Three new genera of arboreal dark sac spiders from southern Africa (Araneae: Trachelidae).
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Authors
Haddad, Charles R.
Lyle, Robin
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Magnolia Press
Abstract
As part of a revision of the Afrotropical species of Trachelas L. Koch, 1872 (Araneae: Trachelidae), we distinguished three new genera of primarily arboreal spiders from southern Africa that are described here: Coronarachne ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป. ๐ป๐ผ๐., represented by four new species known from both sexes, C. denticulata ๐๐ฝ. ๐ป๐ผ๐. (type species), C. penicillus ๐๐ฝ. ๐ป๐ผ๐., C. setosa ๐๐ฝ. ๐ป๐ผ๐. and C. unigena ๐๐ฝ. ๐ป๐ผ๐., and C. neethlingi ๐๐ฝ. ๐ป๐ผ๐., known only from the male; Falcaranea ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป. ๐ป๐ผ๐., represented by three new species known from both sexes, F. amatola ๐๐ฝ. ๐ป๐ผ๐., F. gladius ๐๐ฝ. ๐ป๐ผ๐. (type species) and F. maputensis ๐๐ฝ. ๐ป๐ผ๐.; and Trachecymbius ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป. ๐ป๐ผ๐., represented by five new species, T. bosselaersi ๐๐ฝ. ๐ป๐ผ๐. (โ), T. felis ๐๐ฝ. ๐ป๐ผ๐. (โโ), T. peterwebbi ๐๐ฝ. ๐ป๐ผ๐. (โ), T. tyume ๐๐ฝ. ๐ป๐ผ๐. (type species, โโ), and T. umbella ๐๐ฝ. ๐ป๐ผ๐. (โ). These three genera share the presence of strongly protruding setal bases on the ventral surfaces of the anterior legs, which are more strongly developed in males and can be mistaken for small ventral cusps that are found in several trachelid genera. Identification keys are provided for each of the three genera and their phylogenetic affinities to other Afrotropical Trachelidae are evaluated based on the cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI) gene. Most of the species described here were common in canopy fogging samples, and to a lesser extent beating, but are clearly a prominent component of the arboreal trachelid fauna in savanna and forest habitats in southern Africa.
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Citation
Haddad, C. R., & Lyle, R. (2024). Three new genera of arboreal dark sac spiders from southern Africa (Araneae: Trachelidae). Zootaxa, 5399(5), 451-504. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5399.5.1