Description of two new species of Xevioso (Araneae: Phyxelididae) from Southern Africa, with the northernmost localities for the genus

  • Brogan L. Pett Biodiversity Inventory for Conservation (BINCO), Walmersumstraat 44, 3380 Glabbeek http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0461-3715
  • Rudy Jocqué Royal Museum for Central Africa, Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080 Tervuren
Keywords: Afromontane, Mozambique, spider, taxonomy, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Two new species of Phyxelididae are described from southern Africa: Xevioso cepfi sp. nov. (♂♀), from mountains in the Niassa Province of northern Mozambique, and X. megcummingae sp. nov. (♂♀), from urban Harare, northern Zimbabwe and the Viphya Mts in Malawi. They represent the northernmost localities of the genus. An identification key, partially adapted for the new species, is presented. The biogeographical importance of the mountain areas on both sides of the northern part of Lake Malawi is discussed.

References

Axelrod D.L. & Raven P.R. 1978. Late Cretaceous and Tertiary vegetation history of Africa. In: Werger M.J.A. (ed.) Biogeography and Ecology of Southern Africa: 77–130. Junk Publishers, The Hague.

van Berkel T., Sumbane E., Jones S.E. & Jocque M. 2019. A mammal survey of the Serra Jeci Mountain Range, Mozambique, with a review of records from northern Mozambique's inselbergs. African Zoology 54 (1): 31–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/15627020.2019.1583081

Bayliss J., Timberlake J., Branch W., Bruessow C., Collins S., Congdon C., Curran M., de Sousa C., Dowsett R., Dowsett-Lemaire F., Fishpool L., Harris T., Herrmann E., Georgiadis S., Kopp M., Liggitt B., Monadjem A., Patel H., Ribeiro D., Spottiswoode C., Taylor P., Willcock S. & Smith P. 2014. The discovery, biodiversity and conservation of Mabu forest – the largest medium-altitude rainforest in southern Africa. Oryx 48 (2): 177–185. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0030605313000720

Delvaux D. 2001. Tectonic and palaeostress evolution of the Tanganyika-Rukwa-Malawi rift segment, East African Rift System. Mémoires du Muséum national d’histoire naturelle 186: 545–567.

Griswold C.E. 1990. A revision and phylogenetic analysis of the spider subfamily Phyxelidinae (Araneae, Amaurobiidae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 196: 1–206.

Griswold C.E., Ramírez M.J., Coddington J.A. & Platnick N.I. 2005. Atlas of phylogenetic data for entelegyne spiders (Araneae: Araneomorphae: Entelegynae) with comments on their phylogeny. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 56 (Suppl. II): 1–324. Available from https://repository.si.edu/handle/10088/14866 [accessed 27 Mar. 2020].

Jocqué R. 1983. Contributions to the knowledge of the mountain fauna of Malawi (Mission R. Jocqué). 1. Introduction. Revue de Zoologie africaine 97: 185–191.

Jocqué R. 1984. Contributions to the knowledge of the mountain fauna of Malawi (Mission R. Jocqué). 4. Diplopoda Sphaerotheriidae. Revue de Zoologie africaine 98: 67–73.

Jocqué R. & Henrard A. 2018. A revision of the genus Cicynethus Simon, 1910 (Araneae, Zodariidae), a tale of colour patterns. European Journal of Taxonomy 465: 1–35. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2018.465

Jones S.E.I., Clause J.K., Geeraert L., Jamie G.A., Patel, H., Sumbane E., van Berkel T. & Jocque M. 2017. The Njesi Plateau expedition: a biological assessment of Mt Chitagal, Mt Sanga and the Njesi Plateau in Niassa Province, Mozambique. BES Report 6.3 (17 October 2017). Biodiversity Inventory for Conservation. Glabbeek, Belgium.

Pauw C.A. & Linder H.P. 1997. Tropical African cedars (Widdringtonia, Cupressaceae): systematics, ecology and conservation status. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 123: 297–319. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.1997.tb01421.x

Shorthouse D.P. 2010. SimpleMappr, an online tool to produce publication-quality point maps. Available from http://www.simplemappr.net [accessed 5 Dec. 2019].

Strugnell A.M. 2002. Endemics of Mt. Mulanje. The endemic spermatophytes of Mt. Mulanje. Systematics and Geography of Plants 72: 11–26.

Timberlake J., Dowsett-Lemaire F., Bayliss J., Alves T., Baena S., Bento C., Cook K., Francisco J., Harris T., Smith P. & De Sousa C. 2009. Mt Namuli Mozambique: Biodiversity and Conservation. Report for Darwin Initiative Award 15/036. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Available from https://www.kew.org/sites/default/files/2019-02/Mt%20Namuli%20Mozambique%20report.pdf [accessed 27 Mar. 2020]

Timberlake J., Bayliss J., Dowsett-Lemaire F., Congdon C., Branch B., Collins S., Curran M., Dowsett R.J., Fishpool L., Francisco J., Harris T., Kopp M. & De Sousa C. 2012. Mt Mabu Mozambique: Biodiversity and Conservation. Report for Darwin Initiative Award 15/036. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Available from https://www.kew.org/sites/default/files/Mabu%20report_Final%202012_0.pdf [accessed 27 Mar. 2020].

Published
2020-04-28
How to Cite
Pett, B. L., & Jocqué, R. (2020). Description of two new species of Xevioso (Araneae: Phyxelididae) from Southern Africa, with the northernmost localities for the genus. European Journal of Taxonomy, (636). https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2020.636