![]() With over 700 adult specimens representing 33 species, this was one of my most successful expeditions so far. We collected 22 new species, most of them belonging to the genera Smeringopina and Pholcus. In places like the lowland rainforest near Kribi (below left) and the montane forest near Mbouda (right), pholcids were just everywhere and few other macroscopic animals seem to have similar abundances. |
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One central aim of the entire expedition was the collection of fresh material of the genus Pholcus, which was the topic of a worldwide revision (in the meantime publised; see Huber 2011). Interestingly, Pholcus species in Cameroon are found in a variety of habitats, and the morphology of each species nicely reflects its preferred microhabitat. The species below on the left (Pholcus bamboutos) is at rest pressed against the bark of trees or against rocks; it is rather large and dark. The species on the right (top; Pholcus kribi) lives under dead leaves on the ground; it is tiny and also dark. The third species shown here (Pholcus debilis) lives on the underside of green (alive) leaves; it is pale yellow to greenish. Thus, while pholcids are ubiquitous, they are usually well camouflaged and it requires a close look to find them. A second large monograph has been published including the Smeringopina we collected in Cameroon (Huber 2013). And an overview of the Pholcidae from Central Africa (Huber et al. 2014). |
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