Barronopsis jeffersi ( Muma 1945 )

Stocks, Ian Christopher, 2009, Systematics and natural history of Barronopsis (Araneae: Agelenidae), with description of a new species, Zootaxa 2270, pp. 1-38 : 22-30

Barronopsis jeffersi ( Muma 1945)

Figs. 3, 6 , 24–31, 42, 47, 69

Barronopsis jeffersi Roth & Brown 1986: 5 . Platnick 2009.

Barronopsis cesari Alayón 1993: 9 , fig. 3a–b (female). New synonym.

Types. Muma’s (1945) type series (male holotype, female allotype and one male paratype) collected from Salisbury, Maryland (29 August 1943, W. F. Jeffers ), in AMNH, holotype and allotype examined. An additional 5 male, 7 female, 1 subadult male, and 5 subadult female paratypes were collected from the type locality by Jeffers from 1942 to 1944, 1 male and 1 female examined. Holotype female of B. cesari (in MNHN, not provided for examination) and 12 female paratypes (retained by Alayón) collected. One paratype examined.

Remarks. Two literature records refer to probable specimens B. jeffersi . Roth (1954) identified as “probably” B. floridensis an epigynum illustrated by Gertsch (1934) as B. barrowsi . Chamberlin & Ivie (1941: 401) illustrated epigyna, a vulva, and palpi views of specimens identified as B. barrowsi . Roth (1954) identified the female illustrations as “probably” B. floridensis . Based mainly on more detailed distribution information than was available to Roth (1954), females illustrated in Chamberlin & Ivie are most likely B. jeffersi . However, given the great similarity between females of B. jeffersi and B. floridensis , this conclusion is tentative.

The original description of Barronopsis cesari was based on 12 females ( Alayón 1993). Given that Alayón (1993) provided no diagnosis to separate B. cesari from any Barronopsis species (except B. arturoi ), no males have been collected, and that there are no apparent morphological differences between females of this species and those of B. jeffersi , B. cesari is here considered to be a junior synonym of B. jeffersi .

Diagnosis. Characters as for males of B. texana , except that the subapical embolus bump in B. jeffersi is extended into a prominent tine giving the embolus tip a “fork-like” appearance ( Figs. 42, 47). Females are diagnosed as members of the B. texana group by the teeth-like atrial guides (not broadly lobed) and copulatory duct twist with a slight enlargement where the duct begins to twist, but are otherwise indistinguishable from other B. texana group females on the basis of copulatory organ morphology.

Females and males usually may be diagnosed by the presence of an ovate pale patch surrounded by a ring of black pigment on the cephalothoracic junction of the carapace. This appears restricted to specimens of B. jeffersi but is variable. Specimens of B. jeffersi are also generally darker in appearance, due to presence of black pigment spots over the entire body. Both characters tend to fade in alcohol.

Description. Note: Legs I of holotype and allotype missing. Tab. 2–5. Male: n=17. TW 2.20–3.34 (2.65±0.26), CW 1.22–1.79 (1.42±0.15), DSL 3.19–4.64 (3.80±0.38), ITL 2.39–3.34 (2.83±0.25). Holotype: TW 3.19, CW 1.67, DSL 4.64.

Female: n=70. TW 1.67–3.23 (2.32±0.35), CW 0.91–1.82 (1.31±0.20), DSL 2.43–4.56 (3.38±0.50), ITL 1.60–2.74 (2.10±0.28). Allotype: TW 3.23, CW 1.82, DSL 4.90.

Natural history. Observations of several B. jeffersi populations in north Florida suggest that this species is behaviorally and ecologically very similar to its sister species, B. texana . The ranges of the two species are largely allopatric although some sympatry may exist. Specimens were collected from a variety of habitats, including on cypress trunks and branches and palm trunks and fronds. On palms, webs are frequently supported by the attached bases of broken fronds with the retreat penetrating deep into the space between the trunk and frond base. As with B. texana , individuals of B. jeffersi are common on human-made structures.

Distribution. Robust, continuous populations are apparently restricted to north Florida and perhaps the swampy regions of south Georgia where they may be sympatric with B. texana . Specimens of B. jeffersi have been consistently collected (possibly from as early as 1888) from the Washington, DC area and the type locality Salisbury County, Maryland (separated by 135 km). Collection-label data suggest that these disjunct populations of B. jeffersi may be entirely synanthropic (e.g., “Salisbury, on house,” “Washington, DC, in hemlock hedge”).

Material examined. Cuba. Punta del Este, Isla de Pinos (de Armas), 9 February 1974: 1 female. (GA). United States. FLORIDA: Alachua County, University of Florida, Gainesville, on campus (Stocks), 19 December 1998: 1 male. (HGP), 15 December 1950: 1 male (FS); 5 December 1948: 1 male, 1 female (FS); 18 October 1949: 1male ( CAS). 1006 W Union, 21 November 1948: 1 male ( CAS). Payne’s Prairie (Wallace), 14 October 1951: 1 male (FS). Colombia County, Ichetucknee Springs State Park (Stocks), 30 October 1998: 5 males. Levy County, Manatee Springs State Park (Stocks), 30 October 1998: 4 males. GEORGIA: Ware County, 8 mi. SE Waycross (James & Vincent), 3 November 1984: 1 male ( USNM). MARYLAND: Wicomico County, Salisbury, on house ( Jeffers ), October 1943: 1 male, 1 female ( CAS). Salisbury ( Jeffers ), 1943: 1 male ( AMNH). Washington D.C: 4438 Davenport Street, NW, in same web in hemlock hedge (Smith), 9 October 1985: 2 males, 1 female ( USNM). St. Elizabeth Hospital grounds, 24 October 1934: 1 female ( USNM).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Barronopsis jeffersi, female, frontal view. Levy County, Florida. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.