Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Article
Published: 2025-11-13
Page range: 373-386
Abstract views: 64
PDF downloaded: 5

Description of two new spider species from Ecuadorian caves, along with a note on the distribution of Plato troglodita Coddington, 1986 (Araneae, Theridiosomatidae)

Museum of Nature Hamburg; Zoologie; Leibniz-Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB); Center for Taxonomy and Morphology; Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3; 20146 Hamburg; Germany.; Research Associate; American Museum of Natural History; New York; NY; U.S.A.
Museum of Nature Hamburg; Zoologie; Leibniz-Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB); Center for Taxonomy and Morphology; Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3; 20146 Hamburg; Germany.
Araneae Spiders diversity karst system type specimens new species

Abstract

Two new cave spider species belonging to the family Theridiosomatidae are described from the Ecuadorian Amazonian ecoregion: Plato leodani sp. nov. (male, female), and Plato shaime sp. nov. (male, female). Images of the type specimens of Plato troglodita Coddington, 1986 are included and its distribution is updated, being restricted to the type locality in Morona Santiago Province, Ecuador. Finally, the specimens identified as Plato troglodita by Prete & Brescovit (2024) are considered a misidentification.

 

References

  1. Auler, A. (2004) South America. In: Gunn, J. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of caves and karst science. Fitzroy Dearborn, New York, New York, pp. 110–118.
  2. Coddington, J.A. (1986) The genera of the spider family Theridiosomatidae. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 422, 1–96. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.422
  3. Constantin, S., Toulkeridis, T., Moldovan, O.T., Villacís, M. & Addison, A. (2018) Caves and karst of Ecuador – state-of-the-art and research perspectives. Physical Geography, 40 (1), 28–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723646.2018.1461496
  4. Dupérré, N. & Tapia, E. (2017) On some minuscule spiders (Araneae: Theridiosomatidae, Symphytognathidae) from the Chocó region of Ecuador with the description of ten new species. Zootaxa, 4341 (3), 375–399. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4341.3.3
  5. Gertsch, W.J. (1982) The troglobitic mygalomorphs of the Americas (Arachnida, Araneae). Association for Mexican Cave Studies Bulletin, 8, 79–94.
  6. Labarque, F.M., Piacentini, L.N., Pons, J., Hormiga, G., Arnedo, M.A. & Ramírez, M.J. (2025) Ray spider rush: fast-tracking integrative taxonomy in Panama’s cloud forests. European Journal of Taxonomy, 1010, 1–145. https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2025.1010.3021
  7. Lourenço, W.R. (1981) Scorpions cavernicoles de l’Equateur: Tityus demangei n. sp. et Ananteris ashmolei n. sp. (Buthidae); Troglotayosicus vachoni n. gen., n. sp. (Chactidae), scorpion troglobie. Bulletin du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 4e série 3, 635–662. https://doi.org/10.5962/p.285840
  8. Matheus, G.P. (2011) Historia documentada del descubrimiento de las Cuevas de Los Tayos (A documented history of the discovery of the Los Tayos Cave). GRAFINPREN, Quito, 266 pp.
  9. Prete, P.H. & Brescovit, A.D. (2024) Taxonomic revision of the spider genus Plato Coddington, 1986 (Araneae: Theridiosomatidae) with the description of three new species. Zootaxa, 5471 (1), 1–32. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5471.1.1
  10. Suzuki, Y., Hiramatsu, T. & Tatsuta, H. (2022) Two new species and a new genus of ray spiders (Araneae, Theridiosomatidae) from the Ryukyu Islands, southwest Japan, with notes on their natural history. ZooKeys, 1109, 76–101. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1109.83807
  11. Toulkeridis, T., Addison, A., Constantin, S., Winkler, E., Toomey III, R., Osburn, R. & Simon Baile, D. (2015) Espeleologia en Tena, Napo. Un breve inventario geológico y cartográfico [Speleology in Tena, Napo. A brief geological and cartographic inventory]. In: Toulkeridis, T., Constantin, S. & Addison, A. (Eds.), 3er Simposio Internacional de Espeleología en el Ecuador - Boletín Científico, Tena 13–15 Marzo 2015. ESPE, Sangolqui, Pichincha, pp. 20–67.
  12. Zhang, J.S., Feng, C.C., Yu, H. & Lin, Y.C. (2023) A review of the spider genus Sinoalaria (Araneae, Theridiosomatidae), with the descriptions of four new species and two new combinations. ZooKeys, 1173, 307–338. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1173.105123
  13. World Spider Catalog (2025) World Spider Catalog. Version 26. Natural History Museum Bern, Bern. Available from: http//wsc.nmbe.ch (accessed 6 July 2025)

How to Cite

Dupérré, N. & Tapia, E. (2025) Description of two new spider species from Ecuadorian caves, along with a note on the distribution of Plato troglodita Coddington, 1986 (Araneae, Theridiosomatidae). Zootaxa, 5719 (3), 373–386. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5719.3.5