Oedignatha mogamoga Marples, 1955

Saaristo, Michael I., 2002, New species and interesting new records of spiders from Seychelles (Arachnida, Araneaea), Phelsuma 10, pp. 1-32 : 6-9

Oedignatha mogamoga Marples, 1955 (Figs. 16,17,19)

Oedignatha mogamoga Marples 1955a: 467 , pl. 57, f. 6-7, 9-10 (Dm).

Oedignatha scrobiculata, Saaristo 1978: 112 , f. 109-117 (f, misidentifi cation).

Paccius quadridentatus, Benoit, 1978k : 941, f. 1A-F (mf, misidentifícation).

Oedignatha mogamoga Deeleman-Reinhold, 2001:273 , f. 367-370 (mf).

Material examined: Aride, 5mm5juvs., 1975, M. Mühlenberg leg. ( MZT AA 0.170- 0.175 ) ; Cousin, 2mm4ff4juvs., 1978, Hugh Watkins leg. ( MZT AA 0.176-0.184 ) ; Cousine, 3mm 1juv., 1998, Stella Le Maitre leg. ( MZT AA 0.407-0.409 ) and 4mm4ff 1juv., 23.- 25.01.1999, M. Saaristo leg. ( MZT AA 0.979-0.983 ) ; Farquhar Atoll , 9mm 19ff31juvs., 16.- 19.08.1984, USSR. Zool. Exped. ( ZMMU) ; La Digue , 1m, 1994, USSR. Zool. Exped. ( ZMMU) ; Mahe, golf green ofthe Reef Hotel , 4mm 1f, 24.10.1975, M. Saaristo leg. ( MZT AA 0.020 ) , Roche Caiman Bird Sanctuary , leaf litter, 2juvs., 23.12.1993, J. Gerlach leg. ( MZT AA 0.303-0.304 ) and 1m 2ff 2 juvs., 1994, J. Gerlach leg. ( MZT AA 0.305 ) , 3mm2ff, Jan. 1999, M. Saaristo, Pat Matyot & Maureen Kirkpatrick ( MZT AA 0.984-0.985 ) ; Petite Soeur , 1f, 17.09.1975, M. Mühlenberg leg. ( MRAC 177.106 ) ; Poivre Atoll , 5mm33ff 3juvs., 05.- 09.08.1994, USSR. Zool. Exped. ( ZMMU) ; Praslin , 7mm4ff 10juvs., 28.10.1975, M. Saaristo leg. ( MZT AA 0.021 ) ; Silhouette, various places, 13mm19ff 1juv., 06.- 23.01.1999, M. Saaristo & J. Gerlach leg. ( MZT AA 0.965-0.978 ) and 3mm6ff9juvs., 1994, USSR. Zool. Exped. ( ZMMU) .

Diagnosis: Habitually O. mogamoga is very similar to O. scrobiculata and both species have 4 pairs of light spots on abdomen. The black, retrolateral apophysis on the tibia of male palp of the former species is long and its dorsal end is drawn in a straight, rather blunt pointed outgrowth while the latter species has a short apophysis with crooked, sharp pointed dorsal end. Females of O. mogamoga have bipartite seminal receptaculae which almost touch in the middle line while O. scrobiculata have simple ones, wide apart from each other.

Description: The species has been well described by Saaristo (1978: Oedignatha scrobiculata ), Benoit (1978: Paccius quadridentatus ) andDeeleman-ReinhoId ( 2001).

Distribution: Outside Seychelles the species have been recorded from Malaysia, Borneo, and Samoa ( Platnick 2002). In Seychelles it seems to be common and, at least locally, highly abundant. It has been collected from the following islands: Aride (Bowler et aL 1999), Cousin (*), Cousine ( Saaristo 1999), Curieuse ( Benoit 1978), Farquhar Atoll (*), La Digue (*), Mahé ( Saaristo 1978 & 1999, Benoit 1978), Petit Soeur (*), Poivre Atoll (*), Praslin ( Saaristo 1978, Benoit 1978), and Silhouette ( Saaristo 1999). Saaristo 1978 records as O. scrobiculata, Benoit 1978 records as Paccius quadridentatus

Discussion: All earlier records of O. scrobiculta from Seychelles ( Saaristo 1978 and 1999 and Bowler et al. 1999) in fact refer to O« mogamoga . It is also easy to see from Benoit’s ( 1978 k) figures that he is dealing with O. mogamoga not with Paccius quadridentatus . This has also been partly noticed by Platnick (2000b: 116): “his specimens are clearly just misidendified members of Oedignathd \