On the huntsman spider genera Sparianthina Banks, 1929 and Anaptomecus Simon, 1903 from South and Central America (Araneae, Sparassidae)
Author
Jaeger, Peter
Senckenberg Research Institute, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Author
Rheims, Cristina
Instituto Butantan, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Author
Labarque, Facundo
Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Buenos Aires ,,
text
ZooKeys
2009
2009-07-29
16
16
115
147
journal article
10.3897/zookeys.16.236
bce38a29-3fdd-4d4b-a5df-1ccf3b44b71c
1313–2970
576479
1DBBDBA2-6036-4675-984F-E640BC2A1575
Genus
Sparianthina
Banks, 1929
Sparianthina
Banks, 1929
: (description of genus).
Roewer 1954: 684
.
Bonnet 1958: 4110
.
Platnick 2009
.
Type
species by monotypy:
Sparianthina selenopoides
Banks, 1929
.
Extended
diagnosis.
Small sized
Sparassidae
with total length: 5.2-9.8. Cheliceral teeth with 3 (in exceptional cases with 4) promarginal and 4 to 8 retromarginal teeth; cheliceral furrow with denticles, mostly arranged in a long row (
Figs 10
,
26, 33
,
38, 43
,
52
,
63
). Eye arrangement similar to
Heteropodinae
(
Jäger 1998
) with lateral eyes larger than median eyes and anterior eye row recurved, posterior eye row slightly recurved to straight. Posterior lateral eyes close to transition between narrow head part and thoracic part of prosoma (
Figs 25, 32
,
39, 44
,
53
,
62
). Lateral projections of trilobate membrane extending beyond median hook (
Fig. 11
). Female palpal claw with moderately elongated teeth (
Figs 13
,
64
;
Jäger 2004
: fig. 15 sub
Anaptomecus
sp.). Males with tegulum shifted basally, leaving space in the distal alveolus for a strongly developed subtegulum (e.g.,
Figs 2, 6
). Embolus in some species with embolic apophysis, membranous conductor situated on a membranous base, thus being movable (
Fig. 9
). Heavy dorsal tegular apophysis (DTA) present, situated dorsally from embolus and being in tight contact with subtegulum by a hook or other appendages (
Figs 1-2, 4
). RTA arising medially to distally from tibia with complex shape and more than one apex. Females hardly diagnosable by their copulatory organs; in most species known so far epigynal furrows (“epigyneale Falte/Furche” sensu
Järvi 1912
,
1914
) only present in anterior epigyne (
Fig. 46
: EF), not connecting to epigastric furrow (exception:
S. pumilla
comb. n.
), posterior epigyne slightly extending beyond epigastric furrow as a rounded median extension. Internal duct system with one pair of glandular appendages in functionally initial part, i.e. in anterior part.
Redescription
.
Total length (♁♁ and
♀♀
) 5.2-9.8. Prosoma as long as wide. Cephalic region slightly higher than thoracic region. Fovea long and conspicuous on posterior third of prosoma. Eyes arranged in two rows, the anterior recurved and posterior straight or very slightly recurved. AME slightly smaller than ALE and further apart from each other than from laterals. PME smaller than PLE, equidistant. Clypeus low, as high as or slightly lower than AME diameter. Chelicerae longer than wide, the two retrolateral basal teeth smaller than others. Intermarginal denticles present, mostly scattered at the base of the cheliceral groove. Gnathocoxae parallel, longer than wide with dense scopula on internal margin (
Fig. 45
). Leg formula 2143. Tarsi I-IV with pair of pectinate claws bearing 15-20 short and slightly curved teeth. Female pedipalp with single pectinate claw with 5-6 long and curved teeth. Opisthosoma slightly triangular, longer than wide. Tracheal spiracle contiguous to spinnerets. Anal tubercule small and triangular, covered by a few long hairs. Six spinnerets: anterior lateral spinnerets contiguous, conical and bi-segmented. Basal segment slightly elongate and cylindrical. Distal segment short and truncated. Posterior median spinnerets conical and short. Posterior lateral spinnerets conical and bi-segmented. Basal segment elongate and cylindrical. Distal segment short and truncated.
Male palp: Tibia slightly longer than cymbium, with one retrolateral, one dorsal and three prolateral spines. Distal margin with small ventro-retrolateral, triangular projection and retrolateral RTA. Cymbium with large median alveolus and elongate dorsal scopula. Subtegulum oval, smooth. Tegulum with retrolateral swelling and subembolic projection, the latter notched onto the subtegulum. Embolus with wide base and distally narrowed, with one or two small projections at its base. Conductor long and hyaline.
Female epigynum: epigynum divided longitudinally into a median septum and lateral borders. Lateral borders smooth, lacking projections. Anterior atrium bearing pair of copulatory openings. Vulva with long and convoluted internal duct system with small, anterior glandular projection close to copulatory openings. Fertilisation ducts very long and hook shaped.
Distribution
.
Costa Rica
,
Panama
,
Colombia
,
Venezuela
,
Guyana
(undescribed species are known from
Ecuador
,
Trinidad and Tobago
, French
Guyana
).
Composition
.
Sparianthina selenopoides
Banks, 1929
,
Sparianthina pumilla
(
Keyserling, 1880
)
comb. n.
,
Sparianthina rufescens
(
Mello-Leitão, 1940
)
comb. n.
,
Sparianthina milleri
(
Caporiacco, 1955
)
comb. n.
,
Sparianthina deltshevi
sp. n.
,
Sparianthina adisi
sp. n.
,
Sparianthina saaristoi
sp. n.
Relationships
.
Sparianthina
resembles in several characters
Heteropodinae
from Asia and Africa: Eye arrangement with lateral eyes larger than median eyes and at least the anterior eye row distinctly recurved, denticles in cheliceral furrow present in combination with 3 promarginal teeth, long teeth on the
♀
palpal claw and trilobate membrane with all three elements, i.e., median hook and lateral projections well developed and of about the same size (
Jäger 1998
). Cheliceral denticles occur in various genera of
Sparassidae
, e.g., in the Asian genera
Gnathopalystes
Rainbow, 1899
,
Prychia
L. Koch, 1875
and
Tychicus
Simon, 1880
, in some African, European and Asian species of
Eusparassus
Simon, 1903
, and in the South American genus
Adcatomus
Karsch, 1880
[only females of
A. flavovittatus
(Simon, 1897)
] (
Jäger 1998
,
2001
;
Rheims 2008
). All these species have less than three promarginal teeth on the chelicerae and are not considered closely related to either
Heteropodinae
or
Sparianthina
. The character combination of denticles with three promarginal teeth is known from Asian, Australian, and African
Heteropodinae
. Moreover, it occurs in some representatives in East Africa and
Madagascar
(
Jäger 2004
). However, as
Sparassidae
exist with denticles and three retromarginal teeth in combination with different character states in eye arrangement and female palpal claw,
Sparianthina
is not included in
Heteropodinae
. An extended systematic grouping (“
Heteropodinae
s. l.”) may include
Heteropodinae
s. str. (sensu
Jäger 1998
,
2002
), East African, Madagascan (key in
Jäger and Kunz 2005: 166
;
Berlandia
Lessert, 1921
, species group near “
Rhitymna
”
saccata
Järvi, 1914
) and South American (
Sparianthina
,
Sadala
Simon, 1880
,
Anaptomecus
Simon, 1903
) genera.