Haddad Charles R, Mbo Zingisile
Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa; Email:
Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa; Email: unknown.
Zootaxa. 2015 Dec 11;4057(3):385-98. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4057.3.5.
The Afrotropical dark sac spider genus Messapus Simon, 1898 (Corinnidae: Corinninae) currently only comprises two described species, the type species M. martini Simon, 1898 and M. natalis (Pocock, 1898), which have both recently been redescribed. The leg and setal morphology of Messapus is studied using scanning electron microscopy for the first time, for M. martini and M. tigris sp. n., and additional characters are provided to supplement a recent generic description. Five new species are described in the current paper: M. megae sp. n. (♂ ♀, from Zimbabwe), M. meridionalis sp. n. (♀, from South Africa), M. seiugatus sp. n. (♀, from Guinea), M. tigris sp. n. (♀, from Botswana and Namibia), and M. tropicus sp. n. (♂ ♀, from Democratic Republic of the Congo). All five species are arboreal spiders occurring on bark, lower foliage strata and the canopies of forest and savannah trees. An identification key to the seven species of the genus is provided.
非洲热带暗囊蛛属Messapus Simon，1898年（管巢蛛科：管巢蛛亚科）目前仅包含两个已描述的物种，即模式种M. martini Simon，1898年和M. natalis（波科克，1898年），这两个物种最近都已被重新描述。首次使用扫描电子显微镜研究了Messapus的腿部和刚毛形态，针对M. martini和新物种M. tigris sp. n.，并提供了其他特征以补充最近的属描述。本文描述了五个新物种：M. megae sp. n.（♂♀，来自津巴布韦）、M. meridionalis sp. n.（♀，来自南非）、M. seiugatus sp. n.（♀，来自几内亚）、M. tigris sp. n.（♀，来自博茨瓦纳和纳米比亚）以及M. tropicus sp. n.（♂♀，来自刚果民主共和国）。所有五个物种都是树栖蜘蛛，出现在树皮、较低的树叶层以及森林和稀树草原树木的树冠上。提供了该属七个物种的检索表。
