Opopaea deserticola Simon, 1892

Sherwood, Danniella, Dunlop, Jason & Sharp, Adam, 2024, On the identity of Opopaea euphorbicola Strand, 1909 and first records of three other non-native goblin spiders from Ascension Island (Araneae: Oonopidae), Zootaxa 5437 (1), pp. 125-130 : 126-128

Opopaea deserticola Simon, 1892 ( Figs. 1 A–G )

Opopaea deserticola Simon, 1892: 560 , pl. 42, fig. 5 (♂ ♀).

Opopaea euphorbicola Strand, 1909 549 (♀). syn. nov.

Opopaea euphorbicola : Duffey, 1964: 239–240, 250.

Opopaea? euphorbicola : Ashmole & Ashmole, 1997: 556. [sic!]

Opopaea euphorbicola : Ashmole & Ashmole, 1997: 566, 577.

Opopaea deserticola : Brescovit et al. 2019: 10, figs. 36–40 (♂ ♀).

For a full synonymy list, see World Spider Catalog (2023).

Type material. Syntypes 2 ♀♀ Opopaea euphorbicola ( ZMB 35217, lost), Ascension Island, from Euphorbicola origanoides , 14/09/1903, coll. German South Polar Expedition, presumably lost; neotype (designated herein) ♂ Opopaea euphorbicola (BMNH) , Ascension Island, 1957, coll. E. A Duffey, tube No. 4; for details on types of other synonyms and of the original specimens of Simon (1892) see Brescovit et al. (2019).

Diagnosis and description. See Brescovit et al. (2019).

Other material examined. 1 ♂ ( ASC L16 1 PFJ), Ascension Island (-7.94, -14.33), Trachyte and rhyolite flows and domes, pitfall trap baited with jam, 24/02/2022, coll. A. Sharp ; 1 ♀ ( ASC L16 1 LC), same data as preceding ; 1 ♂ ( ASC L16 2 PFF), same data as preceding ; 1 ♀ ( ASC L16 1 PFM), same data as preceding ; 1 ♂ ( ASC L16 1 PFU), same data as preceding ; 1 ♀ ( ASC I17 1 PFF), same data as preceding except baited with fish, 21/01/2022, coll. A. Sharp ; 1 ♂ ( ASC M17 3 LC), same data as preceding except non-baited pitfall trap, 25/02/2022 ; 1 ♀ ( ASC M17 3 PFM), same data as preceding except pitfall trap baited with meat, 25/02/2022 ; 1 ♀ ( ASC J15 3 PFM), Ascension Island (-7.93, 14.34), Silicic pyroclastic deposits, non-baited pitfall trap, 24/01/2022, coll. A. Sharp ; 1 ♀ ( ASC J15 1 PFJ), same data as preceding except pitfall trap baited with jam, 24/01/2022 ; 1 ♀ ( ASC H12 1 PFU), Ascension Island (-7.90, -14.36), Intermediate Zr / Nb mafic flows (older), non-baited pitfall trap, 10/03/2022, coll. A. Sharp ; 1 ♀ ( ASC H14 3 LC), Ascension Island (- 7.92, -14. 36), Superficial deposits, litter extraction, 27/01/2022, coll. A. Sharp ; 1 ♀ ( ASC F17 1 HPF), Ascension Island (-7.95, -14.38), Intermediate Zr / Nb mafic flows (younger), hanging pitfall baited with fish, 03/03/2022, coll. A. Sharp ; 1 ♀ ( ASC 01783 ), South Gannet Hill , Ascension Island (-7.9781, -14.3947), 11/06/2012, coll. L. F. White ; 1 ♂ ( ASC 0425 ), same data, except 10/06/2012 ; 1 ♀ ( ASC 0227 ), same data, except 01/06/2012 ; 1 ♂ ( ASC 0821 ), South Gannet , off lava, 23-27 March 1990 , coll. and colln. P. Ashmole and M. Ashmole; 1 ♀ ( ASC 0392 ), South Gannet , lava inland, 20 March 1996 , coll. and colln. P. Ashmole and M. Ashmole; 3 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀ ( BMNH), Ascension Island, 12–31/09/1957, coll. E. A. Duffey , tube No. 52 ; 2 ♀♀ ( BMNH), same data, except tube No. 23 ; 6 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀, 6 imm. ( BMNH), same data, except tube No. 101 ; 1 ♀ ( BMNH), same data, except tube No. 129 .

Distribution. Pantropical (WSC 2023), inclusive of Ascension Island.

Remarks. A recent search of the ZMB collections and consultation of the database has revealed the loan of the syntypes of O. euphorbicola to Doug Clark is still outstanding (JD pers. obs., 2023). Searches at BMNH have failed to find the loaned syntypes (DS pers. obs., 2023) and they can therefore be regarded as lost, given it has been more than half a century since their exact whereabouts were precisely known. Furthermore, the morphology of females of Opopaea species is very often interspecifically indistinguishable and thus a certain, species-level, identity cannot be ascertained from the written description of Strand (1909). Therefore, the designation of a neotype is necessary.

We hereby designate a neotype to clarify the taxonomic status of Opopaea euphorbicola Strand, 1909 . As allowed by Article 75.3.5 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature ( ICZN, 2012), the neotype here designated is of opposite sex to the syntypes mentioned by Strand (1909) and is deposited at the Natural History Museum, London, a public institution which allows access to its collections. The fact the neotype was collected on the same island as the female syntypes, and shares near-identical morphology with additional non-type males in BMNH which were collected alongside females which are all indiscernible in morphology is sufficient evidence for conspecifity. Many of these non-types were themselves identified on written labels as O. euphorbicola by Doug Clark (DS pers. obs.), indicating they were possibly directly compared against the syntypes. For this reason, we prefer to assign a neotype to the name O. euphorbicola based on material examined by the last known loanee of the missing syntypes rather than from more recent material. Having the name-bearing type be a male determined as this species by Clark allows for an unambiguous identification of this name. The neotype male is illustrated herein ( Figs. 1A–D ) and matches the morphology of O. deserticola as illustrated by previous workers (e.g. Brescovit et al. 2019: figs. 36–40). Based on the morphology of the genitalia of the neotype male, and further examinations of conspecific non-type males and females (e.g. Figs. 1E–G ) (see Other material examined), O. euphorbicola is proposed as a junior synonym of Opopaea deserticola Simon, 1892 syn. nov.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Ascension oonopids. A–G Opopaea euphorbicola Stand, 1909 (BMNH), H–I Brignolia dasysterna Platnick, Dupérré, Ott & Kranz-Baltensperger, 2011 (ASC K17 2 LC). A–D neotype male (designated herein) of O. euphorbicola, A habitus, dorsal view, B same, ventral view, C palp, prolateral view, pink arrow indicates keel at tip of palpal bulb, D same, dorsoretrolateral view. E–G non-type female of O. euphorbicola, E habitus, dorsal view, F same, ventral view, G epigyne, ventral view. H–I B. dasysterna, H cephalothorax, ventral view, showcasing distinctive sternal morphology, indicated by pink arrow, I close-up of palp in dorso-prolateral view, pink arrow indicates keel at tip of palpal bulb. Scale bars = 0.2mm (A–B, E–F, H), 0.05mm (C–D, G, I).