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Issue: Vol. 4291 No. 3: 13 Jul. 2017
Type: Article
Published: 2017-07-13
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4291.3.4
Page range: 504–520
Abstract views: 111
PDF downloaded: 55

The spiny theridiid genus Meotipa Simon, 1895 in India, with description of a strange new species with translucent abdomen and a phylogenetic analysis about the genus placement (Araneae, Theridiidae)

Department of Zoology, Yashavantrao Chavan Institute of Science, Satara 415001, Maharashtra, India. Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 20052, United States.
104, A1, B Wing, Mahendra Park, Boisar 401501, Maharashtra, India.
Department of Zoology, Yashavantrao Chavan Institute of Science, Satara 415001, Maharashtra, India.
Department of Zoology, Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts & Science, Gogol, Margao 403602, Goa, India.
Araneae Taxonomy Comb-footed Spiders Morphology Phylogeny Asian Tropics Western Ghats

Abstract

A characteristic new species Meotipa sahyadri n. sp. with tall and white translucent abdomen in females is described in detail based on morphology of both sexes, based on specimens collected from the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa. The new species has epigynal projection which is known only in Meotipa picturata Simon, 1895, but differs in shape (trifid vs. quadrangular respectively). Males have longest straight embolus exceeding conductor length. Observations of its natural history are provided. Meotipa picturata is newly recorded from Goa, which extends its north-westward distribution from the previously known records from ‘Kodei Kanal’, India (type locality), Ratchasima Province, Thailand and East Kalimantan, Indonesia. A new combination Meotipa andamanensis (Tikader, 1977) n. comb. (=Argyrodes andamanensis) is proposed based on the comparison of description and illustrations provided in the original paper to that of the characters of the type species M.picturata. 242 morphological characters studied in the previous literature and one additional character ‘epigynal projection’ were scored for Meotipa sahyadri n. sp. and Meotipa picturata. These species were obtained monophyletic, placed within Theridiinae as sister to Chrysso cf. nigriceps using parsimony analysis and Bayesian inference.

 

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