Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5383 No. 1: 8 Dec. 2023
Type: Article
Published: 2023-12-08
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5383.1.7
Page range: 83-95
Abstract views: 211
PDF downloaded: 14

The more, the merrier: a new colonial species of the orb weaving spider genus Leucauge White, 1841 (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) from the Amazon rainforest

Departamento de Zoologia; Instituto de Ciências Biológicas; Universidade de Brasília; Brasília; Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia; Instituto de Ciências Biológicas; Universidade de Brasília; Brasília; Brazil
Departamento de Ecologia; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte; Natal; Brazil
Departamento de Zoologia; Instituto de Ciências Biológicas; Universidade de Brasília; Brasília; Brazil
Laboratório de Coleções Zoológicas; Instituto Butantan; São Paulo; Brazil
Araneae spider Amazonia biodiversity Neotropical

Abstract

A new Leucauge species, widespread in the Amazon rainforest, is described and illustrated. Leucauge behemoth n. sp. lives in colonies, usually positioned above turbulent waters. Both males and females have a unique color pattern, especially on the abdomen, which makes this species easily identifiable. Males are distinguished from most congeners by the long hook of the cymbium and from their closest relatives by the lack of a cymbial dorsobasal process. Females of this species differ from their congeners by the presence of a rounded ventral process in the epigynum. Leucauge argyroaffins Soares & Camargo, 1948 is proposed as a junior synonym of Leucauge argyra (Walckenaer, 1841).

 

References

  1. Aisenberg, A., Barrantes, G. & Eberhard, W.G. (2015) Hairy kisses: tactile cheliceral courtship affects female mating decisions in Leucauge mariana (Araneae, Tetragnathidae). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 69, 313–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1844-2
  2. Antonelli, A. (2022) The rise and fall of Neotropical biodiversity. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 199 (1), 8−24. https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boab061
  3. Archer, A.F. (1951) Studies in the orbweaving spiders (Argiopidae). 1. American Museum Novitates, 1487, 1−52.
  4. Álvarez-Padilla, F. & Hormiga, G. (2011) Morphological and phylogenetic atlas of the orb-weaving spider family Tetragnathidae (Araneae: Araneoidea). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 162 (4), 713−879. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00692.x
  5. Avilés, L., Maddison, W.P., Salazar, P.A., Estévez, G., Tufiño, P. & Cañas, G. (2001) Arañas
  6. sociales de la Amazonía ecuatoriana, con notas sobre seis especies sociales no descritas previamente Social spiders of the Ecuadorian Amazonia, with notes on six previously undescribed social species. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, 74 (3), 619−638.
  7. Ballesteros, J.A. & Hormiga, G. (2021) Molecular phylogeny of the orb-weaving spider genus Leucauge and the intergeneric relationships of Leucauginae (Araneae, Tetragnathidae). Invertebrate Systematics, 35 (8), 922−939. https://doi.org/10.1071/IS21029
  8. Barrantes, G., Aisenberg, A. & Eberhard, W.G. (2013) Functional aspects of genital differences in Leucauge argyra and L. mariana (Araneae: Tetragnathidae). Journal of Arachnology, 41 (1), 59−69. https://doi.org/10.1636/B12-63.1
  9. Buskirk, R.E. (1975) Coloniality, activity patterns and feeding in a tropical orb‐weaving spider. Ecology, 56 (6), 1314−1328. https://doi.org/10.2307/1934699
  10. Buskirk, R.E. (1986) Orb-weaving spiders in aggregations modify individual web structure. Journal of Arachnology, 14 (2), 259−265.
  11. Dimitrov, D. & Hormiga, G. (2010) Mr. Darwin’s mysterious spider: on the type species of the genus Leucauge White, 1841 (Tetragnathidae, Araneae). Zootaxa, 2396, 19−36. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2396.1.2
  12. Gonzaga, M.O., Rios Moura, R., Teixeira Pêgo, P., Lee Bang, D. & Meira, F.A. (2015) Changes to web architecture of Leucauge volupis (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) induced by the parasitoid Hymenoepimecis jordanensis (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). Behaviour, 152 (2), 181−193. https://doi.org/10.1163/1568539X-00003238
  13. iNaturalist. (2023) Available from: https://www.inaturalist.org. (Accessed 16 March 2023)
  14. Keyserling, E. (1881) Neue Spinnen aus Amerika. II. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien, 30, 547−582. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.20318
  15. Keyserling, E. (1893) Die Spinnen Amerikas. Epeiridae. Bauer & Raspe, Nürnberg, 192 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.64832
  16. Koch, C.L. (1845) Die Arachniden. C. H. Zeh’sche Buchhandlung, Nürnberg, 166 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.4374
  17. Koch, L. (1870) Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Arachnidenfauna Galiziens. Jahrbuch 0der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Gelehrten Gesellschaft in Krakau 41, 1–56.
  18. Koch, L. (1878) Japanesische Arachniden und Myriapoden. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien, 27 (1877), 735–798.
  19. Latreille, P.A. (1804) Tableau methodique des Insectes. Nouveau Dictionnaire d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 24, 129−295.
  20. Levi, H.W. (1980) The orb-weaver genus Mecynogea, the subfamily Metinae and the genera Pachygnatha, Glenognatha and Azilia of the subfamily Tetragnathinae north of Mexico (Araneae: Araneidae). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 149, 1−74.
  21. Lise, A.A., Kesster, C.C. & Silva, E.L.C. da (2015) Revision of the orb-weaving spider genus Verrucosa McCook, 1888 (Araneae, Araneidae). Zootaxa, 3921 (1), 1−105. [Erratum, 3956 (4), 600.] https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3921.1.1
  22. McCook, H.C. (1894) American spiders and their spinningwork. A natural history of the orbweaving spiders of the United States with special regard to their industry and habits. Vol. III. Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, 346 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.2681
  23. Pickard-Cambridge, O. (1896) Arachnida. Araneida. In: Godman, F.D. & Salvin, O. (Ed.), Biologia Centrali-Americana, Zoology, Botany and Archaeology. Vol. 10. Dulau & Co, London, pp. 161−224.
  24. Pickard-Cambridge, O. (1889) Arachnida. Araneida. In: Godman, F.D. & Salvin, O. (Ed.), Biologia Centrali-Americana, Zoology. London 1–57 pp.
  25. Pickard-Cambridge, F.O. (1903) Arachnida - Araneida and Opiliones. In: Godman, F.D. & Salvin, O. (Ed.), Biologia Centrali-Americana, Zoology. London, 425−464 pp.
  26. Raven, P.H., Gereau, R.E., Phillipson, P.B., Chatelain, C., Jenkins, C.N. & Ulloa Ulloa, C. (2020) The distribution of biodiversity richness in the tropics. Science Advances, 6, 1−5. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abc6228
  27. Salomon, M., Sponarski, C., Larocque, A. & Avilés, L. (2010) Social organization of the colonial spider Leucauge sp. in the Neotropics: vertical stratification within colonies. The Journal of Arachnology, 38, 446–451. https://doi.org/10.1636/Hi09-99.1
  28. Schneider, C.A., Rasband, W.S. & Eliceiri, K.W. (2012) NIH Image to ImageJ: 25 years of image analysis. Nature methods, 9 (7), 671–675. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.2089
  29. Simon, E. (1894) Histoire naturelle des araignées. Deuxième édition, tome premier. Roret, Paris, pp. 489−760. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.51973
  30. Simon, E. (1895) Histoire naturelle des araignées. Deuxième édition, tome premier. Roret, Paris, pp. 761−1084. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.51973
  31. Simon, E. (1898) On the spiders of the island of St Vincent. III. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 65 (4), 860–890. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1898.tb01390.x
  32. Simon, E. (1890) Etudes arachnologiques. 22e Mémoire. XXXVI. Arachnides recueillis aux îles Mariannes par M. A. Marche. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 10 (6), 131–136.
  33. Taczanowski, L. (1874) Les aranéides de la Guyane française. Horae Societatis Entomologicae Rossicae, 10, 56−115.
  34. Valdecasas, A.G. & Camacho, A.I. (2003) Conservation to the rescue of taxonomy. Biodiversity & Conservation, 12, 1113−1117. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023082606162
  35. Walckenaer, C.A. (1841) Histoire naturelle des Insects. Aptères. Tome deuxième. Roret, Paris, 549 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.61095
  36. White, A. (1841) Description of new or little known Arachnida. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 7 (46), 471−477. https://doi.org/10.1080/03745484109443624
  37. World Spider Catalog (2023) World Spider Catalog. Version 24. Natural History Museum Bern. Available from: http://wsc.nmbe.ch (Accessed on 13 January 2023) https://doi.org/10.24436/2
  38. Yoshida, M. (1981) Preliminary study on the ecology of three horizontal orb weavers, Tetragnatha praedonia, T. japonica, and T. pinicola (Araneae: Tetragnathidae). Acta Arachnologica, 30 (1), 49–64. https://doi.org/10.2476/asjaa.30.49