Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5311 No. 2: 29 Jun. 2023
Type: Article
Published: 2023-06-29
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5311.2.7
Page range: 281-288
Abstract views: 225
PDF downloaded: 13

Ride on female for “prima nocta” or close attachment in the araneid spider Caerostris sumatrana Strand, 1915 (Araneae: Araneidae)

Federal Scientific Center of East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity; Far Eastern Branch; Russian Academy of Sciences; Vladivostok 690022; Russia. Institute for Biological Problems of the North; Portovaya Street 18; Magadan 685000; Russia.
Department of Zoology & Entomology; University of the Free State; Bloemfontein 9300; South Africa. Altai State University; Lenina Pr.; 61; Barnaul; RF-656049; Russia.
Araneae Laos Southeast Asia mating behavior secure paternity female guarding

Abstract

A unique type of mate guarding behavior is discovered in the araneid spider Caerostris sumatrana Strand, 1915: the male waits for the female’s maturity while staying tied to the dorsal surface of her abdomen. The species is redescribed in detail. General appearance of the male and its fine structures are illustrated by scanning electron microscopy for the first time. Genital emasculation in the male of this species is reported for the first time.

 

References

  1. Fairbairn, D.J., Blanckenhorn, W.U. & Szekely, T. (2007) Sex, size, and gender roles: Evolutionary studies of sexual size dimorphism, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 280 pp. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199208784.001.0001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199208784.001.0001
  2. Grasshoff, M. (1984) Die Radnetzspinnen-Gattung Caerostris (Arachnida: Araneae). Revue Zoologique Africaine, 98, 725–765.
  3. Gregorič, M., Blackledge, T.A., Agnarsson, I. & Kuntner, M. (2015) A molecular phylogeny of bark spiders reveals new species from Africa and Madagascar (Araneae: Araneidae: Caerostris). Journal of Arachnology, 43 (3), 293–312. https://doi.org/10.1636/0161-8202-43.3.293 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1636/0161-8202-43.3.293
  4. Gregorič, M., Šuen, K., Cheng, R.-C., Kralj-Fišer, S. & Kuntner, M. (2016) Spider behaviors include oral sexual encounters. Scientific Reports, 6, 25128. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep25128 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep25128
  5. Jäger, P. (2007) Spiders from Laos with descriptions of new species (Arachnida: Araneae). Acta Arachnologica, 56, 29–58. https://doi.org/10.2476/asjaa.56.29 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2476/asjaa.56.29
  6. Kuntner, M. & Agnarsson, I. (2010) Web gigantism in Darwin’s bark spider, a new species from Madagascar (Araneidae: Caerostris). Journal of Arachnology, 38, 346–356. https://doi.org/10.1636/B09-113.1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1636/B09-113.1
  7. Kuntner, M., Agnarsson, I. & Li, D.Q. (2015) The eunuch phenomenon: adaptive evolution of genital emasculation in sexually dimorphic spiders. Biological Reviews, 90, 279–296. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12109 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12109
  8. Shorthouse, D.P. (2010) SimpleMappr, an online tool to produce publication-quality point maps. http://www.simplemappr.net (accessed 18 April 2023)
  9. Simon, E. (1895) Histoire naturelle des araignées. Tome Premier. Deuxième Edition. Roret, Paris, pp. 761–1084. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.51973 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.51973
  10. Song, D.X., Zhu, M.S. & Chen, J. (1999) The spiders of China. Hebei Science and Technology Publishing House, Shijiazhuang, 640 pp.
  11. Thorell, T. (1868) Araneae. Species novae minusve cognitae. In: Virgin, C.A. (Ed.), Kongliga Svenska Fregatten Eugenies Resa omkring Jorden, Uppsala, Zoologi, Arachnida, 1868, pp. 1–34.
  12. Wilder, S.M., Rypstra, A.L. & Elgar, M.A. (2009) The importance of ecological and phylogenetic conditions for the occurrence and frequency of sexual cannibalism. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 40, 21–39. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.110308.120238 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.110308.120238
  13. World Spider Catalog (2023) World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Version 24.0. Available from: http://wsc.nmbe.ch (accessed 7 May 2022) https://doi.org/10.24436/2