Hogna heeri (Thorell, 1875)

Crespo, Luis C., Silva, Isamberto, Enguidanos, Alba, Cardoso, Pedro & Arnedo, Miquel, 2022, Island hoppers: Integrative taxonomic revision of Hogna wolf spiders (Araneae, Lycosidae) endemic to the Madeira islands with description of a new species, ZooKeys 1086, pp. 84-135 : 84

Hogna heeri (Thorell, 1875)

Figures 9 , 10 , 11

Trochosa herii Thorell, 1875: 166 (Df).

Trochosa herii Kulczynski, 1899: 433, pl. 9, fig. 188 (f).

Hogna heeri Roewer, 1955: 248.

Hogna herii Roewer, 1959: 411, fig. 221a-d (f, Dm).

Hogna heeri Wunderlich, 1992: 459, fig. 720, 720a (mf).

Types.

Syntypes: Madeira • 2 ♀♀, leg. O. Heer, stored at NHRS, collection number JUST-000001113. Examined.

Material examined.

Bugio • Planalto Sul, 32.41228°N, 16.47466°W, 1 ♀ (LCPC) , 3.XII.2012, hand collecting, leg. I. Silva. Madeira • between Eira do Serrado and Curral das Freiras, 1 ♀ ( SMF69107 ); Paul da Serra , 2 ♀♀ (MMUE G7572.874) , 25.IV.1973, leg. J. Murphy, 1 ♀ (CRBALC0492: LC289), 32.78182°N, 17.09978°W, 19.III.2017, hand collecting, leg. I. Silva, 1 ♀ (CRBALC0500: LC222) and 1 juvenile (CRBALC0494: LC291), 28.III.2017, leg. I. Silva; Pico do Cidrao , 32.74036°N, 16.93877°W, 1 ♀ (LCPC) , 24.VI.2003, pitfall trapping, leg. M. Freitas, 2 ♀♀ (CRBALC0490: LC287, CRBALC0288: LC288), 27.III.2017, hand collecting, leg. L. Crespo & I. Silva; trail from Paul da Serra to Montado dos Pessegueiros, 32.78837°N, 17.09857°W, 2 ♀♀ (CRBALC0270: LC184, CRBALC0501: LC223) and 1 juvenile (CRBALC0493: LC290), 28.III.2017, hand collecting, leg. L. Crespo & I. Silva; 1 ♀ ( SMF37575 ) .

Diagnosis.

Hogna heeri can be diagnosed by the genitalia: the males, according to literature, by a straight embolus ( Wunderlich 1992: 595, fig. 720); in females, by epigynal anterior pockets with widely divergent lateral border and median septum with a wide posterior transverse part (Fig. 9 ). Similar species include H. insularum and H. isambertoi sp. nov., from which it cannot be somatically differentiated.

Redescription.

Male: We could not examine any male specimens.

Female (CRBALC0500): (Fig. 7 corresponds to specimen CRBALC0501). Total length 13.54; carapace: 5.63 long, 4.4 wide.

Colour: carapace greyish brown, covered with short black setae, with a median cream longitudinal band, anteriorly broadened, covered with short white setae, with suffused greyish brown patches; two yellow marginal bands, with roughly round grey patches, covered with short white setae; four black striae well visible on each flank. Chelicerae dark brown, covered in black and yellow setae. Gnathocoxae and labium overall brown, with posterior margin blackish; sternum yellow, with a faint V-shaped grey patch and grey lateral borders. Legs yellow, with irregular grey suffused patches, except metatarsi and tarsi, brown. Pedipalps yellow except tibia, brown, tarsus, blackish brown. Abdomen with a pair of anterolateral black patches, extending laterally into grey flanks, mottled with yellowish patches covered with white setae; a median dark lanceolate patch is bordered by two yellowish longitudinal bands interconnected in anterior half, posteriorly by means of dark chevrons; venter yellowish, with a median dark grey longitudinal band, bordered by yellowish and grey small patches.

Eyes: MOQ: MW = 0.7 PW, MW = 1.1 LMP, MW = 1.1 AW; Cl = 0.9 DAME. Anterior eye row straight.

Legs: Measurements: Leg I: 13.0, TiI: 2.8; Leg IV: 16.10, TiIV: 3.22; TiIL/D: 3.7. Spination of Leg I: FeI: d1.1.1, p0.0.1; TiI: v2l.2l.2s; MtI: p0.0.1, r0.0.1, v2l.2l.1s. MtI with sparse scopulae in basal half and dense scopulae on distal half.

Epigyne: anterior pockets touching, short, with lateral borders widely divergent, converging solely at its posterior end (Fig. 9A ); anterior pocket cavities deep; median septum with wide posterior transverse part (Fig. 9A ); spermathecae globular (Fig. 9B ); copulatory ducts basally with a laterally projected diverticulum (Fig. 9B ); fertilisation ducts emerging at the base of copulatory duct (Fig. 9B ).

Intraspecific variation.

Carapace length, females: 5.6-5.8. In females, the ventral abdominal dark band may be entirely absent; the relative position of female epigynal anterior pockets may vary from touching to almost touching.

Distribution.

This species is known from two distinct regions: high altitude localities in Madeira, always above 800 m, and the island of Bugio (Fig. 11 ).

Ecology.

Hogna heeri occurs in montane grasslands or Erica shrubland in Madeira and the steep, semi-arid summit of Bugio.

Conservation status.

Hogna heeri was assessed according to the IUCN Red List criteria, with the status of Least Concern ( Cardoso et al 2018b).

Comments.

The specific epithet of H. heeri has been one of the names renamed by Bonnet (1959), who changed all previously described spider species’ names which were patronyms ending in “ii” to end in “i”, as a way to correct spelling ( Bonnet 1945). Although the ICZN argues for the maintenance of the original spelling, common usage dictates that these modified spellings continue to be used. The disjunct distribution of H. heeri , with populations in Madeira and Bugio, is somewhat baffling. The only known specimens from Bugio previously reported ( Crespo et al. 2013) were examined: while the female matches H. heeri , the male pedipalp is the same as that of H. isambertoi sp. nov., with the tip of the embolus slightly tilted anteriorly (Fig. 18A ). We would like to remark that Wunderlich reported an apophysis at the base of the embolus (indicated with an arrow in his figure) as a diagnostic feature to identify males of H. heeri ( Wunderlich 1992: fig. 720), which appears to be either inconspicuous or missing altogether. To us it seems the arrow is pointing to the pars pendula membrane connecting the terminal apophysis with the embolus. Unfortunately, we could not gather molecular information from the Bugio specimens due to their poor preservation. Lastly, while revising Thorell’s type series, we identified one of the three adult females in the original vial as H. insularum .

Figures

Figure 7. Photograph of H. blackwalli. Female specimen, recently dead, in captivity. Photograph credit Emidio Machado.

Figure 9. Hogna heeri female (CRBALC 0501): A epigyne, ventral B vulva, dorsal. Abbreviations, female genitalia: D - diverticulum, H - epigynal hoods, MS - median septum, S - spermatheca. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

Figure 10. Photograph of H. heeri. Female specimen in captivity. Photograph credit Emidio Machado.

Figure 11. Distribution of H. heeri. Circles: present records; black triangles: revised records from literature; white triangles: unconfirmed records from literature.

Figure 18. Hogna isambertoi sp. nov. A-C male (SMF): A left male palp, ventral B detail of the median apophysis, anteroventral C SEM image, right male palp, ventral D, E female (SMF): D epigynum, ventral E vulva, dorsal. Abbreviations, male palp: C - cymbium, E - embolus, MA - median apophysis, P - palea, T - tegulum, TA - terminal apophysis. Abbreviations, female genitalia: D - diverticulum, H - epigynal hoods, MS - median septum, S - spermatheca. Scale bars: 0.5 mm (A); 0.2 mm (B-E).