Buitinga wataita sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:E19D0275-54F4-4F89-BF12-D2AF12B7276A

Figs 32-35, 75-80

Buitinga Kenya 5: Dimitrov, Astrin & Huber 2012 (DNA sequence data).

Diagnosis

Distinguished from known congeners by combination of male cheliceral armature (Fig. 77), male palp (shapes of procursus and bulbal process; Figs 75, 76), color pattern on prosoma and abdomen (Figs 32- 35), and epigynum with straight scape in anterior position and distinctive posterior structure (Fig. 78).

Etymology

The species is named after the Taita people (also Wataita or Wadawida), a Kenyan ethnic group located in the Taita-Taveta District; noun in apposition.

Type material

Holotype

♂, in ZFMK (Ar 8737) .

Paratypes

10 ♂♂, 7 ♀♀, in ZFMK (9 ♂♂, 6 ♀♀: Ar 8738-39) and NMKE (1 ♂, 1 ♀) .

Type locality

KENYA, Coast Province, Taita Hills, Ngangao Forest (3°22.2’ S, 38°20.4’ E), 1810 m a.s.l., 19 Jan. 2010 (B.A. Huber).

Other material examined

KENYA: Coast Province: 4 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀ in pure ethanol, in ZFMK (Ken 89), Taita Hills, Ngangao Forest, same data as types above ; 1 ♀, 1 juv., in MRAC (209580), Ngangao Forest, 1720 m a.s.l., sweeping along forest edge, 25 Mar. 2000 (R. Jocqué, C. Warui) ; 11 ♂♂, 9 ♀♀, in ZFMK (Ar 8740) and 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, in NMKE, Taita Hills, Macha Forest (3°25.3’S, 38°21.5’E), 1610 m a.s.l., 20 Jan. 2010 (B.A. Huber) ; 3 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀ in pure ethanol, in ZFMK (Ken 94), same data; 1 ♂, 3 ♀♀, in ZFMK (Ar 8741), Taita Hills, Ndiwenyi Forest (3°26.4’S, 38°20.6’E), 1610 m a.s.l., 20 Jan. 2010 (B.A. Huber) ; 12 ♂♂, 6 ♀♀, in ZFMK (Ar 8742), Chavia Forest (3°28.8’S, 38°20.4’E), 1590 m a.s.l., 20 Jan. 2010 (B.A. Huber) ; 2 ♀♀ in pure ethanol, in ZFMK (Ken 95), same data; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, 1 juv., in CAS, S slopes Taita Hills, 1030 m a.s.l., 30 Oct. 1957 (E.S. Ross, R.E. Leech) .

Description

Male (holotype)

MEASUREMENTS. Total body length 3.4, carapace width 1.3. Leg 1: 27.0 (6.8 + 0.5 + 6.5 + 10.4 + 2.8), tibia 2: 4.1, tibia 3: 3.0, tibia 4: 4.0; tibia 1 L/d: 41. Distance PME-PME 185 µm, diameter PME 90 µm, distance PME-ALE 55 µm, no AME.

COLOR. Prosoma pale whitish with black pattern on carapace including ocular area and clypeus, sternum with wide black lateral V-shaped margins, legs ochre-yellow, darker rings on femora (subdistally) and tibiae (proximally and subdistally), tips of femora and tibiae lighter, abdomen pale grey with distinctive black pattern.

BODY. Habitus as in Figs 32-34; ocular area slightly elevated; no thoracic furrow, with small median cone on carapace posteriorly; clypeus unmodified. Chelicerae as in Fig. 77, with proximal lateral apophyses, pair of small apophyses proximally near median line, and frontal apophyses in relatively proximal position provided with four modified hairs each (Fig. 80). Sternum as wide as long (0.65), unmodified.

PALPS. As in Figs 75 and 76, coxa and trochanter each with retrolatero-ventral apophysis, femur barely modified, trichobothria on tibia very distal, procursus strongly bent back towards femur, distally complex, bulb with simple weakly sclerotized embolus and distinctive pincer-shaped apophysis accompanied by small sclerotized cone.

LEGS. Without spines and curved hairs, few vertical hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium on tibia 1 at 7%; prolateral trichobothrium absent on tibia 1, present on other tibiae; tarsus 1 with ~20 pseudosegments.

VARIATION. The color patterns are very constant but two elements may be less distinct or even missing: the anterior dorsal abdominal mark and the anterior lateral pair of marks on the carapace. Tibia 1 in 35 other males: 5.8-6.9 (mean 6.4).

Female

In general similar to male but ventral abdominal pattern slightly different (anterior paired element shorter, median element longer; Fig. 35), triads closer together (distance PME-PME 140 µm), and carapace without median cone. Tibia 1 in 25 females: 4.5-5.7 (mean 5.2). Epigynum a simple plate with straight scape in anterior position, with distinctive structure posteriorly (Fig. 78); internal genitalia as in Fig. 79, with small pore plates scattered over wide area.

Distribution

Known from Taita Hills only (Fig. 18).