Colonus pallidus (C. L. Koch, 1846 )

Bedoya-Roqueme, Edwin & Lopez-Villada, Samia, 2020, First report of Colonus pseustes (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1936) (Araneae: Salticidae: Gophoini) from Colombia, Peckhamia 218 (1), pp. 1-8 : 5-6

Colonus pallidus (C. L. Koch, 1846)

Figures 12-14 , 16

Colonus pallidus (C. L. Koch, 1846) : Simon, 1901; Crane J. 1945; Mello-Leitao 1944; Mello-Leitao 1946; Caporiacco 1954; Bustamante, A. A., Maddison, W. P. Ruiz, G. R. S. 2015; Rubio, G. D. Baigorria, J. E. 2016.

Material examined. 1♀, Colombia, Córdoba, Montería [8°47'25.6"N, 75°51'42.4"W], [12m] 17 Aug 2018, urban area, Dracaena fragrans (L.) Ker Gawl. ( Asparagaceae ), manual collection, E. Bedoya–Roqueme col. ( LEUC; OARA –084). 1♀, Colombia, Córdoba, Momil: Cerro Mohan [9°13'16.2"N, 75°39'54.5"W], [75m] 27 Aug 2018, dry forest, manual collection, E. Bedoya–Roqueme col. ( LEUC; OARA –166). 1♀, Colombia, Córdoba, San Antero: Punta Nisperal [9°23'38.2"N 75°47'29.6"W], [4m] 03 Aug 2018, Rhizophora mangle L., manual collection, E. Bedoya–Roqueme col. ( LEUC; OARA –121).

Comments. This species was previously reported for Colombia, but this is the first record for the department of Córdoba, Colombian Caribbean ( Figure 16 ). According to Rubio & Baigorria (2016), the identification of this species is uncertain since the type material of the original description is not available, and this name has been assigned to three different species from the Amazon ( Melo-Nogueira 2003). The identification of the females collected was based on the figures adapted and proposed by Rubio & Baigorria (2016), which are highly detailed and sufficiently comparable. The females that we examined did not show clear differences in the appearance of the epigynum ( Figure 14 ).

Distribution. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guyana, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad, Venezuela ( Metzner, 2020; WSC, 2020).

Ecological Comments. Colonus F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1901 is an essentially neotropical genus, with only a few species in the warmer parts of North America, where specimens have been found in tall grass prairies, commonly located in dense grass and associated herbaceous plants, or in shrubs along a forest margin, where they have been observed stalking and/or feeding almost exclusively on other spiders; however, they also prey on insects ( Hill, 2018). In the department of Córdoba, C. padillu s was collected in association with the plant Dracaena fragrans (L.) Ker Gawl. ( Asparagaceae ) ( Figures 12-13 ), Rhizophora mangle L., and in the shrub layer of dry forest, while C. pseustes was collected in shrub vegetation dominated by Ixora coccinea L. ( Rubiaceae ). C. padillus and C. pseustes mostly prefer to hunt and to feed on other spiders, both in shady and sunny sectors, and they inhabit the interior of middle layer forests. Specimens have been found on the foliage of shrubs, at medium height and generally with great exposure to the sun. Both are excellent jumpers despite the fact that they have deliberate and slow movements ( Rubio et al., 2018).

Figures

Figures 12-14. Female Colonus pallidus. 12-13, Habitus, on Dracaena fragrans (Asparagaceae) in Montería Colombia. 14, Dorsal view of epigynum, modified after Rubio & Baigorria (2016).

Figures 15-16. Known distribution in America of Colonus pseustes (15) and Colonus pallidus (16).