A new combination expands the range of the African araneid spider Singafrotypa (Araneae, Araneidae)

Abstract Study of the syntype of Larinioides subinermis, a species known from Ethiopia only, revealed that it actually belongs to Singafrotypa Benoit, 1962. We redescribe Singafrotypa subinermis (Caporiacco, 1940), comb. n., and provide a key to females of four species belonging to Singafrotypa. A distribution map for all species is provided.


Introduction
The small African orb-weaver genus Singafrotypa was found to be restricted to western, southern and central Africa (Fig. 14). It presently contains 3 species: S. acanthopus (Simon, 1907), S. mandela Kuntner & Hormiga, 2002and S. okavango Kuntner & Hormiga, 2002(Kuntner and Hormiga 2002. Examination of syntypes of Larinioides subinermis revealed its generic affinity to Singafrotypa and therefore expands the known diversity of this genus. Except for the original description based on a female, it was considered in two further taxonomic publications by Grasshoff (1970Grasshoff ( , 1983 who ex-amined the types. Grasshoff (1970) indicated that L. subinermis belonged to Cyclosini, although Larinioides is a member of Araneini (Grasshoff 1983) he did not make any formal transfer. When Grasshoff returned the types to MZUF he noted that the species actually belonged to Singafrotypa Benoit, 1962 and considered it as a junior synonym of S. acanthopus (Simon, 1907) (Berdondini and Whitman 2002).
Our study of a syntype of Larinioides subinermis showed that Grasshoff's informal synonymy was not correct. This became evident after studying the recently published revision of Singafrotypa by Kuntner and Hormiga (2002). Although L. subinermis is rather similar to S. acanthopus, the type species of the genus, it has clear differences.

material and methods.
Photographs were made with an Olympus Camedia E-520 camera attached to an Olympus SZX16 stereomicroscope at the Zoological Museum, University of Turku. Digital images were montaged using "CombineZP" image stacking software. Examined material is deposited in Museo Zoologico "La Specola" dell'Universita di Firenze, Florence, Italy (MZUF). The terminology of epigynal morphology follows Kuntner & Hormiga (2002). All measurements are in millimetres.
Abbreviations: BL -basal lamella of epigyne; CO -copulatory openings; EB -epigynal base; LL -lateral lamella of epigyne; MP -median plate of epigyne; SC -scapus. Diagnosis. Singafrotypa subinermis can be recognized from other females of Singafrotypa by the relative proportion of the scapus to the epigynal base (ventral view) -tip of the scapus only slightly protruding over the base of the epigyne, and position of copulatory openings on the edge of the epigynal base (Figs 6-9). Unlike S. oka-vango, it does not have a heart-shaped epigynal base and a long, distinctly wrinkled scapus (Figs 8, 12). It differs from S. mandela by the absence of stout macrosetae on the palpal tarsus and paturon, a conical palpal tarsus (Kuntner and Hormiga 2002),  and in the shape of the epigynal base (Figs 7, 11). The epigyne of S. subinermis is the most similar to S. acanthopus (Figs 6, 10), but it differs from latter by having fewer wrinkles on the scapus with a round tip (triangular in S. acanthopus), and the shallow depression of the median plate without protruding lateral lamellae (Figs 9, 13).
Distribution. Only known from the type locality, islands of Lake Abaya in Ethiopia (Fig. 14). Singafrotypa subinermis is the easternmost species of the genus. Scapus with many wrinkles, protrudes over epigynal base (ventral); copulatory openings in the middle of epigynal base (ventral); deep depression of median plate anteriorly with protruding lateral lamellae (posterior) (Figs 6, 10)