Gamasomorpha cataphracta Karsch, 1881

Fig. 1

Gamasomorpha cataphracta Karsch, 1881: p.40, fig. 1–5, male and female syntypes from Japan; not examined.

See the World Spider Catalog (2023) for the complete taxonomic list.

Materials examined. Yakushima Is. (Kagoshima Pref.): 1 female, Tabukawa, Yakushima Town, Kumage District, 2-IV-2023, S. Konishi leg. Okinawa Is. (Okinawa Pref.) : 1 male (NSMT-Ar 21905), Nago (26°35’25.7”N, 128°00’17.9”E), Nago City, 28-III-2019, K. Endo leg. 1 female (NSMT-Ar 21906), Nûha (26°40’02.0”N, 128°10’21.3”E), Ōgimi Village, Kunigami District, 27-III-2019, K. Endo leg. Aka Is. (Okinawa Pref.) : 1 male 1 female, grassland at forest side (26°11’54.5”N, 127°16’55.7”E), Aka, Zamami Village, Shimajiri District, 16-III-2022, Y. Suzuki leg.

Diagnosis. This species can be easily distinguished from other oonopid species in the Nansei Islands by the presence of dark transverse stripes on the dorsum of abdomen (Fig. 1) (Ono 2009).

Additional description of genital morphology. Based on a male (NSMT-Ar 21905) and a female (NSMT-Ar 21906) specimen from Okinawa Island, Japan. Embolic part of male palp attenuated distally and branching into two pointed tip parts, retrolateral one longer than prolateral counterpart (Fig. 1H–J, arrow 1) Embolic part prolaterally curved in dorsal view (Fig. 1D, J). Female vulva with nail-like process and paddle-like sclerite present on anterior side, receptaculum width almost identical to length with median furrow (Fig. 1G, L, arrow), and A1 on lateral sides with similar length to receptaculum. See Ono (2009) for further details.

Variations. Some individuals possess a uniformly dark brown abdomen with unclear stripes (Ono 2009; Ono & Ogata 2018).

Distribution. Korea, Taiwan, Japan (Honshu to the Nansei Islands), Philippines. See also Fig. 11 and Table 2 for details of distribution in the Nansei Islands.

Habitat. In the Nansei Islands, this species was collected from litter layers of forests and grasslands.