Zosis geniculata (Olivier, 1789)

de Luna, Manuel, Solís-Rojas, Carlos & García-Barrios, Roberto, 2023, New state records of the humped spider Zosis geniculata (Olivier, 1789) (Araneae: Uloboridae) in Mexico, Revista Chilena de Entomología (Rev. Chil. Entomol.) 49 (4), pp. 693-699 : 694-698

Zosis geniculata (Olivier, 1789)

( Figs. 1 A-C, 2, 3A-B)

Diagnosis. Based on the works of Muma and Gertsch (1964), Opell (1979, 2017), Jocqué and Dippenaar-Schoeman (2007), Salvatierra et al. (2014) and de Luna and GarcÍa-Barrios (2018). The cribellate araneomorph spiders of the family Uloboridae typically possess eight eyes in two rows, with the genus Miagrammopes having only four. Female Uloboridae have a sclerotized epigynum (entelegyne condition) ( Fig. 3B ); male Uloboridae have a complex palp tarsus with a cymbium that covers most of the structures (entelegyne condition) ( Fig. 3A ). There are three tarsal claws in each leg tarsus. Among the eight (or four) eyed entelegyne cribellate families found in North America, Uloboridae stands out for having rows of long trichobothria in the femora II, III and IV; a dorsally concave metatarsus IV at the level of the calamistrum, which in turn occupies more than 50% of its length; less than four pairs of ventral spines in tibiae I and II; and complete lack of venom glands.

Spiders of the genus Zosis differ from the rest of the Mexican Uloboridae in the following characteristics: eight eyes ( Figs. 1 A-B), unlike Miagrammopes which has only four. Posterior lateral eyes not in tubercles, unlike in Hyptiotes ( Figs. 1 A-B). Carapace of males are nearly round, those of male Uloborus are pear-shaped, and those of male Siratoba are oval. Male palpus lack a conspicuous conductor ( Fig. 3A ), this structure is very prominent in the palp of male Ariston (swan-shaped conductor) and male Philoponella (the spur and basal lobe of the conductor extends from the base of the median apophysis). Female epigynum has two median lobes ( Fig. 3B ), unlike in female Philoponella and Ariston which lack lobes, and female Siratoba which has a single median lobe. Zosis geniculata is the only species of its genus which has been recorded in North and Central America.

Material examined. Zosis geniculata . MEXICO. Nuevo León. 12 females, Municipality of Guadalupe , 25°40’58.4”N 100°12’04.7”W, 459m a.s.l., Panteón “La Paz”, 26-VIII-2012, col. Alejandro Maeda Obregón ( FCB-AORBI007 ) . 2 males, 6 females, Municipality of Monterrey ,

25°40’46.6”N 100°20’04.2”W, 552m a.s.l., Panteón “Dolores”, 15-VIII-2012, col. Gustavo Adolfo Flores Lechuga ( FCB-AORBI008 ) . 16 females, 2 juveniles, Municipality of Monterrey , 25°40’46.6”N 100°20’04.2”W, 552m a.s.l., Panteón “Dolores”, 5-X-2012, col. Manuel de Luna ( FCB-AORBI009 ) . 1 male, 3 juveniles, Municipality of Guadalupe, Cerro de la Silla, 14-III-2016, col. Massimo Nigenda Quesada ( FCB-AORBI011 ) . 1 female, Municipality of Monterrey , Colonia Niño Artillero, 16-XI-1978, col. Guadalupe Camarillo Gaytán ( FCB-AORBI012 ) . 9 females, 2 juveniles, Municipality of Monterrey , 25°42’24.1”N 100°21’10.8”W, 553.6m a.s.l., Panteón “El Roble”, 20-IX-2008, col. Segio Alberto Luna Peña ( FCB-AORBI013 ) . 1 female, 2 juveniles, Municipality of Monterrey , 25°43’07.7”N 100°21’18.7”W, 551.1m a.s.l., Panteón “San Jorge”, 8-II-2013, col. Alejandra de Jesús RodrÍguez Recio ( FCB-AORBI014 ) . 1 male, 1 female, Municipality of Guadalupe, Cerro de la Silla, 20-I-2013, col. Fabiola A. RÍos Peña ( FCB-AORBI015 ) . 5 females, 2 juveniles, Municipality of Santiago , “Cola de Caballo” waterfalls, 9-XII-2012, col. José Luis González Velasquez ( FCB-AORBI016 ) . 1 male, 1 female, 2 juveniles, Municipality of San Nicolás de los Garza , 25°45’23.8”N 100°17’57.1”W, 498.3m a.s.l., Panteón Municipal , 2-II-2009, col. José Luis Núñez Garibay ( FCB-AORBI017 ) . 1 female, 2 juveniles, Municipality of Hidalgo , Potrero Chico, 7-III-2010, col. Daniel Alejandro MartÍnez González ( FCB-AORBI018 ) . 1 female, 2 juveniles, Municipality of Guadalupe, Cerro de la Silla, 20-I-2013, col. Kenia Slendy Mandujano Sánchez ( FCB-AORBI019 ) . 1 female, 1 juvenile, Municipality of Apodaca , Panteón, 4-X-2008, col. Euridice Muñiz Chavez ( FCB-AORBI020 ) . 3 females, Municipality of San Pedro Garza GarcÍa, RÍo Santa Catarina, 16-IV, col. Javier Pavel Santano Moreno ( FCB-AORBI021 ) . 1 male, Municipality of Monterrey , Ciudad Universitaria UANL (Mederos), 17-VIII-2013, col. Jesús Emanuel Mendieta ( FCB-AORBI022 ) . 3 females, Municipality of San Nicolás de los Garza, Colonia Villa Azul, 21-II-2009, col. NeftalÍ Miguel MarÍn Valbuena ( FCB-AORBI023 ) . 1 female, 2 juveniles, Municipality of Guadalupe, 30-VII-1978, col. Laura E. RodrÍguez L. ( FCB-AORBI024 ) . 1 male, 3 females, 1 juvenile, Municipality of Monterrey , 25°39’35.3”N 100°16’35.0”W, 523.9m a.s.l., Panteón “El JardÍn”, col. Edith Pacheco Villarreal ( FCB-AORBI025 ) . 3 females, Municipality of Hidalgo , La Turbina, 16-I-2013, col. Armando Azael Lozano Arevalo ( FCB-AORBI026 ) . Tamaulipas. 1 male, 2 females, 2 juveniles, Municipality of Aldama , Rancho Santa Marta, 17-IX-2010, Antonio Cantú de Leija ( FCB-AORBI010 ) . 3 females, Municipality of Ciudad Victoria , Panteón “Del Refugio”, 5-IV-2010, col. Luis Jesús Cortez de la Fuente ( FCB-AORBI027 ) .

Photographic records (iNaturalist). Zosis geniculata . MEXICO. Chiapas. Municipality of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, 16°45’06.8”N 93°06’10.8”W, 24-IX-2022, photo by “maetageidy”. Municipality of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, 16°46’12.0”N 93°09’45.0”W, 23-XII-2020, photo by “kevinadrian00”. Municipality of Tuxtla Gutiérrez , 16°46’10.0”N 93°06’55.7”W, 17-X-2020, photo by “matteocasella”. Municipality of Tuxtla Gutiérrez , 16°44’08.3”N 93°07’00.9”W, 3-VII-2020, photo by “belenjd_tutor” . Jalisco. Municipality of El Grullo , 19°48’09.6”N 104°13’07.9”W, 14-VIII-2022, photo by “carlospalomera” . Tamaulipas. Municipality of Tampico, 22°13’59.1”N, 97°51’40.0”W, 28-V-2023, photo by “manzanaresjc”. Municipality of Tampico, 22°24’27.9”N 97°55’16.2”W, 26-V-2023, photo by “manzanaresjc”. Municipality of Tampico , 22°14’30.6”N 97°51’05.9”W, 16-IV-2023, photo by “romanrene”. Municipality of Altamira , 22°21’31.9”N 97°54’42.4”W, 20-III-2023, photo by “ag18”. Municipality of Altamira , 22°21’32.2”N 97°54’42.3”W, 17-III-2023, photo by “ag18”. Municipality of Tampico , 22°14’47.8”N 97°51’39.6”W, 4-V-2017, photo by “guillernohsosa-tovar” . Yucatán. Municipality of Merida , 20°58’05.3”N 89°37’47.5”W, 28-X-2022, photo by “itsmelucy” .

Online records ( GBIF). Zosis geniculata . MEXICO. Chiapas. 1 specimen, Municipality of Ocosingo, 16°45’36.0”N 91°00’25.2”W, Área Natural Protegida Lacandona, 15-VII-2004, deposited in the Colección Nacional de Arácnidos [ CNAN], Instituto de BiologÍa [IB], Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México [ UNAM] (voucher number 4775) ( CONABIO 2023). Coahuila. 1 male, Municipality of Saltillo (not Gómez FarÍas, Tamaulipas, as stated on the website), 24°57’00.0”N 101°02’00.0”W, 26-XII-1971, deposited in the Denver Museum of Nature & Science – Arachnology (catalog numbers ZA.938; 1998-121) ( Denver Museum of Nature & Science 2023a). Tamaulipas. 1 specimen, Municipality of Gómez FarÍas , 23°02’22.0”N 99°09’02.6”W, 20-XII-1970, deposited in the Denver Museum of Nature & Science – Arachnology (catalog numbers ZA1183, 1999-94) ( Denver Museum of Nature & Science 2023b) .

Zosis geniculata had been reported for western Mexico without clearly defining a locality or a state ( Opell 1979), with the records presented and compiled in this publication it is reported for the states of Chiapas, Coahuila, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas and Yucatán ( Fig. 2 ). In his listing of the spider fauna of the state of Chiapas, GarcÍa-Villafuente (2009) only mentioned the genus Zosis , it is likely that it is Z. geniculata . Such as with the case of the woodlouse spider Dysdera crocata C.L. Koch, 1838 ( Araneae : Dysderidae ), this is another example of a species of spider that can be confidently identified to the level of species with photographic records due to its conspicuous external characteristics ( Figs. 1 A-C), making citizen science platforms such as iNaturalist a valuable tool to assess its distribution ( de Luna et al. 2022). It is very likely that more statal records are added in the following years.

Figures

Figure 1. Zosis geniculata from Nuevo León, Mexico; all scale bars: 1 mm. A. Lateral view of adult female (left legs omitted). B. Lateral view of adult male (left legs omitted). C. Lateral view of metatarsus IV of adult female, arrow points to the calamistrum. / Zosis geniculata de Nuevo León, México; todas las barras de escala: 1 mm. A. Vista lateral de la hembra adulta (se omitieron patas izquierdas). B. Vista lateral del macho adulto (se omitieron patas izquierdas). C. Vista lateral del metatarso IV de la hembra adulta, flecha señala el calamistro.

Figure 2. Records of Zosis geniculata in Mexico as red triangles; blue circle with “?” corresponds to the point given by Opell (1979). / Registros de Zosis geniculata en México como triángulos rojos; el cÍrculo azul con “?” corresponde al punto dado por Opell (1979).

Figure 3. Zosis geniculata from Nuevo León, Mexico; all scale bars: 1 mm. A. Male pedipalp tarsus at various angles. B. Female epigynum, ventral view. / Zosis geniculata de Nuevo León, México; todas las barras de escala: 1 mm. A. Tarso del pedipalpo del macho en varias vistas. B. Epigino de la hembra, vista ventral.