Maymena Gertsch, 1960

Miller, Jeremy, Griswold, Charles & Yin, Chang, 2009, The symphytognathoid spiders of the Gaoligongshan, Yunnan, China (Araneae: Araneoidea): Systematics and diversity of micro-orbweavers, ZooKeys 11 (11), pp. 9-195 : 55

Genus Maymena Gertsch, 1960

Maymena Gertsch, 1960: 30 . Type species Nesticus mayanus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1938 (= Maymena mayana (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1938)) .

Natural History. Chinese Maymena build horizontal orb webs with some extraplanar lines, similar to those known from the Appalachian region of North America (P. Paquin, pers comm.; see Coddington 1986b, fig. 22; Griswold et al. 1998, fig. 3B; Lopardo and Coddington 2005, fig. 40.16). This is the first record of Maymena from beyond the Americas.

Paracymbium homology. Theridiosomatids are the only symphytognathoids with a distinct paracymbium ( Griswold et al. 1998, but see Schütt 2003, Wunderlich 2004). The basal apophysis in some mysmenids (Figs 17B, 24C) and the hook-like cymbial apophysis in Maymena ( Fig. 55 ) resemble a paracymbium, but are on the prolateral side, not the retrolateral side. However, the mysmenid palp is rotated so that the bulb sits on top of the cymbium rather than hanging down from it (i.e., the apophysis arises from the morphologically retrolateral face of the cymbium). Thus, the mysmenid cymbial apophyses could arise from the same part of the cymbium as the paracymbium after all. Possible paracymbium homologues in the Mysmenidae should be investigated as the phylogenetic structure of the family becomes better understood.

Figures

Figure 55. Maymena paquini sp. n. from Wayala Ku cave, SEM of male. A, palp, prolateral; B, palp, retrolateral; C, palp, prolateral detail, arrow indicates hook-like cymbial apophysis; D, palpal tibia, dorsal, arrows indicate trichobothria; E, metatarsus I; F, tarsus, arrow indicates tarsal organ. CB: cymbium; E: embolus; T: tegulum.