Selenops morosus Banks, 1898

Crews, Sarah C., 2011, A revision of the spider genus Selenops Latreille, 1819 (Arachnida, Araneae, Selenopidae) in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, ZooKeys 105, pp. 1-182 : 36-37

Selenops morosus Banks, 1898 Figs 41-42Map 5

Selenops morosus Banks 1898: 267, pl. 16, Fig. 16 (♂, ♀, examined).

Selenops morosus F.O. Pickard-Cambridge 1900: 118 (no Figs).

Selenops morosus Muma 1953: 41, Figs 69-70 (♂, ♀).

Type material.

Lectotype male (designated here): Tepic, México, X-XI, Eisen and Vaslit (MCZ, examined). Female syntype has been lost or destroyed, and thus the female is unknown.

Other material examined.

MÉXICO: Sonora: 2 miles south of Imuris on Mex 15, 10.IV.1965, W. Shear, 1♂ (AMNH).

Diagnosis.

Males can be distinguished by the RTA with two small pointed, angular projections, and the MA, which has a large triangular base and is directed somewhat ventrally (Figs 41-42).

Remarks.

Banks (1898) illustrated a male and a female specimen and noted that 'several specimens' had been collected. Muma (1953) reported that the female type was lost or destroyed, but that females of Selenops abyssus may go with males of Selenops morosus , as the illustration of the epigynum by Banks (1898) is similar to that of Selenops abyssus . Muma also mentions two males and one young female from Tepic at the MCZ, but only a single male was located. An additional specimen from much further north (Sonora) was found in the AMNH. The epigynum illustrated by Banks (1898) looks nothing like that of Selenops abyssus , and I conclude that Selenops abyssus and Selenops morosus are distinct species. Banks (1898) did indeed have the female of Selenops morosus . The geographic range of Selenops abyssus encompasses that of several species known from only one sex, as does Selenops morosus . More collecting from this region and independent data, such as that of molecular or behavioral data, will be needed to determine which males and females belong together. The male specimen is also in poor condition and the description may not reflect well the coloration and markings of this species.

Description.

Lectotype male:Color: carapace orange-brown; chelicerae orange-brown; maxillae orange-brown, somewhat darker than dusky yellow; labium orange-brown; abdomen dorsally cream, lighter medially, lanceolate stripe now just an outline, some small flecks, festoon barely distinct, ventrally dusky grey-orange, no markings,; legs dusky yellow, no annulations visible. Carapace:1.10 times longer than broad. Eyes:AER slightly recurved; PER recurved; PME larger than AME, PLE largest, ALE smallest; eye diameters, AME 0.30, ALE 0.18, PME 0.45, PLE 0.50; interdistances AME-PME 0.03, PME-ALE 0.15, ALE-PLE 0.38. PME-PME 1.20. ALE-ALE 2.95; ocular quadrangle AME-AME 0.50, PLE-PLE 2.20; clypeus 0.15 high. Mouthparts:chelicerae with a few stout setae medially and anteriorly; maxillae longer than broad, with tuft of conspicuous setae distally; labium distally rounded. Sternum:1.50 times longer than broad, posteriorly indented. Legs:leg I only slightly shorter than II and III; scopulae present on distal end of all 4 tarsi; tarsi I-IV with strong claw tufts; pr claw toothed, rl claw with fewer teeth; spination: leg I, Fm pr 1 –1– 1, d 1 –1– 1, rl 1 –1– 1; Ti pr 1 –0– 1, rl 1 –0– 1, d 1 –1– 0, v 2 –2– 2; Mt pr 1 –1– 0, rl 1 –1– 0, v 2-2, or pr 1 –1– 0, rl 1 –1– 0, v 2-2; leg II, Fm pr 1 –1– 1, d 1 –1– 1, rl 1 –1– 1; Ti pr 1 –0– 1, d 1 –1– 0, rl 1 –0– 1, v 2 –2– 2; Mt pr 1 –1– 0, v 2-2, rl 1 –1– 0; leg III, Fm pr 1 –1– 1, d 1 –1– 1, rl 1 –1– 1; Ti pr 1 –0– 1, rl 1 –0– 1, d 1 –1– 0, v 2-2; Mt pr 1 –1– 0, rl 1 –1– 0, v 2-2; leg IV, Fm pr 1 –1– 1, d 1 –1– 1, rl 1 –1– 1; Ti pr 1 –0– 1, rl 1 –0– 1, d 1 –1– 0, v 2-2; Mt pr 1 –1– 0, rl 1 –1– 0, v 2-2. Abdomen:without terminal setal tufts. Pedipalp:Fm, spination d 0 –1– 4;cymbium oval in ventral view, pointed distally, slightly angled posterolaterally; conductor large, attached to bulb on short straight stalk anteromedially, directed laterally, but not extending beyond the edge of cymbium, left side connecting to bulb and forming a circular area between the two conductor connections; embolus long, slender, curved, tapering midway, beginning at 6 o'clock, terminating at 12 o'clock; MA arising at 2 o'clock, directed lateroventrally, with stout triangular base, tapered to a distally hooked process; RTA small, barely reaching cymbium in ventral view, with two processes, in lateral view, the ventral process with a distally pointed process and a process that points downward, the lateral process with a distally pointed structure arising from a quadrangular process (Figs 41-42). Dimensions: Total length 11.90. Carapace length 5.95, width 5.56. Sternum length 3.00, width 2.00. Abdomen length 5.95, width 4.35. Pedipalp: Fm 1.75, Pt 0.75, Ti 0.90, Ta 2.00, total 5.40. Leg I: Fm 6.00, Pt 2.00, Ti 5.75, Mt 5.00, Ta 2.50, total 21.25. Leg II: Fm 7.00, Pt 2.00, Ti 6.00, Mt 6.00, Ta 2.75, total 23.75. Leg III: Fm 7.00, Pt 2.00, Ti 6.00, Mt 5.75, Ta 2.75, total 23.50. Leg IV: Fm 7.00, Pt 2.00, Ti 5.75, Mt 5.75, Ta 2.00, total 22.50.

Natural history.

Nothing is known of this species' natural history, but based on collection locality data, it seems to span aridland and tropical thornscrub habitats.

Distribution.

Known from northwestern México and has an apparently broad distribution from northern Sonora to Nayarit (Map 5).