Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 4407 No. 4: 12 Apr. 2018
Type: Article
Published: 2018-04-12
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4407.4.1
Page range: 451–482
Abstract views: 142
PDF downloaded: 4

Five new cave-dwelling species of Hemirrhagus Simon 1903 (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Theraphosinae), with notes on the generic distribution and novel morphological features

Colección Nacional de Arácnidos, Módulo D planta baja, Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, 3er circuito exterior, Apto. Postal 70-153, CP 04510, Coyoacán, Distrito Federal, México.
Colección Nacional de Arácnidos, Módulo D planta baja, Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, 3er circuito exterior, Apto. Postal 70-153, CP 04510, Coyoacán, Distrito Federal, México.
Araneae taxonomy cave dwelling troglomorphisms new species

Abstract

The suborder Mygalomorphae is generally poorly represented in the cave faunas of the world. The genus Hemirrhagus is endemic to Mexico and has 22 described species. It is the only one with epigean, troglophile and troglobitic species. Lack of urticating setae, loss of eye pigmentation and ocular reduction are interpreted as evolutionary reversals related to their troglobitic habits. From five troglobitic species in the genus, only the male of Hemirrhagus stygius is known. Five new troglobitic species are described with both sexes: Hemirrhagus akheronteus sp. nov., Hemirrhagus billsteelei sp. nov., Hemirrhaugus diablo sp. nov., Hemirrhagus kalebi sp. nov. and Hemirrhagus sprousei sp. nov. The female of Hemirrhagus chilango is described for the first time. Hemirrhagus akheronteus sp. nov. has a group of spinose setae on the opisthosoma; this setal modification was never reported in any other theraphosid spiders. Females of Hemirrhagus kalebi sp. nov. and Hemirrhagus sprousei sp. nov. lay fixed hammock egg sacs, which is an unusual behavior among species in Theraphosinae. Two stridulating setae previously reported only in epigean species are present on some of the new troglobites.

 

References

  1. Assmann, T., Casale, A., Drees, C., Habel, J., Matern, A. & Schuldt, A. (2010) The dark side of relict species biology: cave animals as ancient lineages. In: Habel, J. & Assmann, T. (Eds.), Relict species. Phylogeography and conservation biology. Springer, Berlin, pp. 91–103.
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-92160-8_4

    Barr, T. (1968) Cave ecology and the evolution of troglobites. Evolutionary Biology, 2, 35–102.
    https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-8094-8_2

    Battisti, A., Holm, G., Fagrell, B. & Larsson, S. (2011) Urticating hairs in arthropods: their nature and medical significance. Annual Review of Entomology, 56, 203–220.
    https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-120709-144844

    Bertani, R. (2000) Male palpal bulbs and homologous features in Theraphosinae (Araneae, Theraphosidae). Journal of Arachnology, 28, 29–42.
    https://doi.org/10.1636/0161-8202(2000)028[0029:MPBAHF]2.0.CO;2

    Bertani, R., Bichuette, M. & Pedroso, D. (2013) Tmesiphantes hypogeus sp. nov. (Araneae, Theraphosidae), the first troglobitic tarantula from Brazil. Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, 85 (1), 235–243.
    https://doi.org/10.1590/S0001-37652013005000007

    Bertani, R. & Guadanucci, J.P. (2013) Morphology, evolution and usage of urticating setae by tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Zoologia, 30 (4), 403–418.
    https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-46702013000400006

    Bichuette, M.E., Rantin, B., Hingst-Zaher, E. & Trajano, E. (2015) Geometric morphometrics throws light on evolution of the subterranean catfish Rhamdiopsis krugi (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Heptapteridae) in eastern Brazil. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 114, 136−151.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/bij.12405

    Christiansen, K. (2012) Morphological adaptations. In: Culver, D.C. & White, W.B. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Caves. Academic Press, Waltham, pp. 517−528.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-383832-2.00075-X

    Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (Conabio). (1997) Provincias Biogeográficas de México. Escala 1: 4 000 000. Available from: http://www.conabio.gob.mx/informacion (accessed 21 september 2017)

    Cooke, J.A.L., Roth, V.A. & Miller, F.H. (1972) The urticating hairs of theraphosid spiders. American Museum Novitates, 2498, 1−43.

    Culver, D.C. & White, W.B. (2005) Encyclopedia of caves. Academic Press, Waltham, 654 pp.

    Desutter-Grandcolas, L. & Grandcolas, P. (1996) The evolution toward troglobitic life: A phylogenetic reappraisal of climatic relict and local habitat shift hypothesis. Mémoires de Biospélogie, 23, 57−63.

    Desutter-Grandcolas, L. (1997a) Are troglobitic taxa troglobiomorphic? A test using phylogenetic inference. International Journal of Speleology, 26 (1), 1−19.
    https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.26.1.1

    Desutter-Grandcolas, L. (1997b) Studies in cave life evolution: a rationale for future theoretical developments using phylogenetic inference. Journal of Systematic Evolution Research, 35, 23−31.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0469.1997.tb00400.x

    Estrada-Alvarez, J.C. (2014) New data from mygalomorph spiders (Araneae: Mygalomorphae) of Estado de Mexico, with taxonomic comments about the genus Davus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1892. Dugesiana, 21 (1), 55−66.

    Foelix, R. (2011) Biology of spiders. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 419 pp.

    Galan, C. & Herrera, F. (1998) Fauna cavernícola: ambiente y evolución. Boletín de la Sociedad Venezolana de Espeleología, 32, 13−43.

    García-Villafuerte, M.A. (2008) Primer registro fósil del género Hemirrhagus (Araneae, Theraphosidae) en ámbar del Terciario, Chiapas, México. Revista Ibérica de Aracnología, 16, 79−94.

    García-Villafuerte, M.A. & Locht, A. (2010) Una nueva especie de Hemirrhagus Simon, 1903 (Theraphosidae, Theraphosinae) de Chiapas, México. Revista Ibérica de Aracnología, 18, 81−86.

    Gertsch, W.J. (1973) A report on cave spiders from Mexico and Central America. Bulletin of the Association for Mexican Cave Studies, 5, 141−163.

    Harris, D.J. & Mill, P.J. (1977) Observations on the leg receptors of Ciniflo (Araneida: Dictynidae). External mechanoreceptors. Journal of Comparative Physiology, 119, 37−54.
    https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00655870

    Juan, C., Guzik, M.T., Jaume, D. & Cooper, S.J.B. (2010) Evolution in caves: Darwin´s wrecks of ancient life in the molecular era. Molecular Ecology, 19, 3865–3880.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2010.04759.x

    Marshall, S.D. & Uetz, G.W. (1990) The pedipalpal brush of Ephebopus sp. (Araneae, Theraphosidae): Evidence of a new site for urticating hairs. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society, 8, 122−124.

    Marshall, S.D., Thoms, E.M. & Uetz, G.W. (1995) Setal entanglement: an undescribed method of stridulation by a Neotropical tarantula (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Journal of Zoology, 235, 587–595.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1995.tb01770.x

    Mendoza, J. (2014) Taxonomic revision of Hemirrhagus Simon, 1903 (Araneae: Theraphosidae, Theraphosinae), with description of five new species from Mexico. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 170, 634−689.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12112

    Palacios-Vargas, J., Casta-o-Meneses, G. & Estrada, D. (2011) Diversity and dynamics of microarthropods from different biotopes of Las Sardinas cave (Mexico). Subterranean biology, 9, 113−126.
    https://doi.org/10.3897/subtbiol.9.2514

    Perafán, C., Gavils, W., Gutiérrez, M. & Pérez-Miles, F. (2016) Kankuamo, a new theraphosid genus from Colombia (Araneae, Mygalomorphae), with a new type of urticating setae and divergent male genitalia. Zookeys, 601, 89−109.
    https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.601.7704

    Pérez-Miles, F. (1998) Notes on the systematics of the little known theraphosids spider Hemirrhagus cervinus, with a description of a new type of urticating hair. Journal of Arachnology, 26, 120−123.

    Pérez-Miles, F. & Locht, A. (2003) Revision and cladistic analysis of the genus Hemirrhagus Simon, 1903 (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Theraphosinae). Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society, 12 (8), 365−375.

    Pocock, R.I. (1903) On some genera and species of South American Aviculariidae. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 7, 81–115.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00222930308678729

    Poulson, T.L. & White, W.B. (1969) The cave environment. Science, 165, 971−981.
    https://doi.org/10.1126/science.165.3897.971

    Prendini, L., Francke, O. & Vignoli, V. (2010) Troglomorphism, trichobothriotaxy and typhlochactid phylogeny (Scorpiones, Chactoidea): more evidence that troglobitism is not an evolutionary dead-end. Cladistics, 26, 117−142.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-0031.2009.00277.x

    Racovitza, E.G. (1907) Essai sur les problèmes biospéologiques. Archives de Zoologie Expérimentale et Générale, 6, 371−488.

    Reddell, J. (1981) A review of the cavernicole fauna of Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. Bulletin of the Texas Memorial Museum, 27, 1−327.

    Trajano, E. (2012) Ecological classification of subterranean organisms. In: Culver, D.C. & White, W.B. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Caves. Academic Press, Waltham, pp. 275–277.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-383832-2.00035-9

    Trajano, E. & Carvalho, M. (2017) Towards a biological meaningful classification of subterranean organisms: a critical analysis of the Schiner-Racovitza system from a historical perspective, difficulties of its application and implications for conservation. Subterranean biology, 22, 1−26.

    Uetz, G.W. & Stratton, G.E. (1982) Acoustic communication and reproductive isolation in spiders. In: Witt, P. & Rovner, J. (Eds.), Spider communication. Mechanisms and ecological Significance. Princeton University Press, New Jersey, pp. 123–159.

    Vol, F. (2002) Stridulation in tarantulas. Journal of the British Tarantula Society, 18, 21–27.

    Wessel, A., Erbe, P. & Hoch, H. (2007) Pattern and process: Evolution of troglomorphy in the cave-planthoppers of Australia and Hawaii preliminary observations (Insecta: Hemirptera: Fulgoromorpha: Cixiidae). Acta Carstologica, 36 (1), 199−206.
    https://doi.org/10.3986/ac.v36i1.222

    World Spider Catalog (2017) World Spider Catalog. Version 17.5. Natural History Museum Bern. Available from: http://wsc.nmbe.ch (accessed 3 February 2017)