Pellenes montanus (Emerton 1894)

Paquin, Pierre & Dupérré, Nadine, 2006, The spiders of Québec: update, additions and corrections, Zootaxa 1133, pp. 1-37 : 21-23

Pellenes montanus (Emerton 1894)

( Figs 41–46 )

Material examined.— Canada: Québec: Baie­James (Jamésie): 122 km NNE LaSarre [49°48’N, 78°55’W] 15.–22.vi.1997, flight interception trap in a burned Black spruce forest, 1Ψ, P. Paquin & N. Dupérré ( CPAD); Parc des Grands Jardins, accès Doivert [47°41’N, 70°51’W] 13.–21.vi.2000, pitfall, 1ɗ 1Ψ, M. Larrivée ( CNC).

Diagnosis.— Males are characterised by the large tegular apophysis (TA) arising basally ( Fig. 43 ) and the shape of the retrolateral apophysis (RTA) ( Fig. 44 ). Females are characterised by the chevron pattern on the abdomen ( Fig. 42 ), the presence of a median hood­like pocket (arrow, Fig. 45 ) and the elongated, parallel spermathecae (S) ( Figs 45– 46 ).

Distribution.— From Québec (present records) to Alberta, with a record from Colorado. The few known specimens suggest that the species is boreal with a southern extension in the Rockies.

Remark.— The Jamésie record given here comes from a naturally burned Black Spruce forest. The species was never collected again in any other habitat despite an intense sampling effort in that region. Larrivée et al. (2005) report the occurrence of the species in the province without details.

On Jerzy Proszynski’s web site ( Proszynski 2003), P. montanus is listed as a junior synonym of the Palearctic species P. lapponicus (Sundevall 1833) , but that synonymy has never been officially published. Illustrations provided on this web site show small differences in the spermathecae between Palearctic and Nearctic specimens. We prefer to use P. montanus for specimens collected in North America until that question is formally addressed.

Figures

FIGURES 41 – 52. 41 – 46. Pellenes montanus. 41, abdomen of male, dorsal view; 42, abdomen of female, dorsal view, 43, palpus of male, ventral view; 44, palpal tibia of male, retrolateral view; 45, epigynum, ventral view; 46 spermathecae, dorsal view. 47 – 52. Synageles canadensis. 47, palpus of male, ventral view; 48, palpal tibia of male, retrolateral view; 49, palpal tibia of male, prolateral view; 50, epigynum, ventral view; 51, spermathecae, ventral view; 52, spermathecae, dorsal view.