Barbara C. Baehr

Tarsal organ morphology and the phylogeny of goblin spiders (Araneae, Oonopidae), with notes on basal genera

ABSTRACT Based on a survey of a wide variety of oonopid genera and outgroups, we hypothesize new synapomorphies uniting the Oonopidae (minus the South African genus Calculus Purcell, which is transferred to the Orsolobidae). The groundplan of the tarsal organ in Oonopidae is hypothesized to be an exposed organ with a distinctive, longitudinal ridge originating from the proximal end of the organ, and a serially dimorphic pattern of 4-4-3-3 raised receptors on legs I–IV, respectively. Such organs typify the diverse, basal, and ancient genus Orchestina Simon. Several other genera whose members resemble Orchestina in retaining two plesiomorphic features (an H-shaped, transverse eye arrangement and a heavily sclerotized, thick-walled sperm duct within the male palp) are united by having tarsal organs that are partly (in the case of Cortestina Knoflach) or fully capsulate (in the case of Sulsula Simon, Xiombarg Brignoli, and Unicorn Platnick and Brescovit). The remaining oonopids are united by the loss of the heavily sclerotized palpal sperm duct, presumably reflecting a significant transformation in palpal mechanics. Within that large assemblage, a 4-4-3-3 tarsal organ receptor pattern and an H-shaped eye arrangement seem to be retained only in the New Zealand genus Kapitia Forster; the remaining genera are apparently united by a reduction in the tarsal organ pattern to 3-3-2-2 raised receptors on legs I–IV and by the acquisition of a clumped eye arrangement. Three subfamilies of oonopids are recognized: Orchestininae Chamberlin and Ivie (containing only Orchestina; Ferchestina Saaristo and Marusik is placed as a junior synonym of Orchestina), Sulsulinae, new subfamily (containing Sulsula, Xiombarg, Unicorn, and Cortestina), and Oonopinae Simon (containing all the remaining genera, including those previously placed in the Gamasomorphinae). The type species of Sulsula and Kapitia, S. pauper (O. P.-Cambridge) and K. obscura Forster, are redescribed, and the female of S. pauper is described for the first time. A new sulsuline genus, Dalmasula, is established for Sulsula parvimana Simon and four new species from Namibia and South Africa.

A Review of the Asian Goblin Spider Genus Camptoscaphiella (Araneae: Oonopidae)

ABSTRACT The goblin spider genus Camptoscaphiella Caporiacco has been shrouded in mystery because its type species, C. fulva Caporiacco, was based on a juvenile specimen and considered a nomen dubium. The discovery of near-topotypic material, including both males and females, now permits a more complete description of the type species and name stabilization with some certainty. Camptoscaphiella is here delimited to include only those species with the combined presence of a greatly enlarged male palpal patella, a palpal bulb well separated from the cymbium, male endites with anteromedian brushlike scopula, male abdomen with the dorsal and ventral scuta fused anteriorly, female genitalia with an external copulatory opening, and with extremely long paired spines on the tibiae and metatarsi of legs I and II in both sexes. Camptoscaphiella now includes 15 species, mostly recorded from single locations and distributed primarily in the Himalayan Mountains, from Pakistan to China, but with two isolated species in Sri Lanka and Thailand. The type species, C. fulva Caporiacco, is here described and Camptoscaphiella hilaris Brignoli from Bhutan redescribed. Nine species are newly described: C. gunsa Baehr, n. sp. (♀), and C. loebli Baehr, n. sp. (♂ ♀), from North India; C. martensi Baehr, n. sp. (♀), C. nepalensis Baehr, n. sp. (♂ ♀), C. panchthar Baehr, n. sp. (♀), and C. taplejung Baehr, n. sp. (♀), from Nepal; C. paquini Ubick, n. sp. (♂ ♀), from China; C. schwendingeri Baehr, n. sp. (♂), from Thailand; and C. simoni Baehr, n. sp. (♂), from Sri Lanka. These species, along with C. silens Brignoli and C. strepens Brignoli from Nepal and C. sinensis Deeleman-Reinhold and C. tuberans Tong and Li from China, are included in the key and mapped. Excluded from Camptoscaphiella is C. infernalis Harvey and Edward from Western Australia that, along with Opopaea fosuma Burger et al. from Sumatra, represents an undescribed genus.

A REVISION OF THE AUSTRALASIAN GROUND SPIDERS OF THE FAMILY PRODIDOMIDAE (ARANEAE: GNAPHOSOIDEA)

Abstract The Australasian ground spiders belonging to the family Prodidomidae are monographed; although only ten species were previously known from the region, the fauna is extraordinarily diverse, encompassing at least seven genera and 138 species. Two generic names are newly synonymized: Hyltonia Birabén with Prodidomus Hentz, and Honunius Simon with Molycria Simon. The type species of the family, Prodidomus rufus Hentz, although originally described from Alabama, is apparently synanthropic and hence widespread; Prodidomus gulosus (Simon) from New Caledonia, Prodidomus imaidzumii Kishida from Japan, and Hyltonia scottae Birabén from Argentina are newly synonymized with P. rufus, and the species is newly recorded from Chile and St. Helena. Seven new species of Prodidomus are described from Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland. The females of Molycria mammosa (O. P.-Cambridge) and Molycria quadricauda (Simon) are described for the first time, and 34 new species of Molycria are described. The new genus Wydundra is described for 40 new Australian species, and Molycria voc Deeleman-Reinhold, from Malaysia and the Moluccas, is transferred to Wydundra. Molycria splendida Simon is transferred to the new genus Wesmaldra, its male is described for the first time, and 13 new species of Wesmaldra are described from Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Molycria flavipes Simon is transferred to the new genus Nomindra, its male is newly described, Molycria alboplagiata Simon is newly synonymized with that name, and 15 new species of Nomindra are described. The male of Cryptoerithus occultus Rainbow is described for the first time, and 18 new species are assigned to Cryptoerithus. Adult males and females of Myandra cambridgei Simon are described for the first time, as are two new species of Myandra.

The New Australasian Goblin Spider Genus Prethopalpus (Araneae, Oonopidae)

Abstract The new goblin spider genus Prethopalpus is restricted to the Australasian tropics, from the lower Himalayan Mountains in Nepal and India to the Malaysian Peninsula, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. Prethopalpus contains those species with a swollen palpal patella, which is one to two times the size of the femur, together with a cymbium and bulb that is usually separated, although it is largely fused in four species. The type species Opopaea fosuma Burger et al. from Sumatra, and Camptoscaphiella infernalis Harvey and Edward from Western Australia are newly transferred to Prethopalpus. The genus consists of 41 species of which 39 are newly described: P. ilam Baehr (♂, ♀) from Nepal; P. khasi Baehr (♂), P. madurai Baehr (♂), P. mahanadi Baehr (♂, ♀), and P. meghalaya Baehr (♂, ♀) from India; P. bali Baehr (♂), P. bellicosus Baehr and Thoma (♂, ♀), P. brunei Baehr (♂, ♀), P. deelemanae Baehr and Thoma (♂), P. java Baehr (♂, ♀), P. kranzae Baehr (♂), P. kropfi Baehr (♂, ♀), P. leuser Baehr (♂, ♀), P. magnocularis Baehr and Thoma (♂), P. pahang Baehr (♂), P. perak Baehr (♂, ♀), P. sabah Baehr (♂, ♀), P. sarawak Baehr (♂), P. schwendingeri Baehr (♂, ♀), and P. utara Baehr (♂, ♀) from Indonesia and Malaysia; and P. alexanderi Baehr and Harvey (♂), P. attenboroughi Baehr and Harvey (♂), P. blosfeldsorum Baehr and Harvey (♂), P. boltoni Baehr and Harvey (♂, ♀), P. callani Baehr and Harvey (♂, ♀), P. cooperi Baehr and Harvey (♂), P. eberhardi Baehr and Harvey (♂, ♀), P. framenaui Baehr and Harvey (♂, ♀), P. humphreysi Baehr and Harvey (♂, ♀), P. kintyre Baehr and Harvey (♂), P. scanloni Baehr and Harvey (♂), P. pearsoni Baehr and Harvey (♂), P. julianneae Baehr and Harvey (♂), P. maini Baehr and Harvey (♂, ♀), P. marionae Baehr and Harvey (♂, ♀), P. platnicki Baehr and Harvey (♂, ♀), P. oneillae Baehr and Harvey (♂), P. rawlinsoni Baehr and Harvey (♂), and P. tropicus Baehr and Harvey (♂, ♀) from Australia and Papua New Guinea. Three separate keys to species from different geographical regions are provided. Most species are recorded from single locations and only three species are more widely distributed. A significant radiation of blind troglobites comprising 14 species living in subterranean ecosystems in Western Australia is discussed. These include several species that lack abdominal scuta, a feature previously used to define subfamilies of Oonopidae.

The Goblin Spider Genus Pelicinus (Araneae, Oonopidae), Part 1

ABSTRACT Although Pelicinus Simon and its type species P. marmoratus Simon were initially described from Saint Vincent in the Lesser Antilles, we hypothesize that Pelicinus is primarily an Old World genus, occurring natively in both southern Asia and Australasia. The type species has attained an anomalously pantropical distribution, and has been described at least eight times, in at least seven different genera; all those synonyms were based on island populations. Myrmopopaea jacobsoni Reimoser from Sumatra, Gamasomorpha minima Berland from the Phoenix Islands, Triaeris pusillus (Bryant) from the Virgin Islands, Scaphiella ula Suman from Hawaii, and P. mahei (Benoit) from the Seychelles are newly synonymized with P. marmoratus, and the species is newly recorded from the Bahama Islands, Brazil, Kenya, and the Marshall Islands. Myrmopopaea Reimoser and Harryoonops Makhan and Ezzatpanah are placed as junior synonyms of Pelicinus. The bulk of the species-level diversity of Pelicinus occurs in Australia. Here we treat only those members of the genus that occur outside that continent; 16 new species are described from Iran (P. sengleti), India (P. lachivala, P. madurai), Thailand (P. deelemanae, P. schwendingeri, P. sayam, P. khao), Laos (P. tham), Vietnam (P. duong), Malaysia (P. penang, P. johor), the Solomon Islands (P. churchillae), Fiji (P. raveni), and New Caledonia (P. monteithi, P. damieu, P. koghis).

The Goblin Spider Genus Aprusia Simon, 1893 (Araneae: Oonopidae)

ABSTRACT The south Asian goblin spider genus Aprusia Simon (Araneae: Oonopidae) consists of five species and is found in southwestern India and Sri Lanka. Although the type species A. strenuus Simon is known only from two juvenile syntypes, new topotypical material from Sri Lanka allowed a redefinition of the genus and species. Ischnothyreus vestigator Simon, also from Sri Lanka, is transferred to Aprusia based on recently collected topotypical specimens. The female is described for the first time. Three new species are described: A. veddah Grismado and Deeleman, A. kataragama Grismado and Deeleman (both from Sri Lanka), and A. kerala Grismado and Deeleman (from southwestern India). The genus is recognized by the relatively small to medium-sized dorsal scutum on the abdomen of both sexes, the strong macrosetae on the forelegs and by the conformation of the male palp, with the cymbium and bulb fused and a tiny, slightly sclerotized embolus.

Revision of the Australian wolf spider genus Dingosa Roewer, 1955 (Araneae, Lycosidae)

The Australian wolf spider genus Dingosa Roewer, 1955 is revised to include four species: Dingosa simsoni (Simon, 1898) (type species); D. humphreysi (McKay, 1985), n. comb.; D. murata n. sp.; and D. serrata (L. Koch, 1877), n. comb. Dingosa belongs to the subfamily Lycosinae Sundevall, 1833 and differs from all other lycosine spiders by the structure of the male pedipalp, which has an enlarged embolic division and an unusually elongated tegular apophysis. The median septum of the female epigyne is inverted T‐shaped with the corners of the transverse part bent anteriorly in some species. Additional somatic characters, such as a raised cephalic region and distinct colour patterns of prosoma (narrow light longitudinal band between eyes) and opisthosoma (serrated cardiac mark) are unique within the Australian Lycosinae. Species within the genus Dingosa prefer sandy habitats with a sparse cover of vegetation where they construct a characteristic turret around their burrow entrance. All species mature in late summer to winter; females with eggsac can usually be found in July and August. The holotype of the Australian Dingosa topaziopsis (Hogg, 1896) is an immature spider and accurate species identification is not possible. This species is here considered nomen dubium. Dingosa is an Australian genus with much derived lycosine morphology. Other species from outside Australia currently included in this genus do not conform to the diagnosis of Dingosa. We propose the following new generic placements based on a critical evaluation of the original descriptions: Pardosa angolensis (Roewer, 1959), n. comb. (Angola), Pardosa completa (Roewer, 1959), n. comb. (Mozambique), Pardosa hartmanni (Roewer, 1959), n. comb. (Tanzania), and Trochosa ursina (Schenkel, 1936), n. comb. (China). We also support Mozaffarian and Marusiks (2001) previous suggested combination Trochosa persica (Roewer, 1955). Dingosa traghardi (Lawrence, 1947) (South Africa) was described from an immature female holotype which is lost; this species is here considered nomen dubium.