Faiditus, KEYSERLING, 1884

Agnarsson, Ingi, 2004, Morphological phylogeny of cobweb spiders and their relatives (Araneae, Araneoidea, Theridiidae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 141 (4), pp. 447-626 : 478-479

FAIDITUS KEYSERLING, 1884

Type – F. ecaudatus Keyserling, 1884 , designated by Petrunkevitch (1928), not examined.

Synonyms: Bellinda Keyserling, 1884 – type Theridion cancellatum Hentz, 1850 [= Bellinda cancellata ], not examined, syn. nov. Bellinda appears in the same publication as Faiditus . Usage may suggest priority of Faiditus , as Bellinda is only mentioned in Keyserling’s publication, but Petrunkevitch (1928) includes Faiditus in his Systema Aranearum.

Faiditus is removed from synonymy of Argyrodes , contra Levi & Levi (1962: 21). F. ecaudatus Keyserling, 1884 , and all other species attributed to the ‘ A. cancellatus ’ and ‘ A. cordillera ’ groups of Exline & Levi (1962) and Zhu (1998) are explicitly transferred to Faiditus and the following new combinations established:

F. acuminatus (Keyserling, 1891) , F. affinis (O. P.- Cambridge, 1880), F. alticeps (Keyserling, 1891) , F. altus (Keyserling, 1891) , F. amates ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. americanus (Taczanowski, 1874) , F. amplifrons (O. P.-Cambridge, 1880), F. analiae ( González & Carmen, 1996) , F. arthuri ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. atopus (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1936) , F. bryantae ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. cancellatus (Hentz, 1850) , F. caudatus (Taczanowski, 1874) , F. chickeringi ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. caronae ( González & Carmen, 1996) , F. chicaensis ( González & Carmen, 1996) , F. cochleaformus (Exline, 1945) , F. convolutus ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. cordillera (Exline, 1945) , F. cristinae ( González & Carmen, 1996) , F. cubensis ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. darlingtoni ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. davisi ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. dracus (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1936) , F. duckensis ( González & Carmen, 1996) , F. exiguus ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. fulvus ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. gapensis ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. gertschi ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. globosus (Keyserling, 1884) , F. godmani ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. iguazuensis ( González & Carmen, 1996) , F. jamaicensis ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. laraensis ( González & Carmen, 1996) , F. leonensis ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. maculosus (O. P.-Cambridge, 1898), F. mariae ( González & Carmen, 1996) , F. morretensis ( González & Carmen, 1996) , F. nataliae ( González & Carmen, 1996) , F. peruensis ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. plaumanni ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. proboscifer (Exline, 1945) , F. quasiobtusus ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. rigidus ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. rossi ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. sicki ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. solidao (Levi, 1967) , F. spinosus (Keyserling, 1884) , F. striatus (Keyserling, 1891) , F. subdolus (O. P.- Cambridge, 1898), F. subflavus ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. sullana (Exline, 1945) , F. taeter ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. ululans (O. P.-Cambridge, 1880), F. vadoensis ( González & Carmen, 1996) , F. woytkowskii ( Exline & Levi, 1962) , F. xiphias (Thorell, 1887) , F. yacuiensis ( González & Carmen, 1996) , F. yutoensis ( González & Carmen, 1996) .

Diagnosis: Faiditus here differs from other argyrodines (based on F. cf. chickeringi ) by the following putative synapomorphies: copulatory bursa anterior margin medially acute (6) a strongly hooked TTA distal tip (85, Fig. 48A, B ), abdomen with paired (or multiple) humps (142, Fig. 94C , also in some Neosphintharus ( Fig. 57F ), E hidden by TTA ( Fig. 48B ), and details of male cephalic modification (a shallow clypeal groove with a dense field of setae, Fig. 48C, D ). All known Faiditus are kleptoparasitic and, as in Argyrodes , males are often larger than females ( Exline & Levi, 1962). At least details of cephalic modifications appear universal in Faiditus (see e.g. Exline & Levi, 1962; Zhu, 1998). Medially acute anterior copulatory bursa margin, hooked TTA distal tip, and E hidden by TTA were confirmed in other Faiditus examined in detail: F. americanus , F. amplifrons , F. cancellatus , F. cf. caudatus , F. spinosus and F. ululans . Abdomen humps were lacking only in F. ululans .

The synonymy of Bellinda with Faiditus was corroborated with examination of nontype specimens of the Bellinda generotype, F. cancellatus .

Figures

Figure 48. Faiditus cf. chickeringi, male. A, B, palp. A, mesial. B, ventral. C, D, prosoma. C, front. D, side. E, stridulatory picks and nubbins. F, PMS. G, epiandrous gland spigots. Scale bars: A–D, 100 Mm; E, 20 Mm; F, G, 10 Mm.

Figure 57. Neospintharus trigonum. A, prosomal stridulatory ridges. B, ditto, female; note broadened pair of slit sensilla on either side of PE (141-1) and extensive field of SN. C, female left spinning field; note absence of FL (arrow, 212-1). D, female palpal tarsus; note sparsely dentate claw (178-1). E, dorsal view of abdominal humps, also present in Faiditus (142-0). F, female fourth tarsus; note elongated and elevated central claw (horizontal arrow, 200-1) and the presence of at least a few serrated bristles (vertical arrows). Scale bars: A, B, E, 100 Mm; C, 50 Mm; D, F, 20 Mm.

Figure 94. A, Ariamnes, male habitus. B, Argyrodes, male habitus. C, Faiditus, male habitus. D, Rhomphaea, male habitus. E, Neospintharus, male habitus. F, Stemmops sp., female abdomen. G, Anelosimus eximius, female abdomen. H, Theridion pictum, female abdomen. I, Ameridion petrum, female abdomen. J, Anelosimus sp. 1, habitus. K, Anelosimus sp. 1, abdomen ventral.