On a new genus of dwarf tarantulas (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Theraphosidae) endemic from Peru: evidence from morphology and molecular phylogeny, with description of three new species

Posted by
  On a new genus of dwarf tarantulas ( Araneae : Mygalomorphae : Theraphosidae ) endemic from Peru: evidence from morphology and molecular phylogeny, with description of three new species Abstract Recent field campaigns conducted in Peru along with the examination of museum specimens allowed us to identify small tarantulas that do not fit with any known Theraphosidae genera. Morphology and additional molecular evidence from the mitochondrial gene COI led us to propose Kiskalla gen. nov . from southern Peru, at Puno region. Three new species of Kiskalla gen. nov . ( K. ignacioi sp. nov ., K. yeisoni sp. nov . and K. zukuapasanka sp. nov .) are herein described, diagnosed and illustrated. Kiskalla gen. nov . differs from the known Theraphosinae genera in the presence of lateral stripes on the abdomen and a small dorsal arrowhead-shaped patch of type III urticating setae, presence of a large number of spines on all legs, short and stout setae on the dorsal metatarsi encirc...

And they just keep coming: four new genera of dark sac spiders from southern Africa (Araneae, Trachelidae)

Posted by

 


And they just keep coming: four new genera of dark sac spiders from southern Africa (Araneae, Trachelidae)

Abstract

As part of ongoing revisions of the Afrotropical Trachelidae, four new genera are described from southern Africa: Foordana gen. nov., with F. distincta sp. nov. from South Africa (Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape) as the type species, F. flavipoda sp. nov. from the Free State, F. kasouga sp. nov. from the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, and a fourth undescribed species from Zimbabwe; the monotypic Mushimane gen. nov., with M. tswibilinki sp. nov. from KwaZulu-Natal as the type species; Namaquella gen. nov., with N. arida sp. nov. from the Northern Cape as the type species and N. samanthae sp. nov. from the Western Cape; and Rukuluk gen. nov. from South Africa, with R. gramineus sp. nov. from the Northern Cape as the type species and a second undescribed species from KwaZulu-Natal known only from juveniles.

Haddad CR (2025) And they just keep coming: four new genera of dark sac spiders from southern Africa (Araneae, Trachelidae). African Invertebrates 66(1): 19-64. https://doi.org/10.3897/AfrInvertebr.66.139299