Epicadus granulatus Banks, 1909

Machado, Miguel, Teixeira, Renato Augusto & Lise, Arno Antonio, 2018, There and back again: More on the taxonomy of the crab spiders genus Epicadus (Thomisidae: Stephanopinae), Zootaxa 4382 (3), pp. 501-530 : 510-513

Epicadus granulatus Banks, 1909

Figs 5A–D , 6A–D , 15D

Epicadus granulatus Banks, 1909: 214 , pl. 6, fig. 25. Silva-Moreira & Machado 2016: 300; Machado et al. 2017: 448, figs S4F, S8D. S15D.

Tobias inermis Mello-Leitão, 1929: 84 , figs. 177–178 (syntypes, 4 females from Rio Içá [6°28'56"S, 76°22'21"W, Tarapoto , Peru], deposited in MNHN 3403 , examined).

Type material: Holotype (original designation): female, Surubres [9°35'55"N, 84°18'07"W, Puntarenas, Costa Rica], ( MCZ 21488, examined).

Other material examined: BRAZIL: Pará: 1 male, Novo Progresso, Campo de Provas Brigadeiro Velloso , 9°20′00"S, 54°57′53″W, 15 September 2003, D.R. Santos-Souza ( MPEG 005373 ).

Note. Here we describe the male of E. granulatus for the first time. The locality of the single male examined and described here is distant from the terra typical of both, E. granulatus and its junior synonym inermis . We assume conspecifity of both sexes by a number of shared morphological features: 1) the reddish and nodose prosoma, 2) pale-yellow opisthosoma with vestigial lateral projections, 3) reduced eyes and high clypeus. Moreover, the male undoubtly belongs to the “ pustulosus clade” as proposed by Machado et al. (2017). It shows similar setiferous tubercles on the dorsum of the prosoma as the other species of that clade, E. pustulosus and E. caudatus .

Diagnosis. Females of E. granulatus are related to those of E. caudatus and E. pustulosus by the straight anterior border of opisthosoma and quadratic aspect of legs, and to E. camelinus by the curvature of copulatory ducts, shape and size of the spermathecae. However, it can be easily recognized by the reduced eyes, high clypeus ( Figs 5B ), round opisthosoma with no lower lateral opisthosomal projections and vestigial lateral ones and by the transversal stains on femora I and II with leg segments getting gradually darker from the patellae to tarsi ( Figs 5A , 15D ). The epigynum is distinguished from those of other species by the elevated median field and a large septum that resembles a shape of a “pig snout” in ventral view ( Fig. 5C ). The male presents a pair of vertical ocular mounds on the ALE, similarly to males of E. heterogaster , and the opisthosoma have only three projections as in males of E. trituberculatus and E. taczanowskii . From those it can be distinguished by the granulose prosoma with a set of tubercles on the thoracic area (which is more similar to those of E. caudatus and E. pustulosus ) ( Figs 6A, B ) and by the palp with TF at seven o’clock position ( Fig. 6C ).

Description. Female (from Tarapoto; MNHN 3403): Anterior eye row recurved and posterior procurved. Prosoma orange, without dark stripes or whitish stains and with scattered granules ( Figs 5A, B ). Thoracic MS discrete (sometimes absent). Chelicerae, sternum, endites and labium orange. Opisthosoma predominantly dark brown and gnarled, with three opisthosomal projections—median posterior bigger than lateral ones and rounded, lateral ones reduced ( Figs 5A , 15D ). Epigynum in ventral view with a large septum and an elevated median field ( Fig. 5C ); secondary spermathecae reduced and primary ones well developed and globular ( Fig. 5D ).

Measurements: eye diameters and interdistances: AME 0.13, ALE 0.16, PME 0.13, PLE 0.10, AME–AME 0.54, AME–ALE 0.20, PME–PME 0.72, PME–PLE 0.18; MOQ length 0.75, MOQ posterior width 0.76, MOQ anterior width 0.74; leg formula: 1-2-4-3: leg I—femur 5.67/ patella 3.08/ tibia 3.50/ metatarsus 2.42/ tarsus 1.67/ total 16.34; II—4.84/ 2.91/ 3.50/ 2.25/ 1.25/ 14.75; III—2.75/ 1.75/ 1.75/ 1.42/ 0.84/ 8.51; IV—3.00/ 1.58/ 2.08/ 1.67/ 0.84/ 9.17. Total body length 10.34; prosoma length 5.75, width 5.62; opisthosoma length 4.58; clypeus height 0.88; sternum length 2.62, width 2.00; endites length 1.10, width 0.70; labium length 0.82, width 0.90.

Male (from Novo Progresso; MPEG 005373): Eye arrangement as in females, ALE on vertical and spiniform ocular mounds; prosoma dark orange with remarkable tubercles on thoracic area ( Figs 6A, B ). Sternum, labium and endites light orange; clypeus high, entirely dark orange, with no marks or spots. Opisthosoma light yellow with dark setae and three projections: lateral ones indistinct and median posterior stout and rounded ( Fig. 6A ). Legs entirely light orange; femora I bears conspicuous setiferous tubercles on its ventral and dorsolateral surface. Palpi with discoid tegulum, RTA with tip bended retrolaterally and DTA directed upwards ( Fig. 6D ); TF emerging from tegulum at seven o’clock ( Fig. 6C ).

Measurements: eye diameters and interdistances: AME 0.06, ALE 0.06, PME 0.05, PLE 0.04, AME–AME 0.16, AME–ALE 0.10, PME–PME 0.24, PME–PLE 0.10; MOQ length 0.30, MOQ posterior width 0.25, MOQ anterior width 0.24; leg formula: 1-2-4-3: leg I—femur 1.36/ patella 0.56/ tibia 0.80/ metatarsus 0.62/ tarsus 0.46/ total 3.80; II—0.98/ 0.56/ 0.78/ 0.59/ 0.44/ 3.35; III—0.58/ 0.34/ 0.42/ 0.35/ 0.24/ 1.93; IV—0.56/ 0.23/ 0.48/ 0.44/ 0.26/ 1.97. Total body length 2.74; prosoma length 1.46, width 1.36; opisthosoma length 1.28; clypeus height 0.36; sternum length 0.66, width 0.60; endites length 0.30, width 0.16; labium length 0.20, width 0.26.

Distribution. PERU: Tarapoto; BRAZIL: Amazonas; COSTA RICA: Surubres ( Fig. 17A ).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Epicadus granulatus Banks, 1909, female (MNHN 3403). A, B habitus (A dorsal, B frontal); C epigynal plate (ventral); D spermathecae and copulatory ducts (dorsal). Scale bars:2 mm (A), 1 mm (B),0.1 mm (C, D).

FIGURE 6. Epicadus granulatus Banks, 1909, male (MCTP 005373). A, B habitus (A dorsal, B frontal); C, D left palp (C frontal, D retrolateral).Scale bars:1 mm (A), 0.5 mm (B), 0.2 mm (C), 0.3 mm (D).

FIGURE 15. Female specimens in vivo. A–C Epicadus caudatus (Mello-Leitão, 1929) A nuptial guard, B egg-sac guarding behavior, C diagnostic orange blister-shaped setae sockets); D E. granulatus Banks 1909; E Epicadus pustulosus (Mello- Leitão, 1929), diagnostic yelloW blister-shaped setae sockets. Photo credits: Alfredo Colón Archilla (A, B, C); Morley Read (D); Paul Bertner (E).

FIGURE 17. Data of distribution records of Epicadus species compiled from Machado et al. (2015, 2017); Silva-Moreira and Machado (2016); present study.