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Issue: Vol. 5725 No. 3: 3 Dec. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-12-03
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5725.3.6
Page range: 421-437
Abstract views: 72
PDF downloaded: 1

A new monotypic, gift-giving spider genus from the Neotropical Pacific region: Dobarakuku gen. nov. (Araneae, Pisauridae)

Grupo de investigación Biología; Ecología y Evolución de Artrópodos; Departamento de Biología; Universidad del Valle; Cali; Colombia.
Grupo de investigación Biología; Ecología y Evolución de Artrópodos; Departamento de Biología; Universidad del Valle; Cali; Colombia.
Sección Entomología; Facultad de Ciencias; Universidad de la República; Montevideo; Uruguay.; Departamento de Ecología y Biología Evolutiva; Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable; Montevideo; Uruguay.
Departamento de Ecologia e Biologia Evolutiva; Universidade Federal de São Carlos; Campus São Carlos; Rodovia Washington Luís; Km 235; 13565-905; São Paulo; Brazil.
Grupo de investigación Biología; Ecología y Evolución de Artrópodos; Departamento de Biología; Universidad del Valle; Cali; Colombia.; Instituto de Ciencias Naturales; Facultad de Ciencias; Sede Bogotá; Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Cra 30 45-02; Ciudad Universitaria; Bogotá; 111321; Bogotá; Colombia.
Araneae Tinus ursus Colombia sexual behavior

Abstract

The nursery web spider Tinus ursus Carico, 1976 was originally described based on female specimens from Costa Rica. In this study, we describe for the first time the male of the species, providing the first records from Colombia, and documenting its sexual behavior, including courtship and nuptial gift production. The previously unknown male palp revealed a unique combination of characters that prompted us to reassess the phylogenetic placement of T. ursus using morphological, behavioral and molecular evidence. Our analyses demonstrate that T. ursus does not belong to Tinus F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1901, but instead forms a distinct lineage sister to the clade comprising Tinus and Thaumasia Perty, 1833. In light of these results, we transfer the species to a new monotypic genus, Dobarakuku gen. nov., designating Dobarakuku ursus (Carico, 1976) comb. nov. as the type species. In addition, we recognize Thaumasiinae Petrunkevitch, 1928 as comprising four genera: Architis Simon, 1898a, Dobarakuku gen. nov., Thaumasia, and Tinus. The proximal tegular projection may constitute a potential morphological synapomorphy of Thaumasiinae, secondarily lost in Architis. Dobarakuku gen. nov. differs from all other Neotropical Pisauridae genera by a unique combination of characters, including a narrow distal tegular projection, vestigial median apophysis, laminar hyaline conductor, stout embolus, and a pair of oval atria in the epigynum. The courtship behavior of D. ursus comb. nov. resembles that of other Pisauridae species, and the production of nuptial gifts makes it the sixth species in the family known to exhibit this behavior.

 

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How to Cite

Perlaza-Cruz, S., Espinosa, M.F., Albo, M.J., Labarque, F.M. & Cabra-García, J. (2025) A new monotypic, gift-giving spider genus from the Neotropical Pacific region: Dobarakuku gen. nov. (Araneae, Pisauridae). Zootaxa, 5725 (3), 421–437. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5725.3.6