Two new Brazilian species of Loxosceles Heinecken & Lowe, 1832 with remarks on amazonica and rufescens groups (Araneae, Sicariidae) Author Fukushima, Caroline Sayuri Author Andrade, Rute Maria Goncalves de Author Bertani, Rogerio text ZooKeys 2017 667 67 94 http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.667.11369 journal article http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.667.11369 1313-2970-667-67 569BC83BD81E428E8AD9D5A664EC5F49 Loxosceles amazonica Gertsch, 1967 Figs 1-6, 7-13, 14-17, 18-21, 22-25, 26-31, 32-35, 36-39, 40-47, 48-51, 78-79 Loxosceles amazonica Gertsch, 1967: 143, pl. 4, figs 7−10, pl. 5, figs 6−7 (female holotype examined (AMNH), Brazil, state of Mato Grosso, Santa Isabel, Araguaia river, Mato Grosso side, 15-25 July 1957, B. Malkin col., receptacles not in the vial); Lucas, Cardoso and Moraes 1986: 130, figs 3−4; Duncan et al. 2010 : 241, fig. 3; World Spider Catalog 2016 . Material examined (Table 3). BRAZIL: Piaui , Serra Branca, Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara, Sao Raimundo Nonato [ 9°00'S , 42°41'W ], 1 male, 1 female and 11 immatures, R. M. Goncalves Andrade col. (MNRJ 6927); Rio Grande do Norte: Serra Negra do Norte, ESEC Serido ( 6°34'S , 37°15'W ), 2 females and 5 males, C. S. Fukushima, K. C. T. Riciluca and N. M. Goncalves col., 14 March 2014, ref. Ser 8, 12, 2, 7, 9, 10, 33, respectively (MNRJ 6928); 1 female, under tree bark, during the night, C. S. Fukushima col., 14 March 2014, ref. C28 (MNRJ 6929); 1 female, C. S. Fukushima col., 14 March 2014, inside tree trunk, during the day, ref. C44 (MNRJ 6930); 1 male, C. S. Fukushima col., 14 March 2014, ref. C41 (MNRJ 7303); Acu , FLONA de Acu ( 5°34'S , 36°56'W ), 1 female, under old house debris, during the night, L. Monteiro col., 30 October 2014, ref. L72 (MNRJ 6931); 1 female, under tree bark, during the day, C. S. Fukushima col., 30 October 2014, ref. C599 (MNRJ 6932); 1 female, near Carnauba trees, during the day, K. C. T. Riciluca col., 26 March 2014, ref. K137 (MNRJ 6933); 1 female, in a vacated old house during the night, C. S. Fukushima col., 23 March 2014, ref. C163 (MNRJ 6934); 1 male, under roof tiles, C. S. Fukushima col., 23 March 2014, ref. C167g (MNRJ 6935); 1 male, under roof tiles, C. S. Fukushima col., 23 March 2014, ref. C167o (MNRJ 6936); 1 male, under roof tiles, C. S. Fukushima col., 30 October 2014, ref. C631 (MNRJ 6937); 1 male, in fallen Carnauba tree, during the night, N. M. Goncalves col., 25 March 2014, ref. N186 (MNRJ 6938); 1 male, under roof tiles, during the night, C. S. Fukushima col., 23 March 2014, ref. XXXI (MNRJ 6939); 1 female, K. C. T. Riciluca col., March 2014, ref. K133 (MNRJ 7305); Martins ( 6°04'S , 37°54'W ), 1 female, Mirante-Casa de Pedra cave track, during the night, C. S. Fukushima col., 20 March 2014, ref. C144 (MNRJ 6940); 1 female, near Casa de Pedra cave, during the day, N. M. Goncalves col., 19 March 2014, ref. N 81 (MNRJ 6941); 1 female, Mirante-Casa de Pedra cave track, during the day, N. M. Goncalves col., 20 March 2014, ref. N91 (MNRJ 6942); 1 female, under fallen tree, near grange of Sr. Clesinho, during the day, A. P. L. Giupponi col., 23 October 2014, ref. A132 (MNRJ 6943), 1 female, near Casa de Pedra cave, under rock, during the night, C. S. Fukushima col., 23 October 2014, ref. C495 (MNRJ 6944); 1 male, in a ravine near Casa de Pedra cave, during the night, K. C. T. Riciluca col., 19 March 2014, ref. K59 (MNRJ 6945); 1 male, near Casa de Pedra cave, during the day, C. S. Fukushima col., 19 March 2014, ref. C103 (MNRJ 6946); 1 male, in a ravine, C. S. Fukushima col., 19 March 2014, ref. C116 (MNRJ 6947); 1 female, near Casa de Pedra cave, C. S. Fukushima col., 23 October 2014, ref. C497; 1 male, Mirante-Casa de Pedra cave track, C. S. Fukushima col., 20 March 2014, ref. C148 (MNRJ 7306); Macaiba , Escola Agricola de Jundiai ( 5°53'S , 35°21'W ), 1 male (MNRJ 6948) and 1 female (MNRJ 6949), in a tree trunk during the night, C. S. Fukushima and W. Pes soa col., 13 September 2013 (ref. AV046, AV047, respectively); Ceara , Santa Quiteria ( 4°19'S , 40°09'W ), 1 male and 1 immature male, D. R. Pedroso col., 3-12 February 2014 (MNRJ 6950); 1 male, 1 female and 9 immatures, Gruta W13, SAD' 69, Camp 1, F. Pellegatti & D. R. Pedroso col., 3-13 February 2014 (MNRJ 6952). Diagnosis. Males of L. amazonica resemble those of Loxosceles rufescens , Loxosceles bentejui Planas & Ribera, 2015, Loxosceles foutadjalloni Millot, 1941, Loxosceles guayota Planas & Ribera, 2015, Loxosceles hupalupa Planas & Ribera, 2015, Loxosceles lacta Wang, 1994, Loxosceles mahan Planas & Ribera, 2015, Loxosceles tazarte Planas & Ribera, 2015, Loxosceles tibicena Planas & Ribera, 2015, Loxosceles willianilsoni sp. n., and Loxosceles muriciensis sp. n. by incrassated palpal tibia, longer than cymbium (Figs 1-2). They differ from those of L. hupalupa , L. mahan and L. tazarte by having shorter embolus (Figs 1-2), and entire pars cephalica as well as carapace border dark brown (Fig. 14), best seen in live specimens. From those of L. rufescens , L. bentejui , L. foutadjalloni , L. guayota , L. lacta , L. tibicena , L. willianilsoni sp. n. and L. muriciensis sp. n., they can be distinguished by having embolus with a mild retrolateral curvature along its length (Fig. 11). Females of L. amazonica resemble those of L. rufescens , L. bentejui , L. foutadjalloni , L. hupalupa , L. lacta , L. mahan , L. tazarte , L. tibicena , L. willianilsoni sp. n. and L . muriciensis sp. n. by having spermathecae with large seminal receptacles and dark sclerotized lateral bands (Fig. 26). Females of L. amazonica can be distinguished from all these species by a cluster of globular lobes on apex of seminal receptacles (Figs 26-31). Additionally, L. amazonica males and females can be distinguished from L. mahan , L. tazarte , L. bentejui , L. guayota , L. tibicena and L. hupalupa by lacking a conspicuous dark V-mark posteriorly on pars cephalica. Natural history. Despite its specific epithet, L. amazonica specimens were found in areas covered by caatinga (Figs 36-47), a semi-arid vegetation found in northeastern Brazil (Fig. 78). At FLONA de Acu , specimens were found under rocks and tree bark, and also under or inside fallen trees, especially carnaubas ( Copernicia prunifera Miller) (Figs 36-39). They were also found at vacant old houses inside an area of conservation unit, and under house debris near the FLONA's base. The ESEC Serido is located on a sui generis region of the state of Rio Grande do Norte characterized by a hyper-xerophilous, arboreal-shrubby caatinga, with irregular precipitation of 500 to 800 mm/year ( Varella-Freire 2002 ). Specimens of L. amazonica were found throughout different landscapes of the ESEC (Figs 40-43). They were found under rocks and tree bark in shaded areas (Fig. 44), inside termite nests (Fig. 47) or cracks of rocky outcrops (Fig. 45), under fallen trees (Fig. 46) or under house debris near ESEC's base. Specimens of L. amazonica were also found in Martins, state of Rio Grande do Norte, "a brejo de altitude" region, i.e. an area covered by humid forest surrounded by arid caatinga ( Pereira Filho and Montingelli 2011 ), usually over mountains and hillsides with an elevation of more than 500 m ( Ruiz-Esparza 2009 ) and that receives more than 1,200 mm of orographic rains (Prado 2003, in Ruiz-Esparza 2009 ). We found specimens of L. amazonica in ravines near the town (Fig. 48), in a trail on the top on the hill (Fig. 49) and under old house debris close to more humid and higher areas (about 700 m a.s.l.) (Fig. 50), as well as under rocks and tree bark near Casa de Pedra cave, in a lower region with caatinga vegetation (about 300 m a.s.l.) (Fig. 51). No specimens were found inside Casa de Pedra cave. Spermatheca variation (see Fig. 79). Specimens vary in number and size of globular lobes on spermatheca apex and seminal receptacles proportions. Specimens from Martins and Macaiba in the State of Rio Grande do Norte (Figs 26 and 31, respectively), Sao Raimundo Nonato, state of Piaui (Fig. 27) and Santa Quiteria , state of Ceara (Fig. 30) have three to six lobes in each spermatheca, more or less similar in size. The seminal receptacles of specimens of these areas are slightly short and trapezoid. On the other hand, specimens of ESEC Serido and FLONA de Acu , both in the state of Rio Grande do Norte (Figs 28 and 29, respectively) have four to five lobes, usually one of them larger than the others. The seminal receptacles are slightly longer, with a triangular shape. It is not clear how these genitalic traits vary along the distribution of L. amazonica or if these variations reflect a higher diversity in amazonica lineage. Variation in the morphology of palps and spermatheca of other Loxosceles species has already been noted, such as in L. rufescens ( Brignoli 1969 ). However, Duncan et al. (2010) recovered a monophyletic group of specimens that morphologically resemble L. rufescens , within which there are divergent clusters of specimens and populations, but with genetic distances high enough to be considered as cryptic species. In the same way, the slight morphological variations in L. amazonica could correspond to separated species, only detectable through a molecular approach, which was beyond the scope of this study. Figures 1-6. Loxosceles amazonica , male palpal bulbs. 1-2 Serra Negra do Norte, ESEC Serido , state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (MNRJ 6928, ref. Ser 7), left palp. 1 retrolateral 2 prolateral 3-4 Acu , FLONA de Acu , state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (MNRJ 6939), left palp 3 retrolateral 4 prolateral 5-6 Martins, state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (MNRJ 7306), right palp (mirrored) 5 retrolateral 6 prolateral. Scale bars: 1mm. Figures 7-13. Loxosceles amazonica , male palpal bulbs, left palp. 7-8 Santa Quiteria , state of Ceara , Brazil (MNRJ 6950) 7 retrolateral 8 prolateral 9-10 Sao Raimundo Nonato, state of Piaui , Brazil (MNRJ 6927, ref. GSB11A-17) 9 retrolateral 10 prolateral. 11-13 dorsal 11 Acu , FLONA de Acu , state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (MNRJ 6936) 12 Serra Negra do Norte, ESEC Serido , state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (MNRJ 6928, ref. Ser 7) 13 Santa Quiteria , state of Ceara , Brazil (MNRJ 6950). Scale bars: 1mm. Figures 14-17. Loxosceles amazonica , male carapace. 14-15 Acu , FLONA de Acu , state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil 14 MNRJ 6935 15 MNRJ 6936 16 Serra Negra do Norte, ESEC Serido , state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (MNRJ 6928, ref. Ser 7) 17 Martins, state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (MNRJ 6947). Scale bars: 1mm. Figures 18-21. Loxosceles amazonica , carapace. 18-19 Male 18 Sao Raimundo Nonato, state of Piaui , Brazil (MNRJ 6927, ref. GSB11A-17) 19 Santa Quiteria , state of Ceara , Brazil (MNRJ 6950) 20-21 Female 20 holotype, Santa Isabel, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil (AMNH) 21 Acu , FLONA de Acu , state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (MNRJ 7305). Scale bars: 1mm. Figures 22-25. Loxosceles amazonica , carapace, female. 22 Martins, state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (MNRJ 7304) 23 Serra Negra do Norte, ESEC Serido , state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (MNRJ 6928, ref. Ser 8) 24 Santa Quiteria , state of Ceara , Brazil (MNRJ 6952) 25 Sao Raimundo Nonato, state of Piaui , Brazil (MNRJ 6927, ref. GSB11A-17). Scale bars: 1mm. Figures 26-31. Loxosceles amazonica , seminal receptacles. 26 Martins, state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (MNRJ 6942) 27 Sao Raimundo Nonato, state of Piaui , Brazil (MNRJ 6927, ref. GSB11A-17) 28 Serra Negra do Norte, ESEC Serido , state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (MNRJ 6928, ref. Ser 8) 29 Acu , FLONA de Acu , state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (MNRJ 6931) 30 Santa Quiteria , state of Ceara , Brazil (MNRJ 6952) 31 Macaiba , state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (MNRJ 6949). Scale bars: 27-29 1 mm; 26, 30-31 0.5 mm. Figures 32-35. Loxosceles amazonica , habitus. 32-34 Female 32 Martins, state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil 33 Acu , FLONA de Acu , state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil 34 Macaiba , state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil 35 Male. Acu , FLONA de Acu , state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (MNRJ 6936). Photos C. S. Fukushima. Figures 36-39. Loxosceles amazonica habitats in FLONA de Acu , Acu , state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil 36 Carnauba trees 37 fallen Carnauba tree, in detail web of L. amazonica 38 caatinga vegetation in rainy season 39 caatinga vegetation in dry season. Photos C. S. Fukushima. Figures 40-47. Loxosceles amazonica habitats in ESEC Serido , Serra Negra do Norte, state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. 40 large rocky outcrops 41 hyper-xerophilous, arboreal-shrubby caatinga in rainy season 42 dry temporary lagoon 43 grass areas over neosoil 44 fallen dead tree trunk in shaded area 45 small rocky outcrops 46 web of L. amazonica inside rotten tree trunk 47 web of L. amazonica inside termite nest. Photos C. S. Fukushima. Figures 48-51. Loxosceles amazonica habitats in Martins, state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil 48 ravine in a humid area near town 49 under rocks at Mirante-Casa de Pedra cave trail 50 under debris of old house in rural area 51 in caatinga vegetation close to Casa de Pedra cave. Photos C. S. Fukushima.