Navorsinge VAN DIE NASIONALE MUSEUM BLOEMFONTEIN VOLUME 27, PART 2 OCTOBER 2011 The genus Cheiracanthium (Araneae: Miturgidae) in the Afrotropical Region. 3. Description of four new species by Leon N. Lotz NAVORSINGE VAN DIE NASIONALE MUSEUM, BLOEMFONTEIN is an accredited journal which publishes original research results. Manuscripts on topics related to the approved research disciplines of the Museum, and/or those based on study collections of the Museum, and/or studies undertaken in the Free State, will be considered. Submission of a manuscript will be taken to imply that the material is original and that no similar paper is being or will be submitted for publication elsewhere. Authors will bear full responsibility for the factual content of their publications and opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Museum. All contributions will be critically reviewed by at least two appropriate external referees. 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Bydraes sal vir kritiese oorweging na ten minste twee geskikte buite- beoordelaars verwys word. Manuskripte vir publikasie moet voorgelê word aan: Die Redakteur, Navorsinge, Nasionale Museum, Posbus 266, Bloemfontein, 9300, Suid-Afrika. Voorskrifte aan outeurs verskyn afsonderlik aan die einde van 'n volume of kan van die redakteur verkry word. ISSN 0067-9208 NATURAL SCIENCES VOLUME 27, PART 2 OCTOBER 2011 The genus Cheiracanthium (Araneae: Miturgidae) in the Afrotropical Region. 3. Description of four new species by Leon N. Lotz National Museum, Bloemfontein, P.O. Box 266, Bloemfontein, 9300, South Africa E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT Lotz, L.N. 2011. The genus Cheiracanthium (Araneae: Miturgidae) in the Afrotropical Region. 3. Description of four new species. Navors. nas. Mus., Bloemfontein 27(2): 21-36. Specimens received on loan from the Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany included four new species of the genus Cheiracanthium that are described here as C. knipperi (♂ & ♀ from Tanzania), C. nickeli (♂ from Mauritania), C. rwandensis (♂ from Rwanda) and C. verdensis (♂ from the Cape Verde Islands). (Cheiracanthium, Araneae, Miturgidae, taxonomy, Afrotropical Region) ISBN 1 86847 138 1 22 Navors. nas. Mus., Bloemfontein, Volume 27, Part 2 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 22 METHODS ........................................................................................................................... 22 ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................................. 23 SYSTEMATICS ................................................................................................................... 23 Cheiracanthium C.L. Koch ............................................................................................... 23 Cheiracanthium knipperi sp. n .. .................................................................................. 24 Cheiracanthium nickeli sp. n ....................................................................................... 28 Cheiracanthium rwandensis sp. n ................................................................................ 30 Cheiracanthium verdensis sp. n ................................................................................... 32 OPSOMMING...................................................................................................................... 34 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................. 34 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 35 INTRODUCTION The genus Cheiracanthium C.L. Koch, 1839 is widely known and comprises free-living spiders that actively hunt on vegetation. These spiders have a wide habitat range and are commonly found in grassland and savannah. They are known as sac spiders due to the sac- like retreats they build in vegetation. Four types of retreats are recognised: for resting, mating, breeding and hibernating. During egg incubation the female encloses herself in the breeding retreat together with the eggs, to guard them (Lotz 2007a). Members of the genus are often found in agro-ecosystems (Dippenaar-Schoeman & Jocque 1997). As part of a series on the genus Cheiracanthium in the Afrotropical Region, Lotz (2007a) published the first revision, reducing the number of species known from the Afrotropical Region from 52 to 20, and listing as incertae sedis 18 species for which the types could not be found. Lotz (2007b) later added 12 new species, bringing the total to 32 species for the region. The present study adds four new species. METHODS A total of 81 specimens on loan from the Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Frankfurt am Main, Germany were examined and four new species (five specimens) were identified. Format and methods follow Lotz (2007a). The external and internal genitalia of the female, the ventral and retrolateral views of the male palp, and the teeth on the cheliceral fang furrow, were illustrated using a drawing-tube. The cheliceral fang furrow, teeth were drawn with a curved line representing the fang base (FB) and round black spots representing the cheliceral promarginal (PMT) and retromarginal (RMT) teeth. Measurements (in mm) were taken using a Zeiss ocular micrometer. Map references were not provided for all specimens as the label information was insufficient. The distribution of the four new Afrotropical species is mapped. 2011 L.N. Lotz – New species of Cheiracanthium from Africa 23 ABBREVIATIONS AER = Anterior eye row; ALE = Anterior lateral eyes; AME = Anterior median eyes; CA = cymbial apophysis; CI = Carapace index; CL = Carapace length; CLL = Clypeal length; CON = conductor; CW = Carapace width; EM = embolus; FB = Fang base; LL = Total length of leg I; LL:CL = Leg I / carapace index; MOQ = Median ocular quadrangle; MOQAW = MOQ anterior width; MOQPW = MOQ posterior width; OAL = Ocular area length; OAW = Ocular area width; PER = Posterior eye row; PLE = Posterior lateral eyes; PME = Posterior median eyes; PMT = Promarginal teeth; RMT = Retromarginal teeth; RTA = Retrolateral tibial apophysis; STL = Sternum length; STW = Sternum width; T1 = Total length of leg I; TA = tegular apophysis; TL = Total length. Leg setae: v = ventral; p = prolateral; r = retrolateral. SYSTEMATICS Cheiracanthium C.L. Koch Cheiracanthium C.L. Koch, 1839: 9 (Type species: Aranea punctorium Villers, 1789). Simon 1897: 87; Simon 1932: 895; Petrunkevitch 1933: 53; Reimoser 1937: 71; Lehtinen 1967: 291; Dondale & Redner 1982: 17; Roberts 1985: 88; Sterghiu 1985: 100; Newlands 1986: 86; Yaginuma 1986: 177; Chikuni 1989: 122, 123; Feng 1990: 168, 169; Paik 1990: 3; Wolf 1991: 233; Bonaldo & Brescovit 1992: 731; Lotz 2007a: 4; 2007b: 148. Helebiona Benoit, 1977: 80 (Type species: H. wilma Benoit, 1977), Lotz 2007a: 66. Diagnosis Representatives of this genus are two-clawed, medium-sized spiders recognized by their uniform creamish-yellow bodies with chelicerae and eye area blackish-brown; eyes in two rows, fovea indistinct; abdomen without long curved erect setae antero-dorsally and with distinct heart-mark; leg I longer than IV and all the femora without dorsal setae; female genitalia with small well separated spermathecae and male palp with long cymbial and retrolateral tibial apophyses. Relationships In the Afrotropical Region Cheiracanthium is closely related to Tecution Benoit, 1977, with which it shares the presence of a CA, a long EM and the presence of a distinct CON. It differs from Tecution in the absence of a fovea, palpal setae and dorsal setae on the femora, and in the shape and size of the epigynum. Cheiracanthium is also closely related to Cheiramiona Lotz & Dippenaar-Schoeman 1999, but differs in the smaller, rounded SPER, the presence of a CA and the long thin EM of the male palp, as well as the number of setae on the legs and the number of PMT and RMT on the fang furrow. The relationship of the genus Cheiracanthium to other Afrotropical genera will be clear only after generic revisions of all Miturgidae genera of this region have been completed. Distribution Cheiracanthium has a worldwide distribution, and is absent only from the polar regions. Species have been collected from most countries and islands in the Afrotropical Region. 24 Navors. nas. Mus., Bloemfontein, Volume 27, Part 2 Cheiracanthium knipperi sp. n. Figs 1-8, 21 Holotype 1♂, TANZANIA: Pwani region