New World Pholcid Spiders (Araneae: Pholcidae): A Revision At Generic Level
Author
HUBER, BERNHARD A.
text
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History
2000
2000-06-30
2000
254
1
348
http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1206%2F0003-0090(2000)254%3C0001%3ANWPSAP%3E2.0.CO%3B2
journal article
10.1206/0003-0090(2000)254<0001:NWPSAP>2.0.CO;2
0003-0090
5350821
CANAIMA
,
NEW GENUS
TYPE
SPECIES:
Anopsicus arima
Gertsch, 1982
.
ETYMOLOGY: The generic name is the name of a novel of Venezuela’s most famous novelist, Rómulo Gallegos; it is an account of humans’ struggle to survive, psychologically and physically, in the jungle. Gender feminine.
DIAGNOSIS: Tiny to small (total length
1.1– 1.4 mm
), six-eyed pholcids with mediumlong legs, globular opisthosoma, male chelicerae with a pair of frontal apophyses, sternum with anterior humps; distinguished from similar New World genera (
Tupigea
,
Blancoa
) by the very short entapophyses of the chelicerae (arrows in figs. 1321, 1330).
DESCRIPTION: Total length ~
1.1–1.4 mm
. Carapace with distinct thoracic groove, ocular area slightly elevated, with six eyes, AME completely absent; distance PME-ALE rela- tively large (~ 60% of PME diameter). Sternum with anterior humps. Male clypeus unmodified. Basal segments of male chelicerae with pair of simple frontal apophyses; without stridulatory ridges laterally. Male palpal coxa with retrolateral apophysis, femur with distinct retrolateral apophysis proximally, procursus and bulb variable. Tarsal organ exposed (examined:
C. arima
). Legs moderately long (leg 1 about 7 X body length; tibia 1 l/d 42–50); leg 1 longest, leg 2 about as long as leg 4, leg 3 shortest; legs without spines and curved hairs; some vertical hairs on tibiae 1 and (in
C. arima
only) femora 1; retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at ~ 26%; tarsus 1 with ~ 15 pseudosegments. Opisthosoma globular. Male epigastric system not examined. ALS with only one piriform gland spigot each (examined:
C. arima
), other spinnerets typical for family.
Sexual dimorphism slight (female of
C. merida
unknown). Epigynum very simple.
MONOPHYLY: The species included share the short entapophyses of the chelicerae (arrows in figs. 1321, 1330).
GENERIC RELATIONSHIPS:
Blancoa
is similar in habitus and eye pattern, and occurs also in
Venezuela
, but is distinguished by the globular palpal tibia.
Tupigea
is also very similar overall, but is distinguished by the ventrally long male palpal patella, and is apparently restricted to southeastern
Brazil
. The Central American and West Indian genus
Anopsicus
(in which
C. arima
was originally included) is apparently not closely related.
DISTRIBUTION: The two species described herein are from northeastern
Venezuela
(
Mérida
) and
Trinidad
. The USNM has a third species, very closely related to
C. arima
, from
Tobago
, St. Paul Parish.
Canaima arima
(Gertsch, 1982)
,
new combination
Figures 33
, 1315–1327