Published July 3, 2009 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Zelotibia Russell-Smith & Murphy 2005

  • 1. Institut National pour l'Environnement et la Conservation de la Nature, Bujumbura & -
  • 2. Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren

Description

Key to the species of Zelotibia

(illustrations modified from Russell-Smith & Murphy, 2005)

Males:

1 Male palpal femur clearly curved (A2); retrolateral margin of cymbium with triangular extension (A1)............................................................................ 2

– Male palpal femur straight (B1), retrolateral margin of cymbium straight or slightly curved (except in Z. dolabra) (B2)................................................. 10

2 Tibial apophysis of palp originating on basal part of tibia, scoop-shaped in lateral view, reflexed forward so that it lies parallel to the long axis of the tibia. (A3)............................................................................................................ 3

– Tibial apophysis not scoop-shaped in lateral view and originating midway of tibia (B3).................................................................................................... 8

3 Tibial apophysis bifid, with two strong prongs at tip (C1)........... Z. lejeunei

– Tibial apophysis not bifid (D2)................................................................... 4

4 Embolus broad, bifid or indented at tip (D1)............................................. 5

– Embolus tapered to sharp tip (E1).............................................................. 6

5 Tibial apophysis almost straight as seen from below (D2); embolus flat, with shallow indentation at tip (D1)...................................................... Z. kaibos

– Tibial apophysis slightly curved outward as seen from below (F1); embolus twisted with deep indentation, appearing bifid (F2)............... Z. curvifemur

6 Extremity of embolus beak-shaped (G1); median apophysis small (G2)............................................................................................................. Z. mitella

– Extremity of embolus sharp (E1); median apophysis large (E2) or with two prongs (H2)................................................................................................ 7

7 Tegulum with semitransparent distal extension (H1); median apophysis with two prongs (H2)............................................................................. Z. major

– Tegulum without distal extension; median apophysis occupying half the bulbus (E2)...................................................................................... Z. simpula

8 Embolus blade shaped in ventral view (I2).................................... Z. cultella

– Embolus thin and needle-shaped (K2)........................................................ 9

9 Tibial apophysis with minute basal tooth (I1)............................... Z. acicula

– Tibial apophysis without such a basal tooth (K1)......................... Z. scobina

10 Tibial apophysis of palp, viewed laterally, large and robust, the tip reflexed dorsally through 90 o (L1)............................................................ Z. flexuosa

– Tibial apophysis of palp otherwise............................................................ 11

11 Tibial apophysis of palp small and semi-translucent in lateral view (M1). Palpal tibia with a group of small dark papillae on a boss behind apophysis (M2)......................................................................................................... 13

– Palpal tibia lacking a group of dark papillae on a boss............................... 12

12 Tibial apophysis of palp minute, triangular (J1), the tip slightly downcurved.................................................................................................. Z. filiformis

– Palpal tibia with two large apophyses (retro-lateral and pro-lateral) (N1)...................................................................................................... Z. bicornuta

13 MA in ventral view clearly truncate at tip (Q1, P1).................................. 14

– MA in ventral view sharply pointed at tip (Q1)........................................ 15

14 In ventral view, MA almost twice as long as broad (O1), tip of embolus smoothly curved.(O2)................................................................ Z. papillata

– In ventral view, MA only slightly longer than broad (P1), tip of embolus sinuous (P2).................................................................................... Z. supercilia

15 In ventral view, embolus narrow, tip undivided (Q1)........ Z. paucipapillata

– In ventral view, embolus broad, the tip divided (R 1).................... Z. dolabra

Females:

1 Epigyne with large hood-shaped atrium anteriorly, lacking a clearly defined scape (a1).................................................................................................... 2

– Epigyne without a clearly defined atrium and with a scape (a2).................. 7

2 With area of ridged cuticle anterior to epigyne (a3).................... Z. scobina

– Without area of ridged cuticle anterior to epigyne..................................... 3

3 Anterior margin of atrium broadly rounded (a4)......................................... 4

– Anterior margin incurved (a5)....................................................................6

4 Copulatory ducts reflexed outwards at anterior end and opening at base of atrium (b1)................................................................................................. 5

– Copulatory ducts not reflexed outwards at anterior end, openings surrounded by blackish area (b2)................................................................... Z. simpula

5 Copulatory ducts at frontal curve with short diverticulum (b3).................................................................................................................. Z. curvifemur

– Copulatory ducts at frontal curve without diverticulum............... Z. mitella

6 Atrium heart-shaped (a5); copulatory openings long lateral slits (b5)............................................................................................................... Z. angelica

– Atrium kidney-shaped (b6); copulatory openings oval (b7).............................................................................................................................. Z. subsessa

7 Epigynal scape tongue-shaped, the tip smoothly rounded (c1).... Z. bicornuta

– Epigynal scape not tongue-shaped, the tip pointed (a2).............................. 8

8 Epigynal scape large, reaching spermathecae (c2)......................... Z. lejeunei

– Epigynal scape much smaller, not overhanging part of spermathecae (a2)..... 9

9 Copulatory openings large (c3), connected by transverse groove (c4)................................................................................................................... Z. major

– Copulatory openings smaller, not connected by groove............................. 10

10 Spermathecae globular (c5), copulatory ducts S-shaped (c6)..................... 11

– Spermathecae oval or flask-shaped (d1)..................................................... 12

11 Posterior margin of epigynal scape with sinuous sides (d2); copulatory ducts strongly curved (c6)..................................................................... Z. fosseyae

– Posterior margin of epigynal scape with straight sides (d3); copulatory ducts less strongly curved (d4)............................................................. Z. flexuosa

12 Epigynal scape a narrow small triangle; copulatory ducts longer than spermathecae (e1)................................................................................ Z. kibira

– Epigynal scape a larger triangle; copulatory ducts shorter than spermathecae (e2)........................................................................................................... 13

13 Tip of epigynal scape forming an obtuse angle, spermathecae located imme- diately posterior to tip of scape (e3).......................................... Z. supercilia

– Tip of epigynal scape forming an acute angle (e4)..................................... 14

14 Spermathecae not touching (f1)................................................. Z. papillata

– Spermathecae adjacent (f2)...................................................................... 15

15 Convex median part of spermathecae touching (f2).................................. 16

– Spermathecae touching in front and behind concave median part (f3)................................................................................................... Z. paucipapillata

16 Copulatory ducts curved at right angle between copulatory opening and spermathecae..................................................................................... Z. kanama

– Curve of copulatory ducts more obtuse (f5).............................................. 17

17 Curve delimiting copulatory openings at base of scape narrow (e5)................................................................................................................. Z. filiformis

– Curve delimiting copulatory openings at base of scape wide (f5)..................................................................................................................... Z. johntony

Notes

Published as part of Nzigidahera, Benoît & Jocqué, Rudy, 2009, An of Zelotibia (Araneae, Gnaphosidae), a spider genus with a species swarm in the Albertine Rift, pp. 1-28 in ZooKeys 13 (13) on pages 21-26, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.13.145, http://zenodo.org/record/576463

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Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

Scientific name authorship
Russell-Smith & Murphy
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Order
Araneae
Family
Gnaphosidae
Genus
Zelotibia
Taxon rank
genus
Taxonomic concept label
Zelotibia &, 2005 sec. Nzigidahera & Jocqué, 2009

References

  • Russell-Smith A, Murphy JA (2005) Zelotibia, a new zelotine spider genus from central Africa (Araneae, Gnaphosidae). Journal of Afrotropical Zoology 2: 103 - 122.