Zuniga laeta ( Peckham & Peckham, 1892 )

Galvis, William, 2016, New records and updated distribution of the ant-like jumping spider genus Zuniga Peckham & Peckham, 1892 (Salticidae: Salticinae: Sarindini) in the Neotropics, Peckhamia 139 (1), pp. 1-11 : 2-4

Zuniga laeta ( Peckham & Peckham, 1892)

Figs. 1-9

Sarinda laeta Peckham & Peckham, 1892: 41 , pl. 3, fig 6 (male holotype from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, deposited in MCZ 21766, not examined). Simon, 1901: 506-507, figs. 600-603. Petrunkevitch, 1911: 702. Mello-Leitão, 1933: 74-75. Bonnet, 1958: 3931. Jackowska & Prószyński, 1975: 42, fig. 4a ( S. lateata , lapsus, gives a diagrammatic illustration of the female copulatory organ).

Zuniga severa Peckham & Peckham, 1892: 44 , pl. 3, fig. 7 (female holotype from Brazil, Minas, CaraÇa [Minas Gerais, Serra do CaraÇa ], deposited in MCZ 23045, not examined). Simon, 1901: 519-522. Petrunkevitch, 1911: 718. Petrunkevitch, 1928: 195. Mello-Leitão, 1933: 69-70. Bonnet, 1959: 4997. Synonymized by Galiano (1964a: 70).

Zuniga laeta Galiano, 1964a: 70 , pl. 1, figs. 1-7, pl. 2, 16, 18-19, pl. 3, figs. 24-25 (redescribed and transferred to the genus Zuniga ). World Spider Catalog, 2015.

Material examined. Argentina, Jujuy, Lagunas de Yala , [24.109115°S, 65.479295°W], [1950 m], 30 Nov 1981, 5♀ E. Maury (MACN) . Brazil, Paraná, Pinhais, Serra da Farinha Seca , [25.399088°S, 48.933476°W], [1012 m], 15 to 20 Sep 1995, 2♂, 5♀, Equipe Lab. Aracnología A.A. Lise (MCTP 7674) . Rio Grande do Sul, Montenegro, [29.690439°S, 51.469257°W], [179 m], 6 Oct 1977, 2♂ immatures, A.A. Lise Leg (FZB 6789); Torres, Parque Estadual de Itapeva, [29.360484°S, 49.758137°W], [7 m], 10 to 14 Jan 2005, 1♀, R. Ott Leg ( FZB 38464). Santa Catarina, Florianapolis, Canavieiras , [27.432575°S, 48.464497°W], [7 m], Jan 1949, no collector ( MACN) . Colombia, Boyacá, Santuario de Flora & Fauna Iguaque, [5.666114°N, 73.455448°W], 2800 m, 4 Nov 1997, 1♀, F. Fernández (ICN-Ar 6782) . Magdalena, Santa Marta, Minca, Hacienda La Victoria , Sector Jabalí Alto , Quebrada Jabalí [11.02°N, 73.93°W], 1293 m, Jul 2015, 1♀, W. Galvis, (ICN-Ar 5932) .

Diagnosis. Somatically the species can be differentiated from Z. magna by its dorsal eye field occupying 41-42% of the total length of the prosoma ( Figs. 8-9 ), two promarginal and one retromarginal teeth ( Fig. 7 ), prosoma with slightly marked radiating prosomal grooves and abdomen coloration with a mixture of white-brown transverse stripes, and with two-four longitudinal, ventral brown marks ( Figs. 4-5, 8-9 ). Males can by distinguished by the slender and not dilated femur of the palp, with the embolus rotated ventrally ( Figs. 1-2 ). Females can be separated from those of Z. magna by the epigyne, with smaller pits, a chitinous septum that does not reach the height of the spermathecae on the anterior side of the epigyne ( Fig. 6 ), and copulatory ducts that are shorter and not convoluted. For more diagnostic characters see Galiano (1964a: 70). Although the sternum of the species as described is wider and shorter than that of Z. magna (see Galiano, 1964a: 71, fig 5), here I present a specimen with a narrower sternum ( Fig. 3 ).

Distribution. Colombia (Boyacá, Magdalena), Brazil (Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul) and Argentina (Jujuy) ( Fig. 19 ). This includes new northernmost, southernmost and altitudinal records for the species, and new genus records from Argentina and Colombia. In Brazil this includes new records from the southern states of Paraná and Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul, after Buckup et al. (2010). The known altitudinal range is 7-2800 m.

These are the first records of this species since its original description ( Galiano, 1964a). In Colombia, the species was collected beating vegetation in a grassland near an intervened high Andean wet forest, and near to a road in a highly conserved Andean wet forest at the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta ( Fig. 17 ). There is an unconfirmed record of the species from Brazil, Amazonas, Humaitá, Humaitá (SMNK 2901) listed by Heiko Meztner (Meztner, 2015; Fig. 19 ).

Figures

Figure 19. Known distribution of the genus Zuniga in the Americas.

Figures 1-9. Zuniga laeta, male and female from Brazil, Paraná, Pinhais, Serra da Farinha Seca (except where noted). 1, Left male palp, retroventral view. 2, Same, retrolateral view. 3, Sternum, particularly long, female from Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, Montenegro. 4, Male, ventral view. 5, Female, ventral view. 6, Epygyne, dorsal view. 7, Male chelicerae, ventral view. 8, Male, habitus. 9, Female, habitus. Abbreviations: cd=copulatory duct, cs=chitinous septum, e=embolus, RTA=retrolateral tibial apophysis of the male palp, sp=spermatheca.

Figures 17-18. Ecosystems where the two species of Zuniga were found in Colombia. 17, Z. laeta, highland wet forest at Hacienda La Victoria, Minca, Santa Marta, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia. 18, Z. magna, lowland Chocoan wet forest, Chocó, Colombia. Photos by the author.