Erigone cristatopalpus Simon, 1884

Tanasevitch, Andrei V., 2011, On linyphiid spiders (Araneae) from the Eastern and Central Mediterranean kept at the Muséum d’histoire naturelle, Geneva, Revue suisse de Zoologie 118 (1), pp. 49-91 : 60-64

Erigone cristatopalpus Simon, 1884 Figs 27-42, 48-52

Erigone simillima Keyserling, 1886 syn. n.

E. zographica Crosby & Bishop, 1928 syn. n.

E. viabilis Chamberlin & Ivie, 1933 syn. n. MATERIAL: 1 Ƌ, 1 ♀, Italy, Falzarego , Cortina d’Ampezzo, 25.VI.1967, leg. A.

Comellini. – 19 Ƌ, 16 ♀; 4 Ƌ, 4 ♀ ( ZMMU), Toggia Valley , 24.X.1967, leg. A. Comellini. – 1 Ƌ, 2 ♀, Bergamo , Foppolo, 2000 m a.s.l., 24. VI.1977, leg. A. Comellini.

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED: E. cristatopalpus Simon, 1884 , MNHNP AR 12737. A vial labeled as “#4927 E. cristatopalpus E. Simon, Alps ”, contains syntypes: eight conspecific males and four females of E. cristatopalpus , as well as a male of E. tenuimana Simon, 1884 . Simon (1884) did not designate a holotype and provided the description with two figures of the male palpal tibia. A male of E. cristatopalpus , the palpal tibia of which corresponds best to the original figures, I here designate as the lectotype; the other seven males and four females are paralectotypes. The male of E. tenuimana is excluded from the type series.

E. tenuimana Simon 1884 , MNHNP 4926. The type series of E. tenuimana (tube ES #5226) is either lost or mixed with the type series of E. leptocarpus (tube ES #4926) (Christophe Hervé, pers. com.). A vial labeled as “#4926, E. tenuimanus E. S. (= leptocarpus ), Alps”, contains eight conspecific males of E. tenuimana and a female of E. cristatopalpus , which has already been separated by A. Hänggi ( Muster & Hänggi, 2009: 990). I designate one of these males as the lectotype, the other seven males are paralectotypes.

E. simillima Keyserling, 1886 , USNM 1653. A vial labeled as “ TYPE ”, A-139, Erigone simillima Keyserling (additional labels inside the vial: Coll. Marx #226; USNM #20533/4; #226/3) contains four males. One male is E. atra Blackwall, 1833 ; the three others are conspecific despite their different size. The biggest male is 3.68 mm long, and it corresponds to the specimen mentioned in the original description (3.6 mm); this male I here designate as the

FIGS 27-34

Erigone cristatopalpus Simon, 1884 , palp details. (27-31) Right patella and palpal tibia, retrolateral view. (32) Embolic division. (33) Mesal and posterior tooth of embolic division. (34) Distal suprategular apophysis. (27, 32-34) Specimen from Foppolo, Italy. (29, 30) Specimens from Toggia, Italy. (28, 31) Specimens from Lake Tignes , France .

lectotype. Two other males, paralectotypes, are rather smaller and approximately 2.8-2.9 mm long. The male of E. atra is excluded from the type series. Note: the embolus proper in the embolic division of the right palp of the lectotype is broken off.

E. viabilis Chamberlin & Ivie, 1933 , AMNH without registration number. A vial labeled as “Ƌ holotype, ♀ allotype ” contains a male and a female, with one palp and the epigyne separated. Note: the dorsal apophysis (sensu Muster & Hänggi, 2009) on the right palpal tibia is broken off or underdeveloped/reduced.

E. zographica Crosby & Bishop, 1928 , AMNH without registration number. A vial labeled as “ TYPE ”, contains a male with two palps separated, right one lacks of the embolic division.

COMPARATIVE MATERIAL EXAMINED: E. cristatopalpus , 2 Ƌ, 5 ♀, France, Savoie, Lake Tignes , 2100 m a.s.l., 9.VIII.1965, leg. A. Comellini. – 1 Ƌ, 1 ♀, same locality and date, leg. A. Comellini. – 2 Ƌ, 1 ♀, Haute-Savoie, Tête de Jaillet (= Col du Jaillet), southern part of Aravis Mts , summit of Le Petit Croissebaulet with herbs, 2009 m a.s.l., 6.X.1951, leg. A. Comellini [4]. – 3 ♀, Austria, Northern Tyrol, St Anton am Arlberg, Mt Galzig , 2150 m, 7.VIII.1967, leg. A. Comellini.

E. viabilis , 4 Ƌ, 4 ♀ ( BMNHC), Russia, Magadan Area, environs of Talon, Taui River (59.7619°N, 148.6561°E), ca 20 m a.s.l., summer 1988, leg. A. Ryabukhin.

E. zographica, BMS : 1 Ƌ, 3 ♀, U.S.A., State of Washington, Elwha River Mouth, Warrior Trail end (48.1475°N, 123.5591°W), swept along estuary shoreline, 19. VI.2008, leg. R. Crawford. – 1 Ƌ , 2 ♀, Deemer Creek (48.931°N, 117.089°W), 1400 m a.s.l., ex soggy moss beds at stream edge, 11.-13. VI.1986, leg. R. Crawford. – 14 Ƌ , 7 ♀, Samish River (48.554°N, 122.452°W), swept in tidal sedge/grass, 23. VI.1990, leg. R. Crawford. – 1 Ƌ , 8 ♀, Waterside Trail (47.646°N, 122.295°W), ex moss in Salix and Typha thickets, 14.II.1982, leg. R. Nelson. – Several Ƌ & ♀, Russia, Kurile Islands, Paramushir Island, SW shore, Taina River (50.3667°N, 155.6000°E), leg. Y. Marusik. – PCB: 1 Ƌ, Canada, Alberta, Caribou Mountains Wildland, Wentzel Lake (utm N0645415, E6550961), horsetail meadow, sweeping, 16.VII.2003, leg. T. Johnson. – 1 Ƌ , 2 ♀, Willmore Wilderness Park, Casket Creek (N5965296, E307675), willow meadow, in grass, 12.-20.VII.2007, leg. G. Hilchie, D. Macaulay. – 1 ♀, Swift Creek (N5979060, E328687), 2012 m a.s.l, 13.-20.VII.2007, leg. G. Hilchie, D. Macaulay. – 1 Ƌ, 2 ♀, unnamed valley (N5958369, E32991), talus, meadow, creek, 1649 m a.s.l., 12.-20.VII.2007, leg. G. Hilchie, D. Macaulay. – 2 Ƌ, 1 ♀, Fetherstonhaugh Creek (N5957323, E312011), talus, meadow, creek, 1949 m a.s.l., 22.-28. VI.2007, leg. T. Johnson, G. Hilchie . – 1 ♀, Kakwa Wildland Province Park, Deadhorse Meadows (54.138950°N, 119.926717°W), 15.-20. VI.2006, leg. T. Johnson . – 1 ♀, same locality, 28. VI.-15.VII.2006, leg. T. Johnson. – 1 Ƌ, same locality, 26. VI.-17.VII.2006, leg. T. Johnson. – 1 Ƌ, Berg Lake (53.9480°N, 119.9152°W), 1986 m a.s.l., 25.VII.2006, leg. T. Johnson . – 1 ♀, Sulphur Ridge (N6004152, E318269), 17.-22.VI.2006, leg. T. Johnson, D. Vujnovic. – 1 Ƌ, same locality, 17.-22.VI.2006, leg. T. Johnson, D. Vujnovic. – 1 Ƌ, Saskatchewan, Cypress Hills, Central Block , forest pond, ex Rana pipiens, 4.VI.1969, leg. D. Reid.

E. simillima, ZMMU : 1 Ƌ, 4 ♀, Russia, Magadan Area, upper reaches of Kolyma River, near Sibit-Tyellakh, J. London Lake , 25.VIII.1984, leg. K. Eskov, Y. Marusik. – 20 Ƌ & ♀, near Sibit-Tyellakh , alpine belt, 1100 m a.s.l., 15.VIII.1985, leg. Y. Marusik. – 1 Ƌ, Commander Islands , Mednyi Island , VII.-VIII.1978, leg. S. Popov. – 1 Ƌ, 13 ♀, Mednyi Island , Glinka Gulf , grass tundra, 31.VI.-1.VIII.1983, leg. A. Zilenko. – 1 Ƌ, 1 ♀, Cisokhotia , Okhotsk District , Ul’ya River , mouth of Amka River , 6.VIII.1988, leg. V. Zherikhin, I. Sukachova. – 1 Ƌ, near Okhotsk , airport, quagmire near bank of river, 15.VII.1987, leg. V. Zherikhin, I. Sukachiova. Further new material from South Siberia concerning E. cristatopalpus will be presented and discussed elsewhere (Tanasevitch, in preparation).

MISIDENTIFICATIONS: E. tenuimana (mislabeled as E. cristatopalpus ), 2 Ƌ, 1 ♀, Austria, Carinthia, route to Mt Grossglockner, ascent to Franz Josef’s Height, 2260-2300 m a.s.l., 1978- 1980, leg. K. Thaler; an additional label in a vial: A: Glockner, 1750-2200 m a.s.l. – 17 Ƌ, 2 ♀, same locality, 1900-2580 m a.s.l., 1978-1980, leg. K. Thaler; an additional label in a vial: A: Glockner, 1750-2200 m a.s.l. – 2 Ƌ, 2 ♀, same locality, 1900-2580 m a.s.l., 1979, leg. K. Thaler. – 1 Ƌ, same locality, 1900-2580 m a.s.l., 1979, leg. K. Thaler.

E. whymperi O. P.-Cambridge, 1877 (labeled as E. zographica ?, tirolensis ?), 1 Ƌ, Mongolia, locality data illegible, June 1988, leg. S. Heimer. In spite of the fact that the exact locality is unknown, it is possible to tell confidently that this species was found in high mountains of Mongolia. The arcto-alpine E. whymperi was hitherto known in Eurasia only from beyond the Arctic Circle: from Vorkuta, Russia ( Tanasevitch & Koponen, 2007), and from Yamal Peninsula, Russia ( Tanasevitch et al., 2009). This species is here reported for the first time for the Mongolian fauna.

REMARKS: E. cristatopalpus belongs to the psychrophila -group (sensu Crosby & Bishop, 1928), containing at least a dozen of very similar species, which is characterized by a high level of infraspecific variability of somatic and genitalic structures FIGS 35-47

Apex of embolic division of Erigone cristatopalpus Simon, 1884 (35-38), of E. zographica Crosby & Bishop, 1928 , holotype (AMNH) (39-41), different aspects, of E. viabilis Chamberlin & Ivie, 1933 , holotype (AMNH) (42), of E. remota L.Koch, 1869 (43), of E. whymperi O. P.- Cambridge, 1877 (44), of E. psychrophila Thorell, 1872 (45), and of E. tirolensis L. Koch, 1872 (46, 47). (35, 36) Specimen from Foppolo, Italy, different aspects. (37) Specimen from Lake Tignes, France. (38) Specimen from Toggia, Italy. (43) Specimen from Polar Urals, Russia (CAT). (44) Specimen from Qooqqut, Greenland (ZMMU). (45) Specimen from Severnyi Island of Novaya Zemlya, Russia (ZMMU). (46, 47) Specimens from West Chukotka, Chaun River mouth (ZMMU).

that caused numerous synonyms in the group. Strong variability was found in body size, teeth arrangement on the carapace, chelicerae and palpal femur; length of the palpal tibia; size of the dorsal apophysis (sensu Muster & Hänggi, 2009) and presence/absence/size of a tubercle on the ventral lobe (= ventral apophysis auct.) of the palpal tibia; as well as shape of the dorsal plate (= central capsule, median plate auct.) and direction of the receptacula, see, e.g., Tanasevitch & Koponen (2007), Muster & Hänggi (2009). In contrast, shape of the embolus (see Figs 35-47), as well as of mesal and posterior tooth (sensu Crosby & Bishop, 1928) in the embolic division are more or less stable, show little variability and might be a good character for reliable distinction from similar species. The similarity and high level of variability in epigynes makes identification of females in the psychrophila -group very problematic. A spectrum of the variations mentioned above is represented for E. cristatopalpus : compare Figs 27-31, 35-42, 48-52. Many more examples from the Siberian material will be shown and discussed elsewhere (Tanasevitch, in preparation). The detailed comparison of the type with extensive comparative material of E. cristatopalpus , E. viabilis , E. zographica from different part of Eurasia and the Nearctic has shown that all these undoubted belong to a single widespread species, E. cristatopalpus . Despite variation in palpal and body characters, the conformation of the embolic division is quite uniform throughout the whole range of the species. The small differences in shape of the embolus or mesal tooth are often a result of observation in different orientation. The structure of the epigyne is also uniform in general, but can be easily confused with that of E. psychrophila Thorell, 1872 and E. whymperi .

Erigone cristatopalpus is most similar to the Arctic E. whymperi and differs by the presence of a deep and wide notch in the embolic division (arrow in Figs 32, 33 cf. figs 9-14 in Tanasevitch & Koponen, 2007).

DISTRIBUTION: Europe (region of Alps), mountains of South Siberia, East

Siberia, Russian Far East, the Nearctic.

RANGE: Holarctic.