Tanzania parvulus Wesołowska & Azarkina & Russell-Smith 2014, sp. nov.

Tanzania parvulus sp. nov.

Figs 154–160

Holotype: male, SOUTH AFRICA, KwaZulu-Natal Province, Ophathe Game Reserve, 28°23'S: 31°24'E, rocky mountain side, 500 m a.s.l., sifting leaf litter, 1 October 2008, leg. C. Haddad (NCA 2008 /4051).

Paratypes: together with holotype, 2 males, 1 female; SOUTH AFRICA, Limpopo Province, Medike Mountain Reserve, 22°59'S: 29°37'E, 820 m a.s.l., sifting leaf litter, afromontane forest, 8 November 2012, leg. J.A. Neethling (NCA 2012 /5702).

Diagnosis. Only two species in the genus have a striped abdominal pattern, T. parvulus and T. striatus described below. The male is distinguishable by the shape of the embolus, which is thin and forms a full loop (clearly wider in T. striatus), the female has spherical spermathecae (versus oval in the latter species).

Etymology. The specific name is Latin for very small, referring to the size of this spider.

Description. Measurements (male/female). Cephalothorax: length 0.7–0.8/0.8–0.9, width 0.6/0.6–0.7, height 0.3/0.3–0.4. Abdomen: length 0.6–0.7/0.9–1.1, width 0.5/0.7–0.9. Eye field: length 0.3/0.3–0.4, anterior and posterior width 0.6/0.6–0.7.

Male. Very small spider, about 1.5 mm in length. Carapace moderately high, with large flat area and sloping posteriorly, light brown with black line along edges, eye field blackish, traces of dark brown patch on foveal area. Transparent hairs cover carapace, some long bristles near eyes, light hairs surround anterior eyes. Eyes relatively large, convex. Clypeus very low, with single long protruding seta. Mouth parts light yellowish. Abdomen rounded, yellowish orange with three wide brown stripes on dorsum and narrow brown stripe on sides. Long bristles present on anterior edge of abdomen. Spinnerets short, dark. Legs yellow, dark rings on bases and tips of their distal segments. Pedipalps relatively large, yellow. Palpal tibia without apophysis (Fig. 157), bulb oval, sperm duct meandering, embolus thin, forming loop on tip of bulb, small spike-like apophysis at base of embolus (Figs 154–156).

Female. General appearance as in Fig. 158. A little larger than male, shape of body and colouration similar. Anterior eyes surrounded by fawn scales. Venter of abdomen yellowish, clothed in brown hairs. Spinnerets light yellow with grey tips. Legs yellow, with dark patch at distal end of all femora retrolaterally, dark rings at base of tibiae and both ends of metatarsi. Epigyne large, with two rounded depressions (Fig. 159). Internal structure as in Fig. 160, seminal ducts short, spermathecae spherical with large accessory glands in their walls.

Distribution. Known from the KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo Provinces of South Africa.