.A. & S.R. Huber
).
Other material examined
GABON
:
Haut
Ogooué
:
2 ♂♂
,
10 ♀♀
in
ZFMK
(
Ar 11939
), same data as holotype
;
2 ♀♀
,
2 juvs
in pure ethanol, in
ZFMK
(
Gab 209
), same data
.
1 ♂
in
ZFMK
(
Ar 11940
),
forest
at
Lékoni
River
(
1°10.7’S
,
13°32.3’E
),
305 m
a.s.l.,
18 Aug. 2011
(
B.A. & S.R. Huber
)
;
1 ♀
,
1 juv.
in pure ethanol, in
ZFMK
(
Gab 213
), same data
.
1 ♂
,
3 ♀♀
in
ZFMK
(
Ar 11941
),
forest
near Bongoville
(
1°36.7’S
,
13°57.4’E
),
600-650 m
a.s.l.,
20 Aug. 2011
(
B.A. Huber
)
;
2 juvs
in pure ethanol, in
ZFMK
(
Gab 207
), same data
.
Ogooué-Ivindo
:
5 ♂♂
,
4 ♀♀
in
ZFMK
(
Ar 11942
),
near
Mohoba
Mozeye
(
0°16.8’N
,
13°20.9’E
),
510 m
a.s.l.,
forest along road
,
17 Aug. 2011
(
B.A. & S.R. Huber
)
;
2 ♀♀
,
3 juvs
in pure ethanol, in
ZFMK
(
Gab 169
), same data
.
Ogooué-Lolo
:
1 ♂
,
1 ♀
in
ZFMK
(
Ar 11943
),
forest
at
brook near Lastoursville, near Grotte de Pahon Pira
(
0°48.8’S
,
12°45.2’E
),
290 m
a.s.l.,
22-23 Aug. 2011
(
B.A. Huber
)
.
2 ♂♂
,
1 ♀
in
ZFMK
(
Ar 11944
),
forest near Lastoursville
(
0°48.0’S
,
12°44.4’E
),
300 m
a.s.l.,
21 Aug. 2011
(
B.A. Huber
)
;
3 juvs
in pure ethanol, in
ZFMK
(
Gab 221
), same data
.
1 ♂
,
1 ♀
in
ZFMK
(
Ar 11945
),
near
Moudouma
(
1°23.5’S
,
12°09.6’E
),
475 m
a.s.l.,
forest along brook
,
24 Aug. 2011
(
B.A. & S.R. Huber
)
;
1 juv
in pure ethanol, in
ZFMK
(
Gab 157
), same data
.
Ngounié
:
2 ♂♂
,
4 ♀♀
in
ZFMK
(
Ar 11946
),
Massif du
Chaillu
, ‘site 2’, near Moukabou
(
1°36.6’S
,
11°40.7’E
),
560 m
a.s.l.,
forest
,
25 Aug. 2011
(
B.A. & S.R. Huber
)
;
3 juvs
in pure ethanol, in
ZFMK
(
Gab 174
), same data
.
4 ♂♂
,
7 ♀♀
in
ZFMK
(
Ar 11947
),
Massif du
Chaillu
, ‘site 3’, between Mimongo & Yéno
(
1°38.1’S
,
11°32.6’E
),
570-650 m
a.s.l.,
forest
,
26 Aug. 2011
(
B.A. & S.R. Huber
)
;
3 juvs
in pure ethanol, in
ZFMK
(
Gab 233
), same data.
1 ♂
in
ZFMK
(
Ar 11948
),
Massif du
Chaillu
, ‘site 4’, between Yéno and Mouila
(
1°43.7’S
,
11°18.4’E
),
650 m
a.s.l.,
forest along river
,
26 Aug. 2011
(
B.A. & S.R. Huber
)
.
3 ♂♂
,
7 ♀♀
in
ZFMK
(
Ar 11949
),
near Moulandoufouala
(
1°38.1’S
,
10°42.5’E
),
110 m
a.s.l.,
forest along road
,
27 Aug. 2011
(
B.A. & S.R. Huber
)
;
4 juvs
in pure ethanol, in
ZFMK
(
Gab 184
), same data
.
Moyen-Ogooué
:
3 ♂♂
in
ZFMK
(
Ar 11950
),
S of Lambaréné near Tchad
(
0°58.1’S
,
10°22.7’E
),
165 m
a.s.l.,
forest
,
27 Aug. 2011
(
B.A. & S.R. Huber
)
.
Figs 63-68.
Pholcus punu
sp. nov.
63
. ♂, dorsal view.
64
. Epigynum, ventral view.
65
. Cleared ♀ genitalia, dorsal view.
66-68
. Left ♂ palp, prolateral, dorsal, and retrolateral views.
Figs 69-74.
Pholcus punu
sp. nov.
69-70
. Left ♂ palp, prolateral and retrolateral views.
71
. Extended palp with rotated bulb.
72
. ♂ chelicerae, frontal view.
73-74
. Cleared ♀ genitalia, ventral and dorsal views. a = appendix; b = bulb; e = embolus; pr = procursus; u = uncus. Scale lines: 69-71, 73-74 = 0.5 mm; 72 = 0.3 mm.
Description
Male
(
holotype
)
MEASUREMENTS. Total body length 3.0, carapace width 0.9. Leg 1: 27.0 (6.4 + 0.4 + 6.5 + 11.5 + 2.2), tibia 2: 4.5, tibia 3: 2.7, tibia 4: 4.1; tibia 1 L/d: 82. Distance PME-PME 265 µm, diameter PME 95 µm, distance PME-ALE 45 µm, AME absent (only black spots without lenses).
COLOR. Carapace ochre-orange with large brown median mark, ocular area also brown, sternum medially slightly darkened; legs with dark rings on femora subdistally, patellae plus tibiae proximally, and tibiae subdistally; abdomen grey with internal black and whitish spots dorsally and laterally.
BODY. Habitus as in
Fig. 63
; ocular area slightly elevated, each triad on short hump directed laterally; carapace without median furrow; clypeus unmodified; sternum wider than long (0.66/0.52), unmodified. Chelicerae as in
Fig. 72
, with pair of lateral processes proximally, pair of frontal apophyses proximally, and pair of frontal apophyses distally provided with two modified hairs each; without stridulatory ridges.
PALPS. As in
Figs 66-71
, coxa unmodified, trochanter with short and wide retrolatero-ventral apophysis, femur with short retrolatero-dorsal process proximally, procursus complex, with distinctive sclerotized and membranous elements; bulb with large uncus, simple weakly sclerotized embolus, and hooked appendix.
LEGS. Without spines and curved hairs, few vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium on tibia 1 at 3%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1, present on other tibiae; tarsus 1 with>20 pseudosegments, only distally fairly distinct.
VARIATION. Tibia
1 in
22 other males: 6.7-8.8 (mean 7.9). Clypeus variably dark; AME spots sometimes fused. In most males the palps are extended and the bulbs rotated as in
Fig. 71
.
Female
In general similar to male; tibia
1 in
36 females
: 5.3-7.1 (mean 6.3). Epigynum with distinct plate and ‘knob’, anterior area weakly sclerotized, ‘valve’ and other internal structures visible through cuticle (
Fig. 64
); internal genitalia as in
Figs 65
and
73-74
.
Natural history
The spiders were mostly found in the leaf litter and in cavities in the ground (
Fig. 12
), sometimes sharing the microhabitat with a representative of
Smeringopina
(e.g.
S. moudouma
Huber,
2013
in forest near Lastoursville;
S. fang
Huber, 2013
between Yéno and Mouila;
S. lekoni
Huber, 2013
at
Lékoni
River). The two specimens from
Moudouma
were found at the rock surface (
Fig. 13
) close to a small brook.
Distribution
Known from various localities in Gabon south of the Ogooué-Ivindo Rivers (
Fig. 27
; the closely related
P. moca
Huber, 2011
seems to be confined to the north of these rivers).