Melychiopharis cynips Simon, 1895

Santos, Adalberto J., Brescovit, Antonio D. & Levi, Herbert W., 2005, Melychiopharis: an atypical orb-weaving spider from South America (Araneae: Araneidae), Zootaxa 1016 (1), pp. 57-64 : 59-62

Melychiopharis cynips Simon

Figures 1–11

Melychiopharis cynips Simon 1895: 905 , figs. 972–973 (Female holotype from the Amazon Basin, in the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, not found, probably lost). Roewer 1942: 911; Bonnet 1957: 2765; Levi 2002: 562; Platnick, 2005 (in Theridiidae ).

Diagnosis. See generic diagnosis above.

Description. Male. Carapace longer than wide, widest at the middle. Carapace, sternum and legs red­brown. Dorsum of opisthosoma yellow, with a large central and four marginal black patches. Venter orange. Eyes subequal in size ( Fig. 1 ). Anterior median eyes separated by 1.5 diameters, 1.0 diameter from posterior medians. Lateral eyes approximately 3.0 diameters from the anterior medians. Median ocular quadrangle almost square. Height of clypeus equal to 1.5 diameters of anterior median eyes. Leg articles thin. Opisthosoma almost as long as wide. Dorsum covered with a single, dish­shaped scutum, with a lateral flange ( Fig. 1 ). Venter soft, with an anterior and a posterior sclerotized area posterior to the epigastric groove. Anterior sclerotized area with a marked posterior sulcus ( Fig. 4 ). Colulus small, without setae. Total length 1.9. Carapace 0.9 long, 0.6 wide. Femur I 0.64, patella and tibia 0.66, metatarsus 0.46, tarsus 0.25. Patella and tibia II 0.61, III 0.49, IV 0.65. Opisthosoma 0.9 long, 0.6 wide. Tegulum elongated mesally, with a rounded, sclerotized hump. Median apophysis distally bent. Paracymbium curved, convex, and rectangular in dorsal view ( Figs. 6–8 ).

Female. Body shape and coloration as in male, except for prosoma orange and opisthosoma yellow with five black patches. Relative eye interdistances as in male. Height of clypeus 2.5 diameters of anterior median eyes. Total length 2.5, carapace 1.1 long, 0.6 wide. Femur I 0.8, patella and tibia 0.8, metatarsus 0.5, tarsus 0.3. Patella and tibia II 0.7, III 0.6, IV 0.7. Opisthosoma 1.4 long, 1.3 wide. Epigynum median depression extending posteriorly, beyond epigastric sulcus. Copulatory openings located on the anterior corners of the median depression, not visible in ventral view. Copulatory ducts long, twisted, and encapsulated. Spermathecae oval and close together. Fertilization ducts long, dorsal to the spermathecae ( Fig. 10 ).

Natural history. One male specimen was collected by beating on the understory vegetation inside a 1 ha dry land forest fragment in Central Amazonia (IBSP 48718). The specimens from Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke were collected by fogging on the canopy of three tree species: Pouteria glomerata (Sapotaceae) , Micropholis guyanensis (Sapotaceae) , and Corythophora alta (Lecythidaceae) . Unfortunately no additional natural history observations were obtained for any specimen, and it is not known whether or not this species builds webs.

Distribution. Northern, northeastern and central Brazil ( Fig. 11 ).

Material examined. BRAZIL: Amazonas: Manaus, Fazenda Esteio , 10.IX.2002, F.N.A.A. Rego leg. , 1♂ ( IBSP 48718 ); Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke , canopy fogging, 20.VII.1995, J.C.H. Guerrero leg. , 1♂ ( MPEG); 16.VIII.1995, 1♀ ( MPEG); 15.X.1995, 1♂ ( IBSP 51612 ); 1.IV.1996, 1♂ ( INPA) . Sergipe: Santa Luzia do Itanhi, Mata do Crasto (11°23'S, 37°24'W), 9–13.IX.1999, A.D. Brescovit et al. leg., 1♀ ( IBSP 50364 ) . Goiás: Goiânia , 18.VI.1942, F. Lane leg. , 1♀ ( MZSP 1099 ) .

Figures

FIGURE 11. Geographic distribution of Melychiopharis cynips Simon 1895.

FIGURES 1–3. Melychiopharis cynips Simon 1895. 1, Male prosoma and opisthosoma, dorsal view. 2, Female prosoma and opisthosoma, dorsal view. 3, ditto, lateral view. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 4–10. Melychiopharis cynips Simon 1895. 4, Male opisthosoma, ventral view. 5, Female prosoma, frontal view. 6, Male palp, ventral view. 7, Ditto, retrolateral view. 8, Ditto, dorsal. 9, Female epigynum, ventral view. 10, Female internal genitalia, dorsal view. C conductor, Cd copulatory ducts, E embolus, Fd fertilization ducts, M median apophysis, P paracymbium, S spermathecae. Scale bars: 4, 0.5 mm; 510, 0.1 mm.