title: New species of Cheiracanthium (Araneae: Eutichuridae) from Madagascar and the Comoros Islands.
abstract: The Afrotropical representatives of the spider genus Cheiracanthium C.L. Koch, 1839 from Madagascar and the Comoros Islands are revised, and new species are described. Five described species are recognized: C. africanum Lessert, 1921, C. furculatum Karsch, 1879, C. insulare (Vinson, 1863), C. leucophaeum Simon, 1896, and C. ludovici Lessert, 1921. The internal genitalia of the female of C. insulare, and the female of C. ludovici, are described for the first time. Thirteen new species, C. ambrense sp. nov. (♂♀), C. ampijoroa sp. nov. (♀), C. andranomay sp. nov. (♀), C. anjozorobe sp. nov. (♂♀), C. ashleyi sp. nov. (♂♀), C. fisheri sp. nov. (♂♀), C. foulpointense sp. nov. (♂♀), C. griswoldi sp. nov. (♂♀), C. jocquei sp. nov. (♂♀), C. madagascarense sp. nov. (♂♀), C. mahajanga sp. nov. (♀), C. ransoni sp. nov. (♂♀) and C. rothi sp. nov. (♂♀), are described. In most of the endemic Madagascan species the female genital depression is divided by a central septum and the male cymbial apophysis is bent distally.
authors.affiliation: Department of Arachnology, National Museum, P.O. Box 266, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa. E-mail: arachnol@nasmus.co.za; Email: arachnol@nasmus.co.za.
authors.forename: L N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Lotz
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000825:Animal Structures / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D017507:Comoros; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D062312:Islands; D008270:Madagascar; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D013112:Spiders / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development