Abstract
The spider genus Zelotibia Russell-Smith & Murphy, 2005 is reviewed. Eight new species, all from forest areas in the Albertine Rift. are described: they are Z. angelica (♀), Z. curvifemur (♂♀), Z. fosseyae (♀) , Z. johntony (♀),Z. kanama (♀) , Z. kibira (♀), Z. lejeunei (♂♀) and Z. subsessa (♀). The unknown female of Z. major Russell-Smith & Murphy, 2005 is described. Z. similis Russel-Smith & Murphy, 2005 is synonymized with Z. paucipapillata Russell-Smith & Murphy, 2005. An illustrated key co the species of the genus is provided. The genus now conrains 22 species, 19 of which are concenrraced in the Albertine Rift, confirming the biodiversity hot-spot status of that area.
Highlights
The genus Zelotibia was described by Russell-Smith and Murphy in 2005 and included not less than 15 species
The genus contains 22 species, 19 of which are concentrated in the Albertine Rift, confirming the biodiversity hot-spot status of that area
The forests of the Albertine Rift do not figure among the Afrotropical hotspots of biodiversity recognized by Myers et al (2000) there is little doubt that this region is among the African areas with the highest number of animal species and does deserve the epithet “hotspot”
Summary
The genus Zelotibia was described by Russell-Smith and Murphy in 2005 and included not less than 15 species. According to these authors, the genus is largely confined to Central Africa with two outliers in Kenya and Tanzania. An extensive sampling program was carried out by the senior author in the rainforest of Kibira between 2005 and 2008 This yielded several additions to the list of the species of Zelotibia for this mountain forest, in the first instance the species Zelotibia paucipapillata Russell-Smith & Murphy, 2005 and Zelotibia flexuosa Russell-Smith & Murphy, 2005.
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