Idiops clarus ( Mello-Leitão, 1946 )

Ferretti, N., Nime, M. & Mattoni, C., 2017, Three new Idiops (Mygalomorphae: Idiopidae) from Argentina and redescription of the male of I. hirsutipedis Mello-Leitão, 1941, Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 51 (17 - 18), pp. 975-994 : 977-980

Idiops clarus ( Mello-Leitão, 1946)

( Figures 1–3 , 13 )

Juambeltzia clara Mello Leitão, 1946: 6 , figs 6–9; Bücherl, 1957: 383, figs 3–3a

Idiops clarus: Schiapelli and Gerschman, 1971: 58 , figs 1–7

Type material

Juambeltzia clara Mello-Leitão, 1946 . Holotype male: Uruguay, Florida, San Gabriel, A . Juambeltz col . ( MHNM). Not examined .

Note

According to Yamamoto (unpublished data) the holotype male could not be located and is presumably lost. Thus, this author proposed a neotype designation in his PhD dissertation, but any proposal of nomenclatural changes and/or designation of types or type localities in a dissertation work are not valid, as a thesis does not count as a publication ( ICZN 1999).

Additional material examined

Uruguay, Maldonado, Sierra de las Ánimas (34°42′0.35″ S – 55°19′0.11″ W), 14 September 1969, L .C . Zolessi col ., 1♀ (MACN-Ar6382); Argentina, Entre Ríos, Paraná (31°43′59.87″ S –

60°31′59.65″ W), 8–10 February 1998, P . Goloboff col ., 1♂, 1♀ and 1 juvenile (MACN- Ar 7422); Argentina, Entre Ríos, Parque Nacional El Palmar (31°53′59.98″ S – 58°15′0″ W), February 1981, P . Goloboff col ., 1♂ (MACN-Ar7423); Argentina, Misiones, Parque Nacional Iguazú (25°31′4.8″ S – 54°7′59.87″ W), November 1981, P . Goloboff col ., 1♀ (MACN- Ar 36712); Argentina, Misiones, Parque Nacional Iguazú (25°31′4.8″ S – 54°7′59.87″ W), December 1987, C . Scioscia col ., 1♀ (MACN-Ar36713); Argentina, Misiones, Iguazú, Parque Nacional Iguazú (25°31′5″ S – 54°8′2.2″ W), 28 September 2014, N . Ferretti col ., 1 juvenile ( LZI442 ); Argentina, Santiago del Estero, Colonia Dora (28°33′59.76″ S – 63°0′0″ W), 7–8 February 1985, C . Szumik and P . Goloboff col., 3♀ (MACN-Ar36846).

Diagnosis

Males of I. clarus can be distinguished from all Argentinean congeners except I. hirsutipedis by having an elongated carapace, longer than wide ( Figure 1 (a)). Males can be separated from those of I. hirsutipedis by the straight metatarsus I and absence of an apical prolateral process. Additionally, they can be distinguished from all other species by the following combination of characters: apical branch of tibial apophysis with a large and long apical spine, and basal branch smaller with a triangular stout apical spine ( Figure 1 (c)); retrolateral spines of palpal tibia mainly concentrated on the basal portion of the depression ( Figure 1 (b)); and tip of embolus of palpal bulb with ventral flange on apical expansion, and presence of a dorsal tooth ( Figures 1 (d–f)). Females differ by the spermathecae with long and thin ducts with a largely sclerotised basal area and rounded receptacles ( Figure 2 (c)).

Natural history

One juvenile of this species ( Figure 3 (d)) was collected in the Parana Forest in the northern Misiones province, Argentina. The habitat was an elevated area not too close to the Iguazú River, known as ‘Palmital’, which consists of a tall, dense multilayered canopy composed of palmetto trees (Euterpes edulis Mart.) in a dark, damp understory with scattered low trees, shrubs and ferns ( Figure 3 (a)) ( Srur et al. 2009). The burrow was found by searching among leaf litter, and comprised a narrow door and the burrow surrounded by small leaves ( Figure 3 (b–c)).

Distribution

It was previously known from Uruguay, and new records are reported here for Entre Ríos, Misiones and Santiago del Estero provinces in Argentina ( Figure 13 ).

Figures

Figure 1. Idiops clarus (Mello-Leitão, 1946). Male (MACN-Ar7422). (a) Carapace, dorsal view. (b) Palpal tibia, retrolateral view. (c) Tibia I, prolateral. (d–f) Left palpal bulb. (d) Prolateral. (e) Retrolateral. (f) Dorsal. The square shows the embolus tip zoomed. DT = dorsal tooth. Arrows indicate apical expansion and ventral flange. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figure 2. Idiops clarus (Mello-Leitão, 1946). Female (MACN-Ar7422). (a) Carapace, dorsal view. (b) Eye group, dorsal view. (c) Spermathecae, dorsal view. D = duct; R = receptacle; SA = sclerotised basal area. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Figure 3. Idiops clarus (Mello-Leitão, 1946). (a) Habitat in Parana Forest at Misiones province, Argentina. (b–c) Trapdoor and burrow on its natural habitat. (d) Habitus, juvenile. Scale bar = 5 mm.

Figure 13. Map showing the distribution of the Idiops species treated in this work.