Opopaea cornuta Yin & Wang, 1984

Suzuki, Yuya, Hidaka, Ryota & Tatsuta, Haruki, 2023, Revision of goblin spiders (Araneae: Oonopidae) in the Nansei Islands, Southwest Japan, with description of a new species, Zootaxa 5323 (2), pp. 216-242 : 224-226

Opopaea cornuta Yin & Wang, 1984

[New Japanese Name: Togemune-Syaraku-Danigumo]

Fig. 4

Opopaea cornuta Yin & Wang, 1984: p.52 , fig. 2A–F, female holotype, male allotype and three male paratypes from Hunan, deposited in Hunan Teachers’ College , Changsha, China; not examined.

Opopaea sp. Ono & Ogata 2018: p. 42.

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

Materials examined. Okinawa Is. (Okinawa Pref.): 3 males 3 females (one male and one female: NSMT-Ar 21911), Moriguchi Park (26°11’50.4”N, 127°40’25.8”E), Oroku, Naha City , 9-III-2021, Y. Suzuki leg. ; 1 male, Ōnoyama Town (26°12’11.4”N, 127°40’35.7”E), Naha City , 7-III-2021, Y. Suzuki leg. ; 4 males 3 females, Nakama (26°14’46.7”N, 127°43’51.6”E), Urasoe City , 8-III-2021 Y. Suzuki leg. ; 4 males 1 female, Ōgusuku (26°17’09.5”N, 127°48’13.0”E), Kita-nakagusuku Village, Nakagusuku District , 8-III-2020, Y. Suzuki leg. ; 2 males 7 females, Yona, Kunigami District , 31-III-1991, A. Tanikawa leg. ; 1 female, Nago (26° 35’ 13.164”N, 127° 59’ 49.5522”E), Nago City , 28-III-2019, K. Endo leg. ; 4 males 3 females (FB, per. coll.), humid litter with dead wood near a creek in a narrow valley (26°30’27.3”N, 127°54’23.3”E), Resident Forest Park, Onna Village, Kunigami Distinct , 19-XI-2020, F. Ballarin leg. Ikei Is. (Okinawa Pref.): 1 male (FB. per, coll.), dry forest litter (26°23’30.3”N, 127°59’40.1”E), Yonashiroikei, Uruma City, Okinawa Pref., 20-XI-2020, F. Ballarin 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. Kume Is. (Okinawa Pref.): 1 female, Yamazato (26°21’44.1”N 126°44’22.6”E), Kumejima Town, Shimajiri District , 2-XII-2021, Y. Suzuki leg. 1 male, Zenda (26°19’25.8”N, 126°47’55.6”E), Kumejima Town, Shimajiri District , 2-XII-2021, Y. Suzuki leg. Irabu Is. (Okinawa Pref.): 8 males 8 females (FB, per. coll.), humid rainforest litter in a small valley, near Otake Naka Cave (24°50’57.5”N, 125°11’05.3”E), Irabu, Miyakojima City , 14-XI-2020, F. Ballarin leg. Ishigaki Is. (Okinawa Pref.): 1 male, Kabira (24°26’43.4”N, 124°10’30.0”E), Ishigaki City , 1-XI-2021, Y. Suzuki leg. Iriomote Is. (Okinawa Pref.): 2 males 2 females, Haiminaka (24°17’31.1”N, 123°52’25.6”E) Taketomi Town, Yaeyama District , (1 male 1 female, 20-III-2019; 1 male, 30-IV-2021; 1 female 3- V-2021); 1 male 2 females, Otomi-rindo path, Haiminaka , Taketomi Town , Yaeyama District (1 female, 3-I-1988; 1 male 1 female, 29-III-1988), A. Tanikawa leg. 7 males 15 females, Komi, Taketomi Town, Yaeyama District (2 males 4 females, 3-I-1990; 2 females, 1-I-1991; 1 female, 3-I-1989; 3 males 6 females, 29-III-1995; 2 males 2 females, 4- I-1988), A. Tanikawa leg. 1 female, Ohara, Taketomi Town, Yaeyama District , 18-II-2016, K. Ogata leg. Yonaguni Is. (Okinawa Pref.): 1 female, edge of forest (24°27’58.8”N, 123°01’20.1”E), Yonaguni Town, Yaeyama District , 12-X-2021, Y. Suzuki leg. ; 1 female, wet grassland (24°27’13.6”N, 122°59’24.1”E), Yonaguni Town, Yaeyama District , 14-X-2021, Y. Suzuki leg. ; 5 males 5 females, forest floor (24°27’03.3”N, 122°57’29.2”E), Yonaguni Town, Yaeyama District , 15-X-2021, Y. Suzuki leg. ; 1male (FB. per, coll.), 24°26’37.32”N, 123°0’14.148”E, Yonaguni Town, Yaeyama District , 4-III-2021, F. Ballarin leg. ; 1male 1 female (FB, per. coll.), 24°27’27.288”N, 123°0’26.604”E, Yonaguni Town, Yaeyama District , 4-III-2021, F. Ballarin leg.

Diagnosis. This species is characterized by a pair of carapace posterolateral spikes (cps) on the dorsum of carapace ( Fig. 4A–C, F ). Three species of the genus, namely O. diaoluoshan Tong & Li, 2010 , O. gibbifera Tong & Li, 2008 , and O. vitrispina Tong & Li, 2010 , also have similar protrusions ( Fig. 1A, C, D in Tong & Li 2010). According to Tong (2013), however, O. cornuta can be distinguished from these three species by having a well-developed cps, height of clypeus about 2.5 times the diameter of the ALE, female genitalia with a semicircular depression (Fig. 38), and a beak-like end of the male palp (Figs. 35, 36).

Description. Based on a male and a female specimens from Okinawa and Yonaguni Islands.

Male (NSMT-Ar 21911). Carapace almost oval with a pair of horn-shaped cps on posterior-lateral side and striations on lateral side ( Fig. 4A–C ). Palp ( Fig. 4D, E ): patella enlarged and strongly sclerotized; tip of cymbiobulbus beak-shaped. Abdomen oval, dorsum and venter covered with scutum. Coloration ( Fig. 4A ): carapace, palps and abdomen reddish orange, legs pale yellowish brown.

Measurements. Male (NSMT-Ar 21911). BL 1.71, CL 0.66, CW 0.63, CH 0.35. Eye size: ALE 0.088, PME 0.082, PLE 0.085. Leg length: leg I, 0.50 + 0.27 + 0.32 + 0.28 + 0.15 = 1.52; leg II, 0.41 + 0.26 + 0.30 + 0.25 + 0.15 = 1.37; leg III, 0.35 + 0.20 + 0.23 + 0.22 + 0.14 = 1.14; leg IV, 0.51 + 0.25 + 0.39 + 0.30 + 0.18 = 1.63. AL 1.07, AW 0.76, AH 0.46. Palp: CBL 2.57, CBW 0.77, CBL/PTL 0.55, FI 2.39.

Female (NSMT-Ar 21911). Carapace and abdomen as same as those of the male. Epigastric region ( Fig. 4 G ): a pair of apodemes developed; postgynum depression semicircular. Upper scutuml ridge, paired scutuml ridges and pedicel tubes developed ( Fig. 4H ). Coloration ( Fig. 4F ): same as male.

Measurements. BL 1.99, CL 0.78, CW 0.65, CH 0.40. Eye size: ALE 0.107, PME 0.090, PLE 0.083. Leg length: leg I, 0.54 + 0.27 + 0.35 + 0.30 + 0.22 = 1.68; leg II, 0.52 + 0.25 + 0.33 + 0.29 + 0.18 = 1.57; leg III, 0.45 + 0.21 + 0.25 + 0.27 + 0.17 = 1.35; leg IV, 0.59 + 0.29 + 0.41 + 0.37 + 0.25 = 1.91. AL 1.16, AW 0.90, AH 0.54. Epigastric region: EFL 2.25, PDL 0.25, PDW 0.95, LAL 0.67.

Distribution. China, Taiwan, Laos, Japan (the Nansei Islands). Also see Fig. 11 and Table 2 for details of distribution in the Nansei Islands.

Habitat. This species was collected from various environments, such as litter layers at secondary forests, coastal forests, grasslands, croplands and bushes at parks.

Remarks. The new Japanese name indicates “horned-prosomal Syaraku’s tick-like spider” referring to the prosoma that bares horn-shaped cps. “Syaraku’s tick-like spider” is a common Japanese name for the genus Opopaea , named after O. syarakui , a species described from Tokushima Prefecture which is famous for Syaraku, an Ukiyoe artist ( Yaginuma et al. 1990).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Gamasomorpha cataphracta Karsch, 1881 (A–D, H–J male: NSMT-Ar 21905 and E–G, K, L female: NSMT- Ar 21906 from Okinawa Island). A, E Habitus, dorsal view. B, H Left palp, prolateral view. C, I Left palp, ventral view. D, J Left palp, dorsal view. F, K Epigastric region, ventral view. G, L Vulva, dorsal view (partially broken, na and psc apart from vulva). Scale bars: 0.2mm (A, E); 0.05 mm (B–D, G, H–J, L), 0.1 mm (F, K). Abbreviations: A1—apodeme 1, A2—apodeme 2, A3—apodeme 3, na—nail like process, psc—paddle like sclerite, re—receptaculum. Arrow 1 and 2 in H–J indicate longer and shorter processes of embolic part, respectively. Arrow in L indicate a furrow on receptaculum.

FIGURE 4. Opopaea cornuta Yin & Wang, 1984 (A–E male: NSMT-Ar 21911 and F–H female: NSMT-Ar 21911 from Okinawa Island) A, F Habitus, dorsal view. B Prosoma, lateral view. C Prosoma, frontal view. D Left palp, prolateral view. E Left palp, retrolateral view. G Epigastric region, ventral view. H Abdomen, frontal view. ap—apodeme, cb—cymbiobulbus, cps—carapace posterolateral spike, fm—femur, pt—patella, pds—pedicel tube dorsolateral spikes, psr—paired scutuml ridges. Scale bars: 0.5 mm (A–C, F); 0.1 mm (D, E, G, H).

FIGURE 11. Geographic localities of the Nansei Islands examined in this study.