Architis tenuis Simon, 1898

Santos, Adalberto J., 2007, A revision of the Neotropical nursery-web spider genus Architis (Araneae: Pisauridae), Zootaxa 1578 (1), pp. 1-40 : 7-11

Architis tenuis Simon, 1898

Figures 1 , 2A–D , 4A, B , 6

Architis tenuis Simon 1898b: 12–13 . Simon 1898a: 292, fig. 301; Roewer 1954: 110; Bonnet 1955: 639; Carico 1981: 141–143, figs 4, 9, 16–17, 32–33 (mislabeled as A. nitidopilosa in legend), map 1, tables 1–2; Platnick 1989: 394; Sierwald 1989: 8, figs 22–23; Sierwald 1990: 27, figs 22–23; Carico 1993: 202; Platnick 1993: 515; Platnick 1998: 594.

Architis nitidopilosa Simon 1898b: 13 . Roewer 1954: 110; Bonnet 1955: 639; Carico 1981: 143–144, figs 3, 12–15, map 1, tables 1–2; Platnick 1989: 394; Sierwald 1989: 8, figs 19–21, 25; Platnick 1993: 515. New Synonymy.

Architis nitidoplumosa Simon. Simon 1898a: 292 ; Bonnet 1955: 639 (lapsus).

Thanatidius proximus Mello-Leitão, 1921: 180 . Roewer 1954: 125. Synonymy with A. tenuis established by Carico (1993).

Thanatidius proximatus Mello-Leitão. Carico 1993: 202 (lapsus).

Thanatidius parahybensis Mello-Leitão, 1924: 278 . Synonymy with T. proximus established by Roewer (1954).

Type material. Lectotype of Architis tenuis Simon, 1898 (designated by Carico 1981): male, Cametá, state of Pará, Brazil, 2 o 14’S, 49 o 30’W or Pebas, Department of Loreto, Peru, 3 o 10’S, 71 o 46’W (MNHN 4093) (examined). Paralectotypes of Architis tenuis Simon, 1898: 3 males and 1 female, data as lectotype (MNHN 4093) (examined). Paralectotypes of Architis tenuis Simon, 1898: 3 females, data as lectotype (MNHN 4093) (misidentification, these three females are A. cymatilis ; see remark section below) (examined). Holotype of Architis nitidopilosa Simon, 1898 : male, Orinoco, Venezuela, 10 o 12’S, 63 o 53’W, labeled “ Architis nitidoplumosa ” (MNHN 9611) (examined). Holotype of Thanatidius proximus Mello-Leitão, 1921 and holotype of Thanatidius parahybensis Mello-Leitão, 1924 : male, Campina Grande, state of Paraíba, Brazil, 7º13’S 35º52’W T. Leitão ( MNRJ 214) (not examined).

Additional material examined. BRAZIL: Roraima: Caracaraí ( Estação Ecológica Niquiá ), 1 o 49’S, 61 o 7’W, October 2001, L. Mestre, 1♀ ( IBSP 43071 ) ; Alto Alegre ( Estação Ecológica de Maracá ), 3 o 22’S, 61 o 22’W, May 1992, M. Nascimento, 1♂, 4♀, 2 juv. ( MCTP 1957 ) . Rondônia: Porto Velho , 8 o 52’S, 63 o 52’W, 16 April 1996, equipe IBSP/SMNK, 1♀ ( IBSP 16134 ) . Amazonas: ( Rio Atiniga ), 5º48’36”S, 61º18’0”W, 19 April 1996, equipe SMNK/IBSP, 2♀ ( SMNK 2005 ) ; Borba ( Rio Mapiá ), 4 o 23’S, 59 o 35’W, 22 April 1996, equipe IBSP/SMNK, 3♀, 1 juv. ( IBSP 15981 ) ; Maués (District of Cachoeirinha, Rio Madeira ), 5º26’S, 50º60’W, 13–14 December 1975, Exp. Perm. Amaz., 1♂ ( MZSP 12019 ) ; Manaus ( Reserva Biológica de Campina ), 2º34’S 60º02’W, 1 March 1992, A.A. Lise, 1♀ ( MCTP 1486 ) ; Manaus ( Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke ), 2º55’S, 59º59’W, 19–24 February 1992, A.A. Lise, 4♂, 4♀, 1 juv. ( MCTP 1704 ) ; Manaus ( Mil Madeireira ), 2º43’S 58º31’W, July 2002, G.Q. Romero, 2♂ ( IBSP 35113 ) ; Manaus , (PDBFF reserves, 80 Km. N. Manaus), 2º27´S, 59º45’W, 1990–1991, H.G. Fowler et al., 6♂, 17♀ ( MCZ) ; Manicoré ( Barreira do Matupiri ), 5º48’S, 61º17’W, 18 April 1996, equipe IBSP/SMNK, 1♂, 1♀ ( IBSP 15470 ) ; São Gabriel da Cachoeira ( District of Maturacá ), 0 o 7’S, 67º4’W, 13 October 1990, A.A. Lise, 2♂, 1♀ ( INPA) ; Novo Airão ( Parque Nacional do Jaú ), 2º37´S 60º57’W, 16 March 1999, S.H. Borges, 1♂, 1♀, 1 juv. ( IBSP 28483 ) ; Presidente Figueiredo ( Usina Hidrelétrica de Balbina ), 2º3’S, 60º3’W, 1987–1988, Equipe IBSP, 1♀ ( IBSP 10871 ) . Pará: Belém ( Parque Ambiental do Utinga ), 1º27’S, 48º28’W, 15 July 1978, 1♀ ( MPEG) ; Melgaço ( Floresta Nacional de Caxiuanã ), 1º46’S, 50º43’W, 11 August 1996, A.A. Lise et al., 4♂, 9♀ ( MCTP 9417 ) ; Santarém ( Alter do Chão ), 2º22’S, 37º30’W, 26 January 1994, A.D. Brescovit, 8♂, 15♀ ( MCN 25060) ; Santarém ( Serra da Piroca ), 9 February 1991, J. Vidal, 1♀ ( MCTP 1487 ) ; Canindé (50 km E, Aldeia Araçu, Igarapé Gurupi-Uma , Rio Gurupi ), 1º22’S, 52º22’W, 2–30 May 1963, B. Malkin, 1♂ ( AMNH) ; Tucuruí ( Usina Hidrelétrica de Tucuruí ), 3º52´S, 49º37´W, August 1984, equipe IBSP, 1♀ ( IBSP 5422 ) ; Juruti , 2º10’S, 56º4’W, 07 March 2006, D.R. Santos-Souza, 1♀ ( MPEG 2997 ) ; Novo Progresso , 07º09’07”S, 55º18’20”W, 22 November 2005, D.F. Candiani, 1♂ ( MPEG 2928 ) . Mato Grosso: Sinop , 11º52’S, 55º37’W, October 1975, M. Alvarenga, 3♂, 1♀ ( AMNH) ; Vera , 12º46’S, 55º30’W, October 1973, M. Alvarenga, 2♂ ( AMNH) . Pernambuco: Recife ( Reserva Ecológica Dois Irmãos ), 8º3’S, 34º54’W, June–December 2000, M. Peres, 1♂ ( IBSP 27253 ) ; 14 September 1999, 1♀ ( IBSP 38546 ) . Alagoas: Murici ( Estação Ecológica de Murici ), 09º15’S, 35º51’W, 13–22 September 2003, 7♀, ( IBSP) ; Maceió (District of Ipioca, Serra da Saudinha ), 9º40’S, 35º43’W, 18 December 2004, G.Q. Correia & R.C.T. Aquino, 1♂ ( IBSP 63815 ) ; same data, 12 March 2005, 1♀ ( IBSP 63847 ) . Sergipe: Santa Luzia do Itanhy ( Mata do Crasto ), 11°23’S, 37°24’W, 9–13 September 1999, A.D. Brescovit et al., 2♀ ( IBSP) ; Itabaiana ( Parque Nacional da Serra de Itabaiana ), 10°40’S, 37°25’W, 14–20 September 1999, A.D. Brescovit et al., 3♂, 14♀ ( IBSP) . Bahia: Caravelas , 17º45’S, 39º15’W, 11 October 1997, A.J. Santos, 1♂ ( IBSP 26920 ) ; Ilhéus (Sapucaeira, Olivença ), 13º1’S, 40º1’W, 6 January 1999, M.F. Dias, 1♀ ( IBSP 35873 ) ; Jussari ( Fazenda Teimoso ), 15º12’S, 39º31’W, 21 November 1998, M.F. Dias, 1♂, 1♀ ( IBSP 35166 ) ; Mata de São João ( Fazenda Camurujipe ), 12º31’S, 38º16’W, May 2006, C.M.P. Leite, 2♂, 3♀ ( IBSP) ; Porto Seguro ( Parque Nacional do Monte Pascoal ), 16º25’S, 39º4’W, 21–23 April 1998, A.D. Brescovit et al., 1♀ ( IBSP 18489 ) ; Porto Seguro ( Parque Nacional do Pau Brasil ), 13–15 November 1998, M.F. Dias, 1♂, 2♀ ( IBSP 35988 ) ; Una ( Reserva Biológica do Una ), 15º18’S, 39º4’W, 15–28 November 2000, A.D. Brescovit et al., 1♂ ( IBSP 47327 ) , 1♀ ( IBSP 47329 ) , 1♀ ( IBSP 46332 ) . Minas Gerais: Marliéria ( Parque Estadual do Rio Doce ), 19º48`S, 42º38`W, 01–10 September 2003, Equipe Biota, 2♂, 2♀ ( IBSP) . Espírito Santo: Pinheiros ( Reserva Biológica do Córrego do Veado ), 18º22’12”S, 40º08’12”W, 22 October 2005, A. Giupponi et al., 2♂, 1♀ ( IBSP) ; Conceição da Barra ( Parque Estadual de Itaúnas ), 18º25’S, 39º42’W, 15 December 2002 – 06 March 2003, 16♀ ( IBSP) ; Linhares ( Reserva Florestal da Companhia Vale do Rio Doce ), 19º12’S, 40ºW, A.D. Brescovit et al., 1♂, 8♀ ( IBSP 24373 ) . São Paulo: Teodoro Sampaio ( Parque Estadual do Morro do Diabo ), 22º31’S, 52º18’W, 24–31 March 2003, Equipe Biota, 1♀ ( IBSP) . Rio Grande do Sul: Porto Alegre , 30º1’S, 51º12’W, 1989–1992, H.G. Fowler, 2♀ ( MCZ) . COLOMBIA: Antioquia: Remedios ( Hacienda San Martín ), 7 o 1’N, 74 o 31’W, 19 December 1984, M.A. Serna, 1♀ ( MCZ) . Casanare: Carimagua , 5 o 22’N, 71 o 1’W, October 1973, 1♀ ( MCZ) . Meta: Puerto Lleras, 03º18’N, 73º22’W, B.T. Carrol, 3♀ ( USNM); (Finca Chenever, ca. 20 km N Rio Muco, ca. 20 km S El Porvenir ) , 1♂ ( MCZ) ; Puerto Lopez, 15 km SW, 1979, W.G. Eberhard, 2♂, 1♀ ( MCZ) ; Puerto Colombia ( Rio Negro ), 4 o N 73 o 13’W, August 1996, M. Tamayo, 2♀, 4 juv. ( ICN 1543 ) . Santander: Campo Capote ( Región Forestal del Carare-Opón ), 6º38’N, 73º55’W, 28 July–4 August 1968, H. Sturm, 1♀ ( MCZ) . Valle: Buenaventura, 28 km E, 1♀ ( MCZ) . FRENCH GUIANA: La Guyane: Charvein , 5 o 34’N, 53 o 54’W, December 1913, Benoist, 3♀ ( MNHN 2025 - together with Staberius lemoulti Caporiacco, 1954 type material) . GUYANA: Cuyuni-Mazaruni: Kartabo ( Kartabo point), 6 o 24’N, 58 o 37’W, 27 December 1983, W. Steiner et al., 1♂ ( USNM) . Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo: ( Essequibo River , 4.42 km. S Gunn’s Strip Bank), 1º36’45.7”N, 58º38’14.6”W, 6–15 July 1999, J.A. Coddington et. al., 6♂, 19♀, 1 juv.,1 eggsac ( USNM) . PANAMA: Colón: Barro Colorado Island , 9 o 16’N, 79 o 49’W, 2 July 1936, A.M. Chickering, 1♂ ( MCZ) , June 1950, 14♀ ( MCZ) . PERU: Loreto: Iquitos ( Rio Momon ), 3 o 44´S, 73 o 14’W, 31 October 1993, R. West, 1♂ ( MCZ) ; Nauta (km 25), May 2005, A. Catenazzi, 1♀ ( MUSM) . SURINAM: Saramacca: (Voltzberg- Raleighvallen Reserve ), 4º45’N, 56º10’W, April–May 1984, D. Smith, 1♀ ( MCZ) . VENEZUELA: Amazonas: La Esmeralda, 15 km W, 3º10’12”S, 65º32’24”W, 8 May 1999, T. Linderhaus, 1♂ ( SMNK 2961 ) .

Diagnosis. Architis tenuis resembles A. cymatilis by the presence of ventral cuspule-like spines on male coxae I ( Fig. 4E ) and the prolaterally curved conductor in the male copulatory bulb ( Figs 4B–D ). Architis tenuis can be distinguished from all other species of the genus by the peculiar shape of the vRTA, which is large, curved and projected retrolaterally ( Figs 2A, B , 4A ). Females differ from other species of Architis by the combination of inconspicuous copulatory ducts and large, elongated spermathecae ( Figs 2C–D ).

Description

Male (based on IBSP 63815 from Maceió, Brazil)

Carapace brown, with paler lateral longitudinal stripes and sparsely covered with white setae. Posterior margin densely covered with dark setae. Anterior eye row procurved, lateral eyes strongly projected ventrally and almost twice as large as medians. Posterior eyes of similar size. Clypeus brown, chelicerae dark brown, labium and endites red-brown. Sternum brown, sparsely covered with dark setae. Pedipalpi and legs brown, legs darker on tibia, metatarsus and tarsus. Opisthosoma dark gray, paler laterally and ventrally. Spinnerets pale brown, circled by a black pigment ring. Total length 4.6. Carapace 1.8 long, 1.6 wide. Tibia I length 5.2, II 5.4, III 3.1, IV 3.9. Opisthosoma 2.7 long, 1.2 wide.

Female (based on IBSP 46332 from from Reserva Biológica do Una, Brazil)

Carapace brown, with a median and a pair of lateral cream-coloured stripes. Lateral stripes with small lateral extensions close to leg bases. Eye configuration as in male. Clypeus, chelicerae and endites creamcoloured, labium dark brown. Sternum cream-coloured, with lateral black spots close to leg bases. Pedipalpi and legs cream-coloured. Legs with apical dark rings on femur, tibia and metatarsus. Opisthosoma dark gray, paler laterally and ventrally. Sides suffused with black spots. Venter with a median black stripe. Spinnerets pale brown, circled by a black pigment ring. Total length 6.3. Carapace 2.0 long, 1.8 wide. Tibia I length 3.8, II 4.3, III 2.8, IV 3.4. Opisthosoma 4.2 long, 2.6 wide.

Variation. Males, total length 3.3–4.6, carapace width 1.3–1.6. Females, total length 4.6–6.3, carapace width 1.6–1.8.

Remarks. The type series of A. tenuis included three females of A. cymatilis , labeled as A. nitidopilosa by J.E. Carico. These specimens were not listed in the material examined of A. cymatilis here because the locality was not specified in the original label, being either Cametá (state of Pará, Brazil) or Pebas (department of Loreto, Peru). Carico (1981) based the distinction between A. tenuis and A. nitidopilosa on male genitalic characters. These characters are not specified, and the only apparent differences between both species are size and shape of the RTA. After examining several specimens, I have found intermediate conditions between those illustrated by Carico (1981), which lead me to conclude that these forms constitute variations of the same species. Therefore I consider A. nitidopilosa a junior synonym of A. tenuis . The females described by Carico are actually A. cymatilis (see remarks under A. cymatilis below). In all material I examined I did not find any females like those described by Carico (1981) associated with males here considered as A. tenuis , thus I presume he mismatched the sexes in those species.

Thanatidius proximus was described by Mello-Leitão (1921) based on a male from Campina Grande, Brazil. Three years later ( Mello-Leitão 1924), the same specimen, with the same collection number, was mistakenly designated as type specimen for T. parahybensis . This was first noticed by Roewer (1954), who considered T. parahybensis an objective junior synonym of T. proximus . The holotype, deposited in MNRJ, has an additional label displaying “ Architis parahybensis ”, although this combination was never published.

The illustration of the ocular area of A. tenuis provided by Carico (1981; fig. 9) is probably mislabed. This species shares with A. cymatilis the strongly procurved anterior eye row with large anterior lateral eyes (see Carico 1981; fig. 11).

Natural history. This is the most abundant and widely distributed species of the genus, occurring in areas of humid forest all over South America. Females build large webs consisting of a dense sheet of silk connecting branches and leaves of bushes and trees. The spider remains in a hole in the middle of the web close to a branch ( Fig. 1 ; Nentwig 1985). Females stay in their webs during the reproductive period, holding the eggsac in the chelicerae and keeping spiderlings in the sheet of silk ( Nentwig 1985). Some females examined presented hard, brown material fixed over the copulatory openings, possibly copulatory plugs deposited by males during or after copulation.

Distribution. Panama to southern Brazil ( Fig. 6 ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Architis tenuis Simon. Female in web on branch of small bush (Reserva Florestal da Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, Linhares, state of Espírito Santo, Brazil).

FIGURES 2A–D. Architis tenuis Simon. A, male pedipalpus, ventral view; B, male pedipalpus, lateral view; C, female epigynum, ventral view; D, female internal genitalia, dorsal view. Scale bars: A–B, 0.2 mm; C–D, 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 4A–E. Architis spp. (SEM). A–B, A. tenuis Simon: A, male pedipalpus, ventral view; B, detail of male pedipalpus, conductor, embolus and apex of DTP, ventral view. C–E, A. cymatilis Carico: C, right male pedipalpus, ventral view; D, detail of right male pedipalpus, conductor and embolus, ventral view; E, male right coxa I, ventral view. Scale bars: A, C, 100 µm; B, D–E, 10 µm.

FIGURE 6. Geographic distribution records of Architis tenuis Simon (empty circle), A. cymatilis Carico (cross) and A. maturaca sp. nov. (full triangle).