Mesabolivar eberhardi, HUBER, 2000

HUBER, BERNHARD A., 2000, New World Pholcid Spiders (Araneae: Pholcidae): A Revision At Generic Level, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2000 (254), pp. 1-348 : 198-201

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.1206/0003-0090(2000)254<0001:NWPSAP>2.0.CO;2
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03ACD276-8F91-FF21-FD5E-FB2243453ABA
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Mesabolivar eberhardi
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Mesabolivar eberhardi View in CoL , new species Figures 184 View Figs , 194 View Figs , 769–781 View Figs View Figs

Blechroscelis sp. : Eberhard and Briceño, 1983: 189–195, fig. 1; 1985: 29–36, figs. 2a–b.–Hub- er, 1998d: fig. 2S.

TYPES: Male holotype, 23 6♀ paratypes from Caripe , Monagas, Venezuela ; Cueva del Guacharo , hand collecting, Aug. 20 –21, 1987 (S. & J. Peck), in AMNH .

ETYMOLOGY: Named for W. G. Eberhard who collected and studied this species in Colombia.

DIAGNOSIS: Distinguished from close relatives ( M. rubristernus, aurantiacus , huanuco ) by the hugely enlarged femur (fig. 777), by the lateral apophyses on the male chelicerae in addition to the pair of frontal apophyses (fig. 774), by the tip of the procursus, consisting of two distinctively shaped parts (fig. 778), and the tip of the bulb with its dorsal semitransparent projection (figs. 775– 776).

MALE (holotype): Total length 4.6, carapace width 1.7; leg 1: (13.1+0.8+11.6 +23.5, tarsus missing), tibia 2: 8.1, tibia 3: 5.9, tibia 4: 7.7; tibia 1 l/d: 67. Habitus as in fig. 769 (opisthosoma shrunken); distance PME-ALE about 80% of PME diameter. Carapace light brown with dark brown median spot, ocular area dark brown, clypeus slightly orange, sternum very light brown, darker medially; chelicerae ochre, with pair of dark brown to black frontal apophyses and weakly sclerotized lateral apophyses (figs. 770, 774). Palps as in figs. 772–773, coxa retrolaterally with ridge rather than apophysis, trochanter with prominent apophysis, femur extremely widened distally (fig. 777), procursus ending in dorsal apophysis and ventral flap (fig. 778), embolus with prolateral subterminal spine and dorsal flat projection (figs. 775– 776). Tarsal organ exposed. Legs brown, with faint darker rings on femora (subdistally) and tibiae (proximally and subdistally); femora 3 slightly thicker than others; metatarsi 2 and 3 with single row of spines ventrally (cf. M. huanuco , fig. 791); legs without vertical and curved hairs; retrolateral trichobothrium of tibia 1 at 3%; tarsus 1 (paratype) with ~ 35 pseudosegments. Opisthosoma greenish-gray, dorsally with darker spots; genital plate trapezoidal, light brown; gonopore without epiandrous spigots; ALS with only one piriform gland spigot each (cf. female: fig. 184).

VARIATION: Tibia 1 in 10 males: 11.1–13.6 (x¯ = 12.6). As might be expected in a species with wide distribution (see below), there is some variation in the details of the procursus tip: in the males from Colombia, the two distal structures are shorter, while in the males from Mato Grosso and Peru the entire procursus is slightly shorter and more curved. At the present state of knowledge it seems preferable to lump these slightly different specimens into one easily distinguishable species.

FEMALE: Total length (N = 3) 3.3–4.0, tibia 1 (N = 15) 6.8–11.1 (x¯ = 8.9). In general very similar to male, but rings on legs usually quite distinct, metatarsi without spines, opisthosoma rarely also with white spots. Epigynum slightly elevated (fig. 779), with distinctive groove ending posteriorly in pocket (fig. 780), dorsal view as in fig. 781.

DISTRIBUTION: Known from Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, Peru, and Brazil (Mato Grosso) (map 5).

NATURAL HISTORY: Eberhard and Briceño (1983, 1985) give data on behavior and ecology of a population from the tropical dry forest life zone in Meta, Colombia: the spiders spin dome-shaped sheet webs in forest habitats; males search out mature females and cohabit webs with them; males are ‘‘chivalrous’’ in that they are dominant but cede prey to the female.

MATERIAL EXAMINED: VENEZUELA: Monagas: Caripe: types above ; Aragua: Maracay, Rancho Grande , cloud forest, 1200 m elev., Aug. 1–10, 1987 (Bordan & S. Peck), 13 in AMNH ; Rancho Grande , Mar. 22–29, 1945 (W. Beebe), 13 1♀ in AMNH ; Henri Pittier Nat. Park, Rancho Grande , 200–900 m elev., Feb. 18–19, 1984 (J. Coddington), 33 6♀ (5 vials) in USNM ; San Sebastian, Cueva el Murcielago, 500 m elev., Feb. 17, 1984 (J. Coddington), 2♀ in USNM. Mérida: Cueva del Pirata near Azulita (8°40'N, 71°26'W), outside cave, Jan. 28, 1984 (J. Coddington), 23 2♀ in USNM. Anzoategui: San Tomé, Cueva del Guacharo , 1960 (T. Briceño-Maaz), 13 1♀ in AMNH. TRINI- DAD: Bush Bush Forest , Mar. 5, 1965 (C. B. Worth), 33 6♀ in AMNH GoogleMaps ; Bush Bush Forest, Nariva Swamp , Oct. 22, 1962 and Aug. 28, 1964 (C. B. Worth), 33 3♀ (2 vials) in AMNH ; St. Andrew: Turure, Brigand Hill , July 21, 1979 (L. N. Sorkin), 13 in AMNH. COLOMBIA: Meta: 20 km N Rio Muco, ‘‘ Carimagua,’’ 175 m elev., 1978 (W. G. Eberhard), 23 2♀ in UCR ; same data, ‘‘voucher specimens for study of Eberhard & Briceño,’’ 33 8♀ in MCZ ; César: ‘‘ Socorpa Mission,’’ Serra de Perijá , 1350–1400 m elev., Aug. 1–14, 1968 (B. Malkin), 4♀ 2 juveniles in AMNH ; Cordoba: Ayapel, near Cienaga ‘‘ La Cuajada,’’ 22 m elev., Jan. 5, 1987 (M. A. Serna), 1♀ in MCZ ; Santandér: Rio Opon , 1000 m elev., Jan. 1947 (L. Richter), 1♀ 1 juvenile in AMNH ; Cundinamarca: Monterredondo , 1200 m elev., Feb. 25, 1975 (P. A. Schneble), 13 in MCZ ; Monterredondo , ~ 1300 m elev., June 24, 1973 (P. A. Schneble), 1♀ in MCZ. Boyacá: Muzo, 1936 (J. Bequaert), 13, in MCZ ; PERU: Huánuco: Tingo Maria, Cueva de las Lechuzas , May 31, 1967 (A. F. Archer), 23 1♀ 1 juvenile in AMNH ; BRAZIL: Mato Grosso: Aripuaná, forest, 1979 (W. & L. Miller), 13 5♀ in MCZ .