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Two species of TusitalaPeckham & Peckham, 1902, largely sympatric throughout southern Africa, T. barbataPeckham & Peckham, 1902 and T. hirsutaPeckham & Peckham, 1902, are redescribed. One subspecies, T. barbata longipalpis syn. n., is synonymised with T. barbata. One new species, T. ansieae sp. n., is described from Botswana based on both sexes.
A new species, Geraesta ansieae sp. n. is described and illustrated. Further, two species are illustrated, diagnosed and transferred from Stephanopis O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1869 to GeraestaSimon, 1889: G. congoensis (Lessert, 1943) comb. n. and G. octolobata (Simon, 1886) comb. n. New localities for G. hirtaSimon, 1889 are given and a key to the males of all of the valid species is provided. Stephanopis rhomboidalisSimon, 1886 is considered a nomen dubium.
The male of Rothus vittatus Simon, 1898 is described and illustrated for the first time. The African genus Rothus Simon, 1898 is reviewed. Based on the examination of available type material and type illustrations, R. purpurissatus Simon, 1898 and R. magnusCaporiacco, 1940 are here considered junior subjective synonyms of R. aethiopicusPavesi, 1883. The three currently accepted species (R. auratusPocock, 1900, R. aethiopicus and R. vittatus) are illustrated and redescribed.
The Afrotropical two-eyed orange lungless spider genus DiploglenaPurcell, 1904 is revised. Both sexes of the South African type species, D. capensisPurcell, 1904, are redescribed, as well as the females of the Namibian subspecies D. capensis majorLawrence, 1928. The males of this species are described for the first time, and it is elevated to species level as D. major stat. n.; it is also recorded from Botswana and South Africa for the first time. Four new species are described: D. arida sp. n., D. dippenaarae sp. n. and D. proxila sp. n. from South Africa, and D. karooica sp. n. from South Africa and Namibia. All of the species are distributed in arid and semi-arid vegetation types, including desert, Nama and Succulent Karoo, fynbos and dry savannahs.
A new genus of huntsman spiders, May gen. n. is described from southern Africa, together with four new species: M. bruno sp. n. (♂, ♀; South Africa), M. ansie sp. n. (♂; Namibia), M. rudy sp. n. (♂; Namibia) and M. norm sp. n. (♀; Namibia). Diagnostic characters proposed include not only those for the genus but also for the so-called African clade. Unique within the entire family are the reduction of the gnathocoxal serrula and the prolaterad embolus. Special claw tuft setae and metatarsi I to III with three prolateral and retrolateral spines, respectively, occur in the entire African clade. A proximal cymbial shoulder in the male palp, the fused lateral lobes of the epigyne and the prolateral proximal spine of leg I shifted to a median position is characteristic for May gen. n. A family-wide analysis of genetic distance in the nuclear 28SrDNA gene (28s), including M. bruno sp. n., supports its isolated placement and thus the genus hypothesis.
Three new species of Zodariidae (Araneae) are described from Yemen. Acanthinozodium ansieae sp. n. (♂♀), is found on the island Socotra, whereas both the other species, Zodarion yemenensis sp. n. (♂♀) and Dusmadiores orientalis sp. n. (♂♀), are from the continental mainland Yemen.
The Archaeidae is a small family of very rare spiders represented by one genus and twelve species in southern Africa. A new species of Afrarchaea from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (A. ansieae sp. n.) is described here.
Two new species of trachelids of the Afrotropical genus AfrocetoLyle & Haddad, 2010 are described. Both species, A. ansieae sp. n. and A. dippenaarae sp. n., are endemic to South Africa. An updated identification key to males of the genus is provided.
The grass huntsman spider genus PseudomicrommataJärvi, 1914 is revised in the Afrotropical Region, resulting in the recognition of four valid species. The type species, P. longipes (Bösenberg & Lenz, 1895) is redescribed and recorded from Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, South Africa and Namibia. Pseudomicrommata vittigera (Simon, 1897) stat. rev. (from South Africa and Namibia) is revalidated and its male described here for the first time. Two new species are described: P. mary sp. n. (male and female) from Guinea and Ivory Coast, and P. schoemanae sp. n. (female) from Cameroon.
A new species of bird-dropping spider, Pasilobus dippenaarae sp. n., is described from the KwaZulu-Natal midlands, South Africa on the basis of females. A key is provided to the six Afrotropical species of the genus. Notes are provided on the habitat and web-building behaviour of P. dippenaarae sp. n., as well as the egg sac structure.
Four species of Zodariidae new to science are described from Mkomazi Game Reserve in northern Tanzania; Diores similis sp. n., Dusmadiores laminatus sp. n., Heradida minutissima sp. n. and Ranops dippenaarae sp. n. In addition, the female of Diores murphyorumJocqué, 1990 is described for the first time. The reasons for the apparent abundance and high diversity of zodariids in Mkomazi are briefly discussed.
The first mainland African representative of AndoharanoLehtinen, 1967, A. ansieae sp. n., is described from north-eastern Namibia on the basis of both sexes. The new species differs from other congeners in peculiarities of coloration in both sexes, as well as in possessing a small thorn at the base of the embolus. The receptacles of Andoharano are studied for the first time. An unexpected occurrence of Andoharano in Namibia, with the genus formerly known only from Madagascar, is briefly discussed.
A new species of SphaerowithiusMahnert, 1988, S. ansieae sp. n., is described from specimens collected in caves in northern Namibia. The specimens show some slight modifications to an obligate cavernicolous existence including small eyes and long, slender pedipalps.
The scorpion fauna of southern Africa is very diverse, especially in the arid western half of the subcontinent. New species continue to be discovered as the region is surveyed with ultraviolet light detection methods. The present contribution describes Uroplectes ansiedippenaarae sp. n., which is endemic to the Succulent Karoo Biome in the Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa. The new species appears to be most closely related to U. variegatus (C.L. Koch, 1844), which is endemic to the Fynbos Biome in the Western Cape Province. Uroplectes ansiedippenaarae sp. n. is the smallest species of Uroplectes Peters, 1861, and among the smallest scorpion species in southern Africa, with adults ranging from 16–20 mm in total length. The addition of this new species raises the number of Uroplectes species and subspecies in South Africa to 19, and the number of endemics to 10.
Melanoblossiidae Roewer, 1933 is a small family of solifuges (Solifugae, Arachnida), comprising two subfamilies: Melanoblossiinae Roewer, 1933 and the monotypic Dinorhaxinae Roewer, 1933. The Melanoblossiinae consists of 15 currently recognised species, restricted to southern Africa. A new species, Melanoblossia ansie sp. n., placed in the Melanoblossiinae, is described from Namibia. This brings to five the number of species in MelanoblossiaPurcell, 1903, and is the first record of Melanoblossia from Namibia. The flagellum and principal seta of the setiform flagellar complex characteristic of Melanoblossiinae are discussed.
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