Ragatinus maddisoni

Ragatinus maddisoni is a medium-sized spider. The male has a cephalothorax that is between 2.0 and 3.0 mm (0.079 and 0.118 in) long and between 1.6 and 2.2 mm (0.063 and 0.087 in) wide. The high carapace is light brown with a lighter patch in the centre and a black stripe along the edges. It is covered with short colourless hairs and has white hairs forming streaks on the sides. The eye field is greyish-brown. Transparent scales surround the eyes. The clypeus is low and light brown, with long dense light hairs. The labium is dark brown. The chelicerae have two small teeth at the front, one at the back and a fang. The sternum is yellow and shaped like a shield. The ovoid abdomen measures between 2.3 and 3.5 mm (0.091 and 0.138 in) in length. It is light brown with white sides and a white chevron towards the rear. The underside is light marked with brown patches formed of brown patches. The spinnerets are greyish-brown. The spider has light brown legs, some with dark rings, with brown hairs. The front legs are the darkest and longest. The pedipalps have a single tibial apophysis and two teeth on a large triangular appendage found at the base of the embolus. The female is similar in size to the male, with a cephalothorax that measures between 2.0 and 2.7 mm (0.079 and 0.106 in) in length and between 1.4 and 2.1 mm (0.055 and 0.083 in) in width. …

Almost all, if not all, Ragatinus spiders live in sub-Saharan Africa. Ragatinus maddisoni is endemic to Kenya, around Mount Kenya and in the Aberdare Range. The holotype was discovered in 1969 in the Ragati Forest near Mount Kenya at an altitude of 2,000 m (6,600 ft) above sea level. Other examples have been found at the nearby station in Kabaru Forest and the Teleki Valley, as well as near Kabage in the Aberdare Range. The species lives in afromontane regions. Specimens have been found in plant litter, amongst moss and on grass tussocks in forests of bamboo, Lobelia, Podocarpus and rosewood. Ragatinus maddisoni has been found at altitudes up to 3,080 m (10,100 ft) above sea level.