Canariphantes acoreensis ( Wunderlich, 1992 ) Wunderlich, 1992

Crespo, Luís Carlos, Bosmans, Robert, Cardoso, Pedro & Borges, Paulo A. V., 2014, On three endemic species of the linyphiid spider genus Canariphantes Wunderlich, 1992 (Araneae, Linyphiidae) from the Azores archipelago, Zootaxa 3841 (3), pp. 403-417 : 405-408

Canariphantes acoreensis ( Wunderlich, 1992) new combination

( Figs. 1–7 ; 23–24)

Lepthyphantes acoreensis Wunderlich, 1992: 378 , figs. 399–402 (description of male, not female, misidentified).

Type material. Holotype ♂ (right pedipalp missing) from Mistérios Negros, Terceira, 28.VII.1987, ULT; paratype ♀ from Mistérios Negros, Terceira, 30.VIII.1987, ULT; 1 paratype ♂ from Caldeira, Pico, VIII.1987, SNM 37603- 124; 1 paratype ♀ from Mistérios Negros, Terceira, SNM 37610-124; 5 paratype ♂ and 3 paratype ♀ from Fonte da Faneca, Terceira, SNM 60151-124; 2 paratype ♂ from Fonte da Faneca, Terceira, SNM 60162-124.

Additional material examined. Terceira—Biscoito da Ferraria Natural Reserve, (UTM 26S 479370 4289985), VI.1999, 1 ♀; VII.2003, 1 ♂; VI.2011, 1 ♀. Terceira—Pico Galhardo Natural Reserve, (UTM 26S 479664 4287554), VII.2002, 1 ♂, 1 ♀; VI.2003, 3 ♂; VII.2003, 1 ♂, 1 ♀; IX.2003, 3 ♂, 2 ♀; VIII.2003, 1 ♀; V.2007, 1 ♂; VI.2010, 1 ♀. Terceira—Serra de Santa Bárbara Natural Reserve, (UTM 26S 472028 4288949), VII.2001, 2 ♂; VI.2003, 1 ♂; VII.2003, 3 ♂; VIII.2003, 5 ♂; IX.2003, 1 ♂; VII.2008, 1 ♂; IX.2010, 1 ♂, 5 ♀. Terceira—Terra Brava Natural Reserve, (UTM 26S 482438 4287412), V.1999, 1 ♂, 1 ♀; VIII.1999, 3 ♂, 1 ♀; VI.2002, 4 ♂, 1 ♀; VII.2002, 3 ♀; VI.2003, 1 ♂; IX.2003, 5 ♂, 2 ♀; VII.2007, 1 ♀; VII.2008, 3 ♂, 2 ♀; VIII.2010, 3 ♂, 1 ♀. Terceira—Caldeira Guilherme Moniz Natural Reserve, (UTM 26S 482285 4284477), IX.2003, 2 ♀. São Jorge—Pico Pinheiro Natural Reserve, (UTM 26S 408602 4277888), VII.2000, 4 ♂, 3 ♀; VII.2004, 2 ♂, 2 ♀; IX.2010, 2 ♂, 2 ♀. São Jorge—Topo Natural Reserve, (UTM 26S 421857 4272031), VIII.2000, 1 ♀; IX.2010, 2 ♀. Pico—Mistério da Prainha Natural Reserve, (UTM 26S 388683 4257957), IX.1999, 3 ♂, 3 ♀; VII.2000, 4 ♂, 1 ♀; VII.2010, 1 ♂, 1 ♀. Pico—Caveiro Natural Reserve, (UTM 26S 395274 4255409), VII.2000, 1 ♂, 1 ♀. Pico—Lagoa do Caiado Natural Reserve, (UTM 26S 390826 4257032), VII.2000, 1 ♂, 2 ♀. All specimens collected by pitfall trapping and deposited at EDTP.

Diagnosis. Males of Canariphantes acoreensis can be diagnosed from all other congeners by the combination of the following palpal characters: absence of Fickert’s gland, paracymbium with a bifurcated tip ( Fig. 1 ) and terminal apophysis with several apical digitiform processes ( Figs. 3–4 ). Females are more difficult to diagnose because the epigynum is very similar to that of C. zonatus (see Bosmans 2006), but it can be distinguished from it (and all other congeners) by the short and rounded proximal part of scape ( Figs. 5–7 ).

Description. Male (from Terceira). Total length 2.4. Prosoma 1.0 long, 0.8 wide. All eyes except AME equal in size, large, AME small, posterior row slightly recurved, anterior row recurved. PME separated by half their diameter, separated from PLE by less than half their diameter. PLE touching ALE. ALE separated from AME by half the diameter of the former. AME separated by less than half their diameter. AME separated from PME by the diameter of the latter. Clypeus height ca. two AME diameters. Chelicerae with roughly 20 stridulatory striae, 3 promarginal teeth and 4 retromarginal denticles. Prosoma yellow. Sternum anteriorly truncated, roughly triangular, black. Opisthosoma whitish with a dorsal pattern of black chevrons ( Fig. 23 ).

Legs with a prolateral spine in femur I; all patellae with 1 dorsal spine; tibiae I and IV with 2 dorsal, 1 prolateral and 1 retrolateral spine, tibiae II and III with 2 dorsal and 1 prolateral spine. Metatarsi with 1 dorsal spine. TmI 0.16. TmIV absent. L Sp Ti I 5, L Sp Ti IV 5.8. Legs uniformly dark yellow. Palp ( Figs. 1–4 ). Patella with 1 dorsal spine, 3 times longer than diameter of patella. Tibia slightly longer than wide, with 1 dorsal spine, as long as diameter of tibia. Tibial spine roughly half the length of patellar spine. Three tibial trichobotria present, 2 retrolateral, 1 dorsal. Cymbium with a retrolateral keel. Paracymbium simple, with an incised tip, the inner tooth larger than the outer, with 6 to 7 hairs scattered from the basal to the median section. Suprategular apophysis hookshaped in ventral view, directed anteriorly in retrolateral view, with a small sclerotized dorsal arch close to the column opening. Lamella characteristica simple, with an incised distal part. Embolic division with a terminal apophysis with several apical, small, digitiform processes. Lamella characteristica and terminal apophysis separated by a membranous area bearing two small teeth, which can be variable in size. Radix unsclerotized, with a short, pointed tailpiece. Median membrane laminar. Embolus with a lobed thumb extending retrolaterally and dorsally. Fickert’s gland absent (contra Wunderlich 1992).

Female (from Terceira). Total length 2.8. Prosoma 1.3 long, 1.0 wide. Eyes same as in male. Clypeus height ca. three AME diameters. Chelicerae with roughly 20 stridulatory striae, 3 promarginal teeth and 5 retromarginal denticles. Prosoma same color as in male. Sternum as in male. Opisthosoma with a dorsal pattern of black chevrons, these are more diffuse than those of males and sometimes only interspersed white patches appear in a black opisthosoma ( Fig. 24 ).

Leg spination and coloration as in male. L Sp Ti I 3.6, L Sp Ti IV 4.7. Epigynum ( Figs. 5–7 ). Proximal part of scape short, wide and rounded, directly passing into distal part, with a total reduction or merging of the median part of scape; distal part of scape reduced, lateral lobes and stretcher very short ( Figs. 5–7 ). Posterior median plate not visible in ventral view, heart-shaped in dorsal view. Entrance grooves not coiled, proceeding from the distal part of scape into the proximal part of scape and almost directly into the oval receptacula.

Variation. Total body size in male varies from 1.9 to 2.5, in female from 2.8 to 3.1. Prosoma length from 0.9 to 1.1 in male, from 1.2 to 1.4 in female. Prosoma width in female varies from 0.9 to 1.1. Some female specimens present 2 prolateral spines in Femur I.

Comments. In the original description of C. acoreensis by Wunderlich (1992: 567, Fig. 407) illustrated an epigynum with coiled entrance grooves and a wide stretcher. This morphology was not consistent with the genital structure of recently collected females together with males of C. acoreensis from nearly all the Azorean islands of the central group (Terceira, São Jorge and Pico). All collected females appeared to have an epigynum differing from Wunderlich’s description, except for one single female from Flores. The first author studied the type material deposited by Wunderlich at ULT and SNM. All males and females of the central group of islands appeared to be identical to our specimens, but this could not be confirmed for a female from Flores islands with the missing epigynum. Since none of the females of the type series of C. acoreensis has an epigynum resembling Wunderlich’s figures, the female with the missing excised epigynum must be the one used by Wunderlich to describe the female of C. acoreensis . Both females from Flores belong in fact to a new species described below.

Distribution. The central group of islands with native forest patches (Terceira, São Jorge, Pico and Faial) ( Fig. 8 ). Although C. acoreensis was cited from Faial ( Wunderlich 1992), the referred material was not found at ULT, thus rendering the presence of C. acoreensis unconfirmed.

Natural history. This species builds small sheet-webs at ground level, exclusively in patches of native laurel forest. Adults were collected from May to September, but sampling outside this period was not performed.

Figures

FIGURE 8. Map of the archipelago of Azores showing the collecting localities of the species described here (circles = Canariphantes acoreensis (Wunderlich, 1992); square = C. junipericola n. sp.; triangle = C. relictus n. sp.).

FIGURES 1 – 7. Canariphantes acoreensis (Wunderlich, 1992). 1, Male from Terceira, left palp, retrolateral. 2, Male from Pico, suprategular apophysis, ventral. 3, Same, embolic division, ventral. 4, Same, embolic division, dorsal. 5, Female from Pico, Epigynum, ventral. 6, Same, cleared epigynum, dorsal. 7, Same, cleared epigynum, lateral. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 23 – 28. 23 – 24. Canariphantes acoreensis (Wunderlich, 1992), male and female from Terceira, dorsal. Scale bars = 1.5 mm. 25 – 26. Canariphantes junipericola n. sp., male and female from Flores, dorsal. Scale bars = 1.5 mm. 27 – 28. Canariphantes relictus n. sp., male and female from Santa Maria, dorsal. Scale bars = 1.5 mm.