Mysmenopsis atahualpa Baert, 1990

Dupérré, Nadine & Tapia, Elicio, 2020, Megadiverse Ecuador: a review of Mysmenopsis (Araneae, Mysmenidae) of Ecuador, with the description of twenty-one new kleptoparasitic spider species, Zootaxa 4761 (1), pp. 1-81 : 64

Mysmenopsis atahualpa Baert, 1990

Figs 180–189 , map 3 (yellow diamond).

Mysmenopsis atahualpa Baert, 1990 b: 13 , f. 27-32 (Description male and female).

Type material. Male holotype and female allotype from Loreto, Jenaro Herrea , río Ucayali, 04°55’S - 77°45’W (together with M. huascar ) (27 Aug. 1988; D. Silva). Not examined .

Material examined. Ecuador: Napo Province: Misahualli, Via Arajuno Misahualli, Via Arajuno (-01.090117 -77.543352) 458m, 19 May. 2019, 15♂ 17♀, in Lycosidae web, E.E. Tapia ( ZMH-A 0001879-1880, DTC, QCAZ). Pastaza Province: Carretera Puyo-Macas, Puente Rio Pastaza (-01.922673 -77.813055) 785m, 19 May 2019, 3♀, in Linothele web, E.E. Tapia ( DTC). Sucumbios Province: Rio Aguarico (-00.06647 -76.90675) 350m, 29 Apr. 2016, 1♂, in Dipluridae , Linothele web, E.E. Tapia, N. Dupérré. A.A. Tapia ( QCAZ).

Diagnosis. Males are easily distinguished from all species by their large, semi-transparent sickle shaped embolic apophysis ( Fig. 187 ) and hook-shaped paracymbium prolatero-dorsally ( Fig. 186 ). Females most resemble M. viracocha but can be distinguished by the series of short spines on metatarsus I ( Fig. 184 , arrow) absent in the latter species and dorsal plate anterior margin with large sclerotized plates ( Fig. 189 ) and small oval spermathecae with large copulatory ducts ( Fig. 189 ), without larger sclerotized plates, spermathecae larger and longer fertilization ducts in the latter species ( Baert, 1990, fig.4).

Description. Male and female: see Baert 1990, figs 170–180.

Distribution. Ecuador and Peru.

Natural history. In Ecuador, the specimens were collected in Linothele sp. and Aglaoctenus sp. ( Lycosidae ) web in the Amazonian ecoregion between 350- 785m. The species was found in evergreen foothill forest of the Northeastern Andes in the Amazonian ecoregion (BsPn03) ( Guevera, Mogollón, Cerón & Josse, 2013) to the lowland evergreen forest of the Napo-Cuaray region (BsTa02) ( Guevera, Pitman, Mogollón, Cerón & Palacios, 2013) and the Aguarico-Putumayo-Caquetá region (BsTa01) ( Guevera, Pitman, Cerón & Mogollón, 2013). In Ecuador, M. atahualpa was found in sympatry with M. salazarae n. sp. and M. shushufindi n. sp. in Sucumbios Province. In Pastaza province it was found with M. salazarae n. sp. and M. bartolozzi n. sp. and in Napo province with M. penai n. sp. and M. amazonica n. sp.

Figures

FIGURES 180–184. Mysmenopsis atahualpa Baert, 1990, 180, Male and female habitus, dorsal view. 181, Male abdomen, posterior view. 182, Female abdomen, posterior view. 183, Male leg I, dorsal view. 184, Female leg I, prolateral view (arrow points to short spines). Scale bar: 180–182: 0.5mm; 183, 184: 0.1mm.

FIGURES 185–189. Mysmenopsis atahualpa Baert, 1990, 185, Male palp, retrolateral view. 186, Male palp, prolateral view. 187, Embolus and apophysis retrolateral view. 188, Epigynum, ventral view. 189, Internal genitalia, dorsal view.