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SUB-FOSSIL SPIDERS FROM HOLOCENE PEAT CORES
Alan G. Scott: Department of Earth
Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
E-mail: alan.g.scott@man.ac.uk
ABSTRACT. An attempt was made to recover
identifiable spider sub-fossils from peat cores taken from a post-glacial
basin mire in Cheshire, north-west England. Although the features
normally required to identify specimens to species level in taxonomic
keys were rarely preserved, carapace morphology and cheliceral dentition
allowed unequivocal identification to species level in many cases.
Current lack of knowledge of the autecology of wetland spiders prevents
any conclusion regarding the paleoecological conditions, but the
technique could reveal insights into the post-glacial development
of the spider faunal assemblage of mires.
HAWAIIAN SPIDERS OF THE GENUS TETRAGNATHA (ARANEAE, TETRAGNATHIDAE):
V. ELONGATE WEB-BUILDERS FROM OAHU
R.G. Gillespie: Division of Insect Biology, University of California
Berkeley, 201 Wellman Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-3112, USA
E-mail: gillespi@nature.berkeley.edu
ABSTRACT. This study continues documentation of the
adaptive radiation of species in the genus Tetragnatha in
the Hawaiian archipelago. The four new species described here are
similar in gross appearance, all being brown and elongate. They
all build orb webs low down in shrubby vegetation, and have disjunct
or abutting ranges. The new species are T. limu, T. lena, T.
palikea, and T. uluhe. Different species occur in middle
and high elevations, and in wet and dry habitats. Similar to other
representatives of Hawaiian Tetragnatha, they are strictly
nocturnal web-builders.
FIRST SPECIES OF AUSTROPSOPILIO (OPILIONES,
CADDOIDEA, CADDIDAE) FROM SOUTH AMERICA
Jeffrey W. Shultz: Department of Entomology, University of Maryland,
College Park, MD 20742 USA
Tomás Cekalovic: Casilla 764, Concepción, Chile
ABSTRACT. The first species of the genus Austropsopilio
is described from South America. The species, A. sudamericanus,
closely resembles those from Australia and Tasmania but lacks the
elongate ocular tubercle previously regarded as diagnostic for the
genus. Problems in the taxonomy of the genus are discussed.
SPATIAL STRATIFICATION IN LITTER DEPTH BY FOREST-FLOOR
SPIDERS
James D. Wagner: Biology Program, Transylvania University, 300 North
Broadway, Lexington, KY. 40508 USA.
Email: jwagner@transy.edu
Søren Toft: Department of Zoology, University of Aarhus,
Bldg. 135 DK-8000 Århus C, Denmark
David H. Wise: Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky,
Lexington, KY 40546 USA
ABSTRACT. Two novel sampling techniques were used
to survey the spider community of the leaf litter in a deciduous
forest in Kentucky, USA. Using modified pitfall traps and litter-grab
techniques, we sampled separately the top, middle and bottom litter
layers from April--October. Our sampling program captured over 3,000
spiders encompassing 18 different families. Both techniques revealed
that the web-spinning families were more abundant in the lower litter
layers. In contrast, the non-web building cursorial spiders, which
actively pursue their prey, were more abundant in the top litter
layer. Cursorial spiders, on average, were larger than the web-building
spiders found in the leaf litter. Web-building spiders from the
top litter layer were also larger than the web-building spiders
caught in the middle and the bottom litter layers.
Comparison between the two sampling techniques revealed that the
spider community profile is greatly influenced by the sampling method
employed. The stratified litter-grab technique revealed the numerical
dominance of Dictynidae (38% of the spiders captured) and Linyphiidae
(32%), families that are predominately minute web-building spiders.
In contrast, the pitfall-trap technique suggested Lycosidae (24%),
a family of active foragers, to be numerically dominant, with Dictynidae
representing only 1% of the spiders captured. The results indicate
that major groups of spiders differ in their vertical distribution
within deciduous leaf litter, and that sampling method can dramatically
affect inferences about spider community structure.
ANYPHAENA (ARANEAE, ANYPHAENIDAE) OVERWINTERING
ON LOWEST LIMBS OF WHITE OAK
David W. Boyd, Jr.: USDA, ARS, Small Fruit Research Station, Poplarville,
MS, 39470, USA
Will K. Reeves: Department of Entomology, Clemson University, Clemson,
SC 29634, USA
ABSTRACT. Juvenile Anyphaena sp. were collected
from overwintering traps placed on the lowest limbs of white oak,
Quercus alba, in South Carolina. Multiple regression analysiswas
used to determine that the number of juvenile Anyphaena sp.
found can be predicted by the circumference of the limb, the distance
from the trunk and the distance from the ground. This study helps
demonstrate that the limbs of trees, although often neglected in
overwintering studies, can provide a refuge for arthropods.
AN
ANALYSIS OF THE SECONDARY STRUCTURE OF THE MITOCHONDRIAL LARGE SUBUNIT
rRNA GENE (16S) IN SPIDERS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR PHYLOGENETIC
RECONSTRUCTION
Stacey D. Smith: Department of Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 USA
Jason E. Bond: East Carolina University, Department of Biology,
Howell Science Complex, Greenville, North Carolina 27858 USA
ABSTRACT. We investigated the pattern of molecular
variation with respect to secondary structure in
the 16S ribosomal RNA gene and its phylogenetic implications for
arachnids with a focus on spiders.
Based on a model by Gutell et al. (1996), secondary structures were
proposed for the 39 half of 16S in
the mygalomorph spider Aptostichus atomarius. Models were
also constructed for a hypervariable length
of the 16S in three other arachnids, which revealed a trend of stem
and loop reduction in more advanced
arachnids. Using a simple statistical approach to compare functional
regions, we found that internal and
external loops are more variable than stems or connection regions.
Down-weighting or excluding regions
which code for the more variable loops improved tree topologies
by restoring the monophyly of the genus
Aptostichus, a group supported by combined 16S, COI, and
morphological data in other analyses. This
study demonstrated the utility of considering secondary structure
for DNA sequence alignment and phylogenetic
reconstruction in spiders.
BOTHRIURUS JESUITA,
A NEW SCORPION SPECIES FROM NORTHEASTERN ARGENTINA (SCORPIONES,
BOTHRIURIDAE)
Andrés A. Ojanguren Affilastro: Museo Argentino de Ciencias
Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, División Aracnología,
Av. Angel Gallardo 470, C1405 DJR Buenos Aires, Argentina.
E-mail: ojanguren@ciudad.com.ar
ABSTRACT. The new species Bothriurus jesuita
is described. This species belongs to the bonariensis species
group and is closely related to Bothriurus chacoensis Maury & Acosta 1993 from which it can be distinguished by its thicker
and taller chela and because of it is almost 30% larger. It can
be distinguished from Bothriurus bonariensis (C.L. Koch 1842)
because it has an apical filament on the basal lobe of the right
hemispermatophore and because the frontal ridge reaches the frontal
fold. Bothriurus jesuita has been collected in the northern
region of Corrientes Province and in Misiones Province in an area
that belongs to the “Paranaense” Phytogeographic Province.
MARQUESAN SPIDERS OF THE GENUS TETRAGNATHA (ARANEAE: TETRAGNATHIDAE)
R.G. Gillespie: Division of Insect Biology, University of California
Berkeley, 201 Wellman Hall, Berkeley, California 94720-3112, USA.
ABSTRACT. This study revises the status of knowledge
of the spider fauna of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia.
In particular, the genus Tetragnatha was noticeable for its
poor representation in the Marquesas Islands by comparison with
the large radiation in the yet more remote Polynesian archipelago
of the Hawaiian Islands. Expeditions were conducted to determine
whether Tetragnatha was indeed poorly represented in the
Marquesas Islands, as the literature would suggest. In addition,
specimens were studied from historical collections from this archipelago.
The results indicate that the islands do indeed have a number of
endemic Tetragnatha, and the genus does appear to have undergone
adaptive radiation, although not nearly on the same scale as in
the Hawaiian Islands. Results indicate that: (1) in addition to
T. marquesiana Berland there are four new species, described
here, each of which are endemic to the islands. Tetragnatha marquesiana
is widespread in the northern islands, including Nuku Hiva. There
are two additional species on Nuku Hiva: T. punua and T.
oomua. Two new species are described from the southern islands
of Hiva Oa (T. kapua) and Tahuata (T. tahuata). Tetragnatha
kapua from Hiva Oa appears to be related to T. marquesiana.
(2) Tetragnatha macilenta L. Koch does not occur on these
islands. Reports of its widespread distribution through the Pacific
can only be substantiated as far as the Society Islands. (3) Tetragnatha
nitens (Audouin), which may not be indigenous, occurs in disturbed
areas at high elevations in Nuku Hiva. In total, there are six species
of Tetragnatha in the Marquesas Islands.
HABITAT AFFINITIES OF SPIDERS LIVING NEAR A FRESHWATER
POND
Alice K. Graham(1), Christopher M. Buddle(1,2) and John R. Spence(3):
(1) Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Alberta T6G 2E9 Canada;
(2) Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford Ohio 45056 USA;
(3) Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Alberta T6G 2H1 Canada
ABSTRACT. Habitat ranges of ground-dwelling spiders
were studied by pitfall trapping in and around a freshwater pond
during the spring and summer of 1998 in central Alberta, Canada.
Sixty species from 14 families were collected, and catches of several
species suggested distinct habitat affinities along transects between
the pond and adjacent terrestrial habitats. Variation in the catches
of Pirata piraticus (Clerck 1757), Pardosa moesta
Banks 1892, Pardosa fuscula (Thorell 1875), and immature
Pirata species were partially explained by soil moisture
at trap locations extending from the shore. We devised a “floating” pitfall trap that captured several species, including mature and
immature Dolomedes triton (Walckenaer 1837), Pirata piraticus,
and other immature Lycosidae, directly on the water surface. A DCA
ordination revealed distinct spider assemblages were associated
with three habitat types: 1) the water surface; 2) the moist habitats
closely associated with the water’s edge; and 3) the drier,
terrestrial grassland habitats located > 2 m from the shore.
A new, more inclusive definition of semi-aquatic spiders was developed,
based on knowledge about both male and female activity near the
shore, and affinities towards soil moisture. Thus, Pirata piraticus,
Dolomedes triton, and Pardosa fuscula were defined as
semi-aquatic spiders.
EGGSAC RECOGNITION IN LOXOSCELES GAUCHO
(ARANEAE, SICARIIDAE) AND THE EVOLUTION OF MATERNAL CARE IN SPIDERS
Hilton Ferreira Japyassú, Cátia Regina Macagnan and
Irene Knysak: Laboratory of Arthropods, Butantan Institute, Av.
Vital Brazil 1500, São Paulo – SP, 05503-900, BRAZIL
ABSTRACT. We report for the first time the existence
of eggsac recognition and maternal care in Loxosceles gaucho.
Spiders confronted simultaneously with their own and foreign eggsacs
stay closer to their own eggsacs. This is unexpected since eggsac
recognition should evolve among species with clumped distributions,
high maternal investments and few breeding opportunities, features
not present in this species. Despite this recognition, spiders with
a single eggsac make no distinction between their own and foreign
eggsacs: they adopt eggsacs from sympatric, conspecific females,
and take care of them as their own. It seems that there is a readiness
to perform maternal care that overrules the recognition system.
We describe oviposition behavior and compare it with other descriptions
in the literature. Seven behavioral characters related to eggsac
building and/or guarding are mapped onto available phylogenies.
Maternal care behaviors are quite conservative among spiders, useful
for the grouping not only of families, but also of higher order
ranks.
PROBLEM SOLVING IN THE SPIDER FAMILIES MITURGIDAE,
CTENIDAE AND PSECHRIDAE (ARANEAE) IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
Robert J. Raven & Kylie Stumkat: Queensland Museum, PO Box 3300,
South Brisbane, Queensland 4101 Australia
ABSTRACT. The genus Uliodon L. Koch is reviewed.
It now includes only the type species, Uliodon albopunctatus
L. Koch 1873, Uliodon cervinus L. Koch 1873, and Zora
frenatus Koch 1873, and the genus is transferred to the Zoropsidae.
Uliodon is known only from New Zealand. Through an original
misreading of the type specimen locality data, both species were
erroneously reported from Australia. Forster and Homann previously
referred to Uliodon species as Miturga, which is endemic
to Australia. The subfamily Uliodoninae Lehtinen 1967 was founded
on the characters of Zora tarantulina L. Koch 1873, later
transferred to Uliodon by Simon. The diagnostic character of the
subfamily, the very long path of the embolus, is not found in Uliodon.
The subfamily is here diagnosed from the genus; its validity is
unclear. In any case, both Uliodon and Uliodoninae
are transferred to the Zoropsidae along with the Australian Huntia Gray & Thompson 2001. Zora tarantulina is made the type
species of a new monotypic genus, Mituliodon, included in
the Miturgidae; the genus is known only from Australia and Timor.
Mituliodon tarantulinus (L. Koch 1873) now newly includes
in its synonymy, Uliodon australiensis (L. Koch 1873), Uliodon
torvus (L. Koch 1873), Miturga maculata Hogg 1900, Syspira
rubicunda Hogg 1900 and Miturga velox Hickman 1930.
The New Zealand genus Zealoctenus is transferred from the
Ctenidae to the Miturgidae because it is very similar to the Australian
genus Diaprograpta Simon 1909; the other New Zealand "ctenid" genus, Nemoctenus Forster & Wilton 1973, along with the
Australian zorid Horioctenoides Main 1954 are synonymized
with the zorid genus Argoctenus L. Koch 1878, found in Australia,
New Zealand and New Caledonia. The New Zealand "psechrids"
Poaka Forster & Wilton 1973 and Haurokoa Forster & Wilton 1973 are transferred to the Amaurobiidae and Tengellidae,
respectively.
AFRARCHAEA GRIMALDII, A NEW SPECIES OF
ARCHAEIDAE (ARANEAE) IN CRETACEOUS BURMESE AMBER
David Penney: Earth Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester,
M13 9PL, United Kingdom
ABSTRACT. Afrarchaea grimaldii new species
(Archaeidae, Archaeinae) from 88--95 Ma (Cenomanian--Turonian) Upper
Cretaceous amber (Burmite) from Myanmar (Burma) is described. This
is the first spider to be described from this deposit and is the
oldest known Archaeidae sensu stricto extending the known range
of the family by approximately 50 Ma from the previously oldest
recorded specimens in Baltic and Bitterfeld ambers, and provides
further evidence that spiders were not severely affected by the
end-Cretaceous mass extinction event. It represents the oldest fossil
record of an araneophagic spider. This species could be used to
argue for both the theory of mobilistic biogeography and ousted
relicts to explain the zoogeography of the genus, but until new
data become available, supports neither reliably.
SHORT
COMMUNICATION:
SPIDER PREDATION: SPECIES-SPECIFIC IDENTIFICATION
OF GUT CONTENTS BY POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION
Matthew H. Greenstone and Kevin A. Shufran: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Agricultural Research Service, Plant Science and Water Conservation
Research Laboratory, 1301 N. Western Street, Stillwater, Oklahoma
74075, USA
ABSTRACT. We extend detection of arthropod predator
gut contents by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), heretofore restricted
to insect predators, to spiders. Single individuals of the corn
lead aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis, were detected in the guts
of spiderlings of Oxyopes salticus up to 12 h after feeding;
individuals of the congeneric bird cherry oat aphid, R. padi,
were not detected. Unfed O. salticus and Misumenops sp.
were also negative.
SHORT
COMMUNICATION:
COHABITATION BETWEEN AN ADULT MALE AND A SUBADULT
FEMALE IN A BURROWING WOLF SPIDER (ARANEAE, LYCOSIDAE)
Carmen Fernández-Montraveta: Departamento de Psicología
Biológica y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma, Cantoblanco,
E-28049 Madrid, Spain
Email: carmen.montraveta@uam.es
Mariano Cuadrado: Estación Biológica de Doñana,
Pabellón del Perú, E-41013 Sevilla, Spain
ABSTRACT. We report a case of cohabitation between
an adult male and a conspecific subadult female Lycosa tarantula
(Linnaeus 1758) (Araneae, Lycosidae). Cohabitation was observed
during a field study in a population near Madrid city (central Spain).
The male was first observed in the female burrow four days before
the female maturation molt. Both individuals remained together until
female maturation occurred. Mating occurred two days after female
maturation, at a much younger age than non-cohabiting females. The
possible mechanisms by which adult males find subadult female burrows
are discussed.
SHORT
COMMUNICATION:
NEMATODE AND DIPTERAN ENDOPARASITES OF THE WOLF
SPIDER PARDOSA MILVINA (ARANEAE: LYCOSIDAE)
Cora Allard: Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington,
KY
Marianne W. Robertson: Department of Biology, Millikin University,
Decatur, IL
ABSTRACT. We collected 75 immature Pardosa milvina
and maintained them in a laboratory until death or maturity to determine
whether P. milvina in our population were harboring endoparasites.
Nine mermithid nematodes emerged from P. milvina hosts, with
each nematode emerging from a separate spider. One dipteran parasite,
an acrocerid, emerged from P. milvina. This study provides
the first published record of nematodes emerging from P. milvina
and documents an additional record of acrocerid parasitism of
P. milvina.
SHORT
COMMUNICATION:
A NEW SUBSPECIES OF PHILODROMUS RUFUS
(ARANEAE, PHILODROMIDAE)
Bruce Cutler: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University
of Kansas, 1200 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7534, USA.
E-mail: bcutler@ku.edu
ABSTRACT. A new subspecies of Philodromus rufus,
P. r. jenningsi is described from the south central and southeastern
United States. It is characterized by a light brown unicolorous
carapace, except for dark semicircular marks at the central rear
carapace edge.
SHORT COMMUNICATION:
A NEW SPECIES OF THE SPIDER GENUS ANYPHAENOIDES
FROM BRAZILIAN CAATINGA (ARANEAE, ANYPHAENIDAE, ANYPHAENINAE)
Antonio D. Brescovit: Laboratório Artrópodes Peçonhentos,
Instituto Butantan, Av.
Vital Brasil, 1500, Butantã, CEP 05503-900, São Paulo,
SP, Brazil
Elaine Folly Ramos: Museu de Ciências, Departamento de Museologia,
UBM, Rua
Vereador Pinto de Carvalho, 267, 27330-550, Barra Mansa, RJ, Brazil
ABSTRACT. Anyphaenoides locksae, a new species
from Brazilian “caatinga”, in Central, state of Bahia,
is described.
SHORT
COMMUNICATION:
A NEW SPECIES OF AUSTROCHILUS FROM CHILE
(ARANEAE, AUSTROCHILIDAE, AUSTROCHILINAE)
Cristian J. Grismado and Lara Lopardo: Museo Argentino de Ciencias
Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, Av. Angel Gallardo 470,
C1405DJR, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Norman I. Platnick: Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum
of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York,
NY 10024-5192 USA
ABSTRACT. Austrochilus forsteri new species,
(Araneae, Austrochilidae, Austrochilinae) is described and illustrated
based on specimens collected in Malleco Province, Chile.
SHORT
COMMUNICATION:
METAZYGIA LEVII,
A NEW SPECIES OF ORB-WEAVING SPIDER FROM BRAZIL (ARANEAE, ARANEIDAE)
Adalberto J. Santos: Laboratório de Artrópodes, Instituto
Butantan, Av. Vital Brasil 1500, CEP 05503-900, São Paulo,
SP, Brazil. Pós-graduação em Zoologia, Universidade
de São Paulo.
E-mail: oxyopes@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT. A new species of orb-weaving spider, Metazygia
levii, is described and illustrated based on specimens from
State of Espírito Santo, Brazil.
SHORT
COMMUNICATION:
FISHING BEHAVIOR IN A GIANT WHIP SPIDER
Richard J. Ladle: School of Geography and the Environment, Oxford
University, Oxford, UK
Kathryn Velander: School of Life Sciences, Napier University, Edinburgh,
UK.
ABSTRACT. Whip spiders (Amblypygi) are a small and
understudied group of arachnids characterized by long antenniform
legs and raptorial pedipalps. Due to their nocturnal habits, secretive
nature and geographical distribution there have been very few studies
of feeding behavior in this group. Here, we report a remarkable
foraging strategy adopted by the giant tropical whip spider Heterophrynus
cheiracanthus (Gervais 1844) inhabiting rocky outcrops adjacent
to mountain streams running through primary tropical rainforest
on the Caribbean island of Tobago. Heterophrynus cheiracanthus
positions itself close to the stream edge on a vertical rock surface
with pedipalps fully extended and antenniform legs frequently entering
the shallow water. Freshwater prawns of the genus Macrobrachium
are caught while still submerged in the water despite the whip
scorpion being unable to use the trichobothria on the walking legs.
Possible mechanisms of prey detection are discussed.
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7 / 22 / 2003, modified 11 / 27 / 2009 |