identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
1B00E94859C456BD9C818ACD99562886.text	1B00E94859C456BD9C818ACD99562886.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Latrodectus lucacha Miller, Kratzer & Griswold 2026	<div><p>Latrodectus lucacha Miller, Kratzer &amp; Griswold sp. nov.</p><p>Figs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8</p><p>Material examined.</p><p>Holotype: Peru • ♀; Junin, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-75.707085&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=-11.772017" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -75.707085/lat -11.772017)">Pachacayo</a>; 11°46.321'S, 75°42.425'W; 3540 m; August 2006; G. Binford, A. Merrell, M. Weber, W. Paredes, L. Tejada; BOLD: AWSLL 004-26; MUSM -ENT 0519569 .</p><p>Paratypes: Peru • 1 ♀; Arequipa, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-74.37&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=-15.76125" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -74.37/lat -15.76125)">Atiquipa</a>; 15°45.675'S, 74°22.20'W; 2665 ft [812 m]; 4 August 2006; G. Binford, A. Merrell, M. Weber, W. Paredes, L. Tejada; BOLD: AWSLL 001-26; MUSM -ENT 0519562 • 1 ♀; Arequipa, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-74.84692&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=-15.501017" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -74.84692/lat -15.501017)">Bella Union (km 532)</a>; 15°30.061'S, 74°50.815'W; 322 ft [98 m]; 3 August 2006; G. Binford, A. Merrell, M. Weber, W. Paredes, L. Tejada; BOLD: AWSLL 002-26; MUSM -ENT 0519564 • 1 ♂; Arequipa, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-71.54&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=-16.47" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -71.54/lat -16.47)">Socabaya</a>; [16.47°S, 71.54°W]; 2300 m; 23 January 2005; L. Tejada; MUSM -ENT 0519563 • 1 ♀; Cusco, Chumbivilcas, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-71.82972&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=-14.428889" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -71.82972/lat -14.428889)">Pampa Cancha</a>; 14°25'44"S, 71°49'47"W; 3890 m; June 2013; L. Huerto; pasonal y cultivo, pitfalls; BOLD: AWSLL 005-26; MUSM -ENT 0519570 • 1 ♂; Cusco, Chumbivilcas, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-71.82972&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=-14.428889" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -71.82972/lat -14.428889)">Pampa Cancha</a>; 14°25'44"S, 71°49'47"W; 3890 m; June 2013; L. Huerto; pasonal y cultivo, pitfalls; BOLD: AWSLL 006-26; MUSM -ENT 0519571 • 1 ♀; La Libertad, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-79.1178&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=-8.07445" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -79.1178/lat -8.07445)">Huanchaco</a>; 8°4.467'S, 79°7.068'W; 22 m; 19 August 2006; G. Binford, A. Merrell, M. Weber, W. Paredes, L. Tejada; BOLD: AWSLL 003-26; MUSM -ENT 0519565 • 1 ♀; Lima, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-76.985&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=-12.215" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -76.985/lat -12.215)">Pantanos de Villa Om</a>; [12.215°S, 76.985°W]; 1 March 2005; L. Tejada; on grass in sandy ground near wetlands; BOLD: AWSLL 007-26; MUSM -ENT 0519567 • 1 ♂; Lima, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-76.985&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=-12.215" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -76.985/lat -12.215)">Pantanos de Villa Om</a>; [12.215°S, 76.985°W]; 1 March 2005; L. Tejada; on its web on sand near wetlands; BOLD: AWSLL 008-26; MUSM -ENT 0519568 • 1 ♀; Lima, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=-76.985&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=-12.215" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long -76.985/lat -12.215)">Pantanos de Villa Om</a>; [12.215°S, 76.985°W]; 1 March 2005; L. Tejada; on grass in sandy ground near wetlands; MUSM -ENT 0519566 .</p><p>Etymology.</p><p>Lucacha is a common name for widow spiders in Peru (Pickard-Cambridge 1902; Maguiña Vargas et al. 2017).</p><p>Diagnosis.</p><p>Female with three loop copulatory ducts (Figs 2 D, 3 D – F), distinguishing it from L. geometricus C. L. Koch, 1841 and L. quartus Abalos, 1980 (Abalos 1980: figs 39, 66), which have more loops (ca 4), and from L. antheratus (Badcock, 1932) and L. variegatus Nicolet, 1849 (Abalos 1980: figs 49, 58), which have fewer (2). With dorsal longitudinal opisthosomal stripe variable in both width and length (Figs 4, 5), resembling several South American species, but not exhibiting oblique vertical stripes on the posterior quarter found in L. antheratus, L. corallinus Abalos, 1980, L. curacaviensis, and L. hurtadoi Rueda &amp; Realpe, 2021 (Abalos 1980: figs 33, 54, 56; Rueda et al. 2021: figs 3 A, 5 A); L. garbae Rueda &amp; Realpe, 2021 may also have these stripes, but in this species with the most red on the opisthosoma, dorsal markings have largely merged with each other (Rueda et al. 2021: fig. 4 A, B). Ventral opisthosomal marking box-like with distinct lateral notches anterior to the center, resembling L. diaguita Carcavallo, 1960, L. variegatus and L. thoracicus (including L. mirabilis (Holmberg, 1876), Figs 3 A, 5 D; Abalos 1980: figs 7, 8, 27, 60), although in the latter species the posterior part of the marking can be lost, leaving just two oblique stripes, resembling L. quartus (Abalos 1980: fig. 41); by contrast L. antheratus, L. garbae, L. corallinus, and L. hurtadoi have a more or less square mark with a gap near the center (Abalos 1980: fig. 34, 55; Rueda et al. 2021: figs 3 C, 4 D); L. curacaviensis and L. geometricus have hourglass-like markings with constrictions near the center (Rueda et al. 2021: figs 2 F, 5 D, 12 A, B). Most South American species including L. lucacha sp. nov. have long opisthosomal setae without much variation in length, but L. diaguita and L. quartus have dimorphic long and short opisthosomal setae.</p><p>Males of most Latrodectus species feature contrasting markings on the opisthosoma; in L. lucacha sp. nov., the dorsal surface of the opisthosoma is more or less uniform white (Figs 2 A – C, 6); L. thoracicus is similar but usually with at least some dark markings; only the male of L. antheratus similarly has low contrast markings, but is overall dark. Embolus in L. lucacha sp. nov. longer than that of either L. thoracicus or L. antheratus, making ca 3 full spiral turns over retrolateral part of pedipalp (Fig. 7 C) before making another nearly full turn over prolateral surface of pedipalp (Fig. 7 A). In L. thoracicus, the embolus makes ca 2.5 spiral turns over the retrolateral part of the pedipalp before making another half turn over the prolateral surface; in L. antheratus, the embolus is even shorter, making ca. 2 spiral turns over the retrolateral part of the pedipalp before continuing another partial turn.</p><p>Egg case small (around 7–10 mm diameter), white, spherical, moderately woolly, lacking ornamentation (Fig. 1 A, B). It resembles that of L. antheratus, which is in about the same size range but tends towards a more pyriform shape. Unlike the spherical to pyriform egg cases of L. geographicus (around 6–10 mm), it lacks pompoms loosely attached to the surface that can be lost when handled (Abalos 1962: fig. 3). It is smaller than that of L. thoracicus, which is reported to be as large as 21 mm (Abalos 1962: fig. 4) although the ones we observed directly were around 12 mm; L. quartus is also reported to be quite large and woolly, not exceeding 17 mm (Abalos 1980) although the ones we observed were around 12 mm. We did not examine egg cases of L. diaguita, but they are reported to be quite large (ca. 22 mm) and yellow (Abalos 1980).</p><p>Description.</p><p>Female (holotype from Pachacayo, Junin, Peru): total length 8.1, carapace length 3.3, carapace width 3.1, leg I length 17.0 (femur 5.1, patella 1.6, tibia 3.8, metatarsus 4.9, tarsus 1.6), carapace, sternum, chelicerae and legs all dark brown to black with subtle variation in intensity (Fig. 5). Legs without clear stripes or annulations. Opisthosoma setae mostly long and uniform in length (Fig. 3 D). Opisthosoma black with longitudinal red stripe running from just above spinnerets towards middorsal region (Figs 4, 5 B). Red ventral opisthosomal marking between epigastric furrow and spinnerets, roughly box-like with distinct lateral notches anterior to centerline (Figs 3 A, 5 D).</p><p>Epigynum: atrium distinct (Fig. 3 C). Spermathecae dumbbell-shaped with swollen anterior and posterior lobes connected by a thinner region. Posterior lobes nearly touching, anterior lobes diverging. Copulatory ducts make three loops lateral to the spermathecae, then an arc to the atrium between spermathecae (Figs 2 D, 3 D – F).</p><p>Male (from Pantanos de Villa Om, Lima, Peru): total length 2.8, carapace length 1.2, carapace width 1.1, leg I length 8.3 (femur 2.2, patella 0.6, tibia 2.0, metatarsus 2.4, tarsus 1.1), carapace, sternum, and chelicerae dark brown with some lighter and darker patches (Fig. 2 A – C, 6). Basal leg part of legs mostly dark brown, with proximal halves of tibiae, metatarsi and tarsi light tan. Dorsal surface of opisthosoma mostly white, ventral surface darker with marking between epigastric furrow and spinnerets somewhat box-like with distinct lateral notches anterior to centerline.</p><p>Pedipalp: subtegulum (S) smooth, mostly occupied by fundus of sperm duct, attached to cymbium via membranous basal haematodocha. Tegulum (T) conducts sperm duct to embolus. Two tegular apophyses (TA 1 and TA 2) and a flexible conductor (C) arise from tegulum (T); TA 1 projects dorsally from near middle of tegulum; TA 2 arises distal to TA 1, projects distally with rough texture and serrated margins; conductor distinctly swollen distally, shape resembling a bird head (Fig. 7). Embolus (E) with membranous connection to tegulum, with median notch at origin, relatively thick, makes three spiral loops around retrolateral face of bulb, then runs to prolateral face where it makes nearly one spiral loop. Dentiform projection indicating embolic break point visible approaching embolic tip.</p><p>Variation (6 ♀ / 2 ♂).</p><p>Total length 7.5–9.9 / 2.8 – 3.3; carapace length 2.9–3.6 / 1.2; carapace width 2.9–3.2 / 1.0 – 1.1. Longitudinal red stripe on opisthosoma of female variable in length running from just above spinnerets towards middorsal region (Figs 4, 5 B). Stripe distinctly uneven in width and may run nearly the entire posterior surface of the opisthosoma or be quite short and restricted to area near spinnerets; anterior part of stripe may have a more or less triangular head; sometimes with separate curved transverse stripe, thickest near dorsal center of opisthosoma and tapered towards lateral surface.</p><p>Distribution.</p><p>Western Andean slopes and intermontane valleys of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and northern Chile between approximately 200–1500 m elevation with warm mean annual temperatures and moderate precipitation (Figs 8, S 2).</p><p>DNA barcode.</p><p>We obtained DNA barcode sequences from the holotype and seven other specimens. Most sequences were 649 bases with two a bit shorter at the 3 ' end. Barcode sequences are 96.6 % identical, with variation detected at 22 positions. Process IDs (the unique record identifier for the Barcode of Life Data Systems) are AWSLL 001-26 – AWSLL 008 - 26 and are associated with specific records in the material examined section.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/1B00E94859C456BD9C818ACD99562886	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Miller, Jeremy;Kratzer, Chris Alice;Griswold, Charles	Miller, Jeremy, Kratzer, Chris Alice, Griswold, Charles (2026): Description of a new Andean species of widow spider (Araneae, Theridiidae, Latrodectus). ZooKeys 1281: 49-67, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1281.185973
