Three new genera of arboreal dark sac spiders from southern Africa (Araneae: Trachelidae).

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Haddad, Charles R.
Lyle, Robin

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Magnolia Press

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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 ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ., represented by four new species known from both sexes, C. denticulata ๐˜€๐—ฝ. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ. (type species), C. penicillus ๐˜€๐—ฝ. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ., C. setosa ๐˜€๐—ฝ. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ. and C. unigena ๐˜€๐—ฝ. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ., and C. neethlingi ๐˜€๐—ฝ. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ., known only from the male; Falcaranea ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ., represented by three new species known from both sexes, F. amatola ๐˜€๐—ฝ. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ., F. gladius ๐˜€๐—ฝ. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ. (type species) and F. maputensis ๐˜€๐—ฝ. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ.; and Trachecymbius ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ป. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ., represented by five new species, T. bosselaersi ๐˜€๐—ฝ. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ. (โ™€), T. felis ๐˜€๐—ฝ. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ. (โ™‚โ™€), T. peterwebbi ๐˜€๐—ฝ. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ. (โ™‚), T. tyume ๐˜€๐—ฝ. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ. (type species, โ™‚โ™€), and T. umbella ๐˜€๐—ฝ. ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ. (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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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

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