Robin Lyle

Three New Genera of Tracheline Sac Spiders from Southern Africa (Araneae: Corinnidae)

ABSTRACT Three new genera of sac spiders of the subfamily Trachelinae (Corinnidae) are described from southern Africa. Fuchiba gen. n. is represented by F. aquilonia sp. n. (type species), F. capensis sp. n., F. montana sp. n., F. similis sp. n., F. tortilis sp. n. and F. venteri sp. n. All species are endemic to South Africa except for F. aquilonia sp. n., which is also recorded from Mozambique and Botswana, and F. montana sp. n., which is known from Lesotho. Fuchibotulus gen. n. is represented by F. bicornis sp. n. from South Africa (type species) and F. kigelia sp. n. from South Africa and southern Mozambique, Poachelas gen. n. is represented by three new species, and two species groups are recognised based on leg morphology. The striatus species group is represented by P. striatus sp. n. (type species, South Africa) and P. solitarius sp. n. (Zimbabwe). The montanus species group, represented by P. montanus sp. n., is endemic to South Africa. The three genera show different microhabitat preferences. Representatives of Fuchiba gen. n. and Fuchibotulus gen. n. were collected primarily by pitfall trapping or by hand from leaf litter in various biomes, while representatives of Poachelas gen. n. were collected primarily from the base of grass tussocks, or occasionally by sweep-netting in grassland and savannah. Identification keys to new species are provided for each genus.

A revision of the tracheline sac spider genus Cetonana Strand, 1929 in the Afrotropical Region, with descriptions of two new genera (Araneae : Corinnidae)

ABSTRACT The dark sac spiders of the genus Cetonana Strand, 1929 (Corinnidae: Trachelinae) of the Afrotropical Region are revised. Following a detailed comparison of the somatic and genitalic morphology of the Afrotropical C. martini (Simon, 1897) with the European type species, C. laticeps (Canestrini, 1868), Afroceto gen. n. is established to include the transfer of two Afrotropical species previously described in Cetonana, namely A. martini (Simon, 1897) comb. n. (type species) and A. coenosa (Simon, 1897) comb. n. Three species are proposed as junior synonyms of A. martini, namely C. curvipes (Tucker, 1920) syn. n., C. tridentata (Lessert, 1923) syn. n. and C. simoni (Lawrence, 1942) syn. n. The type of C. aculifera (Strand, 1916) from Madagascar is presumed destroyed and this species is considered nomen dubium. Additionally, 12 new Afroceto gen. n. species are described from southern Africa, namely A. arca sp. n., A. bulla sp. n., A. bisulca sp. n., A. capensis sp. n., A. corcula sp. n., A. croeseri sp. n., A. flabella sp. n., A. gracilis sp. n., A. plana sp. n., A. porrecta sp. n., A. rotunda sp. n. and A. spicula sp. n. Afroceto gen. n. species display variable ecological preferences, occurring in tree canopies, lower foliage strata, bark, and on the ground in contrasting habitats (forests, savannah, grassland, karoo and fynbos) in southern Africa, with single records from Malawi and Tanzania. Patelloceto gen. n., closely resembling Afroceto gen. n. but distinguished by the reduced leg spination and distinctive genitalic morphology, is also described, with three new species, P. secutor sp. n. (type species), P. denticulata sp. n. and P. media sp. n. from southern, central and east Africa. Patelloceto gen. n. species are primarily arboreal, occurring in tree canopies, lower foliage strata or on bark in forests and savannahs.

South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA): review of current knowledge, constraints and future needs for documenting spider diversity (Arachnida: Araneae)

Biodiversity is one of the most important concepts in contemporary biology, with a broad range of applications. In November 1995, South Africa ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Signatories are obligated to develop a strategic plan for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. To meet the requirements of the CBD, the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) was initiated in 1997. This national project has several aims: to document and describe the arachnid fauna of South Africa; to consolidate all the available data on South African arachnids into one relational database and to make this biodiversity information available to science; and to address issues concerning their conservation and sustainable use. Extensive sampling took place and the SANSA database contains a wealth of biodiversity data that are used to provide answers to ecological questions. Presently 71 spider families, 471 genera and 2170 species are known from South Africa, representing approximately 4.8% of the world fauna. This paper presents the current state of spider biodiversity information and how it is managed. It demonstrates the importance of running a national inventory; emphasises the significance of using a good database application; and the importance of capacity development to improve the quality and integration of biodiversity information. Further, it shows the role SANSA has played in unifying and strengthening arachnid research, with the major thrust to discover the spider diversity in South Africa. We discuss the present status of knowledge, constraints to improving this, and the future directions for research. SANSA has provided the foundations for a more integrative approach to spider diversity research. Future research should build on this legacy by linking taxonomic diversity with that of functional diversity, predicting the response of this diversity to global change drivers. Functional approaches will link these studies to ecosystem processes. Global collaborative studies at several sites following standardised sampling protocols and focused research questions would add value to the SANSA collection and the importance of spiders for the health of ecosystems.

Current knowledge of spiders in South African agroecosystems (Arachnida, Araneae)

ABSTRACT Spiders are one of the most abundant predator groups found in agroecosystems and they have special adaptations towards a predatory way of life. The aim of this paper is to review our present knowledge of spider diversity in different agroecosystems of South Africa, as well as their potential prey. This paper provides a measure of what has been achieved in research on spiders in South African agroecosystems, and identifies directions for future research. A checklist of spiders found in these systems is provided, based on published surveys and data from the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) database, with information on the guilds that they occupy. Thus far, 51 families with 238 genera and 413 species have been recorded from crops in South Africa. Five agrobiont species have been listed that might play an important role as natural control agents of pests: Ostearius melanopygius (O.P.- Cambridge, 1879) (Linyphiidae); Pardosa crassipalpis Purcell, 1903 (Lycosidae); Cheiracanthium furculatum Karsch, 1879 (Miturgidae); Heliophanus pistaciae Wesołowska, 2003 (Salticidae) and Misumenops rubrodecoratus Millot, 1941 (Thomisidae).

The faunistic diversity of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of the South African Grassland Biome

ABSTRACT As part of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA), all available information on spider species distribution in the South African Grassland Biome was compiled. A total of 11 470 records from more than 900 point localities were sampled in the South African Grassland Biome until the end of 2011, representing 58 families, 275 genera and 792 described species. A further five families (Chummidae, Mysmenidae, Orsolobidae, Symphytognathidae and Theridiosomatidae) have been recorded from the biome but are only known from undescribed species. The most frequently recorded families are the Gnaphosidae (2504 records), Salticidae (1500 records) and Thomisidae (1197 records). The last decade has seen an exponential growth in the knowledge of spiders in South Africa, but there are certainly many more species that still have to be discovered and described. The most species-rich families are the Salticidae (112 spp.), followed by the Gnaphosidae (88 spp.), Thomisidae (72 spp.) and Araneidae (52 spp.). A rarity index, taking into account an endemicity index and an abundance index, was determined to give a preliminary indication of the conservation importance of each species. The endemicity index indicates that 58 species are endemic to the biome, while 38 species could be considered to be introduced, cosmopolitan, or having a distribution extending beyond the Afrotropical Region. Levels of endemism are highest for mygalomorph trapdoor spiders (7.14–50%) and selected araneomorph families with restricted dispersal capabilities (i.e. Archaeidae, Sicariidae and Scytodidae). A brief review of the published data of surveys from the biome and the patterns of spider assemblage structure in each is presented, together with information on the most species-rich spider families occurring in the biome.

Jocquestus, a new genus of trachelid sac spiders from the Afrotropical Region (Arachnida: Araneae)

The new dark sac spider genus Jocquestus gen. nov. (Araneae: Trachelidae) is proposed for two species of Afrotropical trachelid spiders, J. schenkeli (Lessert, 1923) comb. nov. (type species) from D.R. Congo, South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and J. roeweri (Lawrence, 1938) comb. nov. from South Africa, both of which are transferred from Trachelas L. Koch, 1872. Both species are redescribed and the male of J. roeweri comb. nov. is described for the first time. Five new species are described: J. capensis sp. nov. (♂ ♀), J. harrisi sp. nov. (♀) and J. incurvus sp. nov. (♂ ♀) from South Africa, and J. griswoldi sp. nov. (♂) and J. obliquus sp. nov. (♂ ♀) from Tanzania. Present data suggests that all of the species are arboreal spiders associated with the vegetation of woody plants in savanna, forest and fynbos habitats, and are only very rarely encountered near the soil surface.

Two new species of the Afrotropical sac spider genus Afroceto Lyle & Haddad, 2010 (Araneae : Trachelidae)

ABSTRACT Two new species of trachelids of the Afrotropical genus Afroceto Lyle & 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.