Systematics of the Afrotropical Mystarini (Araneae : Thomisidae : Dietinae)

Abstract

The Thomisidae is a large family represented by ca. 2085 species and 173 genera and has a worldwide distribution. The thomisids of the Afrotropical region are known from ca. 69 genera and 371 species grouped into seven subfamilies of which the subfamily Dietinae is the focus group in the present study. The Dietinae of the Afrotropical region are represented by 18 genera and ca. 58 species and they are divided into six tribes that were established by Simon (1895). The present study aims to resolve the taxonomic status of the genera and species within one of the six tribes, the Mystarini using classical taxonomy including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), stereo and compound microscopy and photography. The focus on the Mystarini resulted in the taxonomic revisions of the genera Sylligma Simon, 1895, Paramystaria Lessert, 1919 and Mystaria Simon, 1895 and the description of a new genus Leroya. Prior to the present study, the genus Sylligma was known from three species. In the present study, two of the known species S. hirsuta and S. lawrencei are re-described, the third is considered as incertae sedis, while the following four new species are described: S. franki, S. ndumi, S. spartica and S. theresa. The genus Paramystaria was previously known to comprise four species and two subspecies. In the present study, the genus Paramystaria is considered a junior synonym of Mystaria, a genus previously known from two species. Mystaria presently comprises 13 species, of which four, namely, M. flavogutatta, M. lata, M. rufolimbata and M. variabilis were redescribed and one subspecies, Paramystaria variabilis occidentalis, was elevated to species level, designated M. occidentalis and re-described. Eight new species within Mystaria, namely, M. budongii, M. irmatrix, M. lindaicapensis, M. mnyama, M. oreadii, M. savannensis, M. soleili and M. stakesbyi are described, and one species, Paramystaria decorata, and one subspecies, Paramystaria variabilis delesserti, are considered incertae sedis. A new genus Leroya is erected to accommodate two species, one removed from Mystaria, L. unicolor and a newly described, L. signopuellaris. Taxonomic accounts together with identification keys to genera and species and geographic distributions for each species are provided.