Thiratoscirtus atakpa

Thiratoscirtus atakpa is a medium-sized spider. The spider's body is divided into two main parts:a cephalothorax and an abdomen. Females of this species have a cephalothorax measuring typically 2.6 mm (0.1 in) in length and 2.1 mm (0.08 in) in width. The carapace, the hard upper part of the cephalothorax, is oval and high. It is generally dark brown with a black area around its eyes, the bottom of which has some white hairs. The underside of the cephalothorax, or sternum, is also dark brown. White hairs can also be found on the spider's face, known as the clypeus, which is low and also dark. Its mouthparts are dark brown, and its chelicerae have two teeth at the front and one at the back.^[3]

The spider's abdomen is an oval that measures typically 2.5 mm (0.1 in) long and 2 mm (0.08 in) wide. It is similarly dark underneath, with a few lighter markings. The top of the abdomen is distinctive, being brownish-grey and covered in translucent hairs, with few brown bristles scattered on its surface. The spider's spinnerets are dark grey and its legs are brown and very spiny. The pedipalps, sensory organs near the mouth, are brown. The female copulatory organs include an external epigyne that has a small central depression. There are two copulatory openings in the middle of the epigyne that lead to insemination ducts that have slight sclerotization. It is the positioning of the ducts, as well as the darker abdomen, that enables the species to be differentiated from the otherwise similar Thiratoscirtus vilis.^[3] The ducts lead to thin tube-like spermathecae, or receptacles, and accessory glands.^[12] The male has not been described.^[1]

Thiratoscirtus spiders generally live in Africa and are particularly common in the forests of Central and West Africa.^[4] Thiratoscirtus atakpa is endemic to Nigeria.^[1] The female holotype was found near Calabar in Cross River State.^[3]