Browsing by Author "Lopardo, Lara."
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Item The combing of cribellar silk by the prithine Misionella mendensis, with notes on other filistatid spiders (Araneae, Filistatidae) ; American Museum novitates, no. 3563(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2007) Lopardo, Lara.; Ramírez, Martín J.We present the first observations of the combing and attaching behavior in the subfamily Prithinae (Filistatidae), taken from Misionella mendensis. We compare its web architecture with that of other prithines (Pritha nana and Pikelinia sp. from Chile) and filistatines (Kukulcania hibernalis and Filistata insidiatrix). The combing behavior of M. mendensis corresponds to the stereotyped type I combing behavior, as is known for other filistatids. However, M. mendensis attaches the cribellar segments in a unique way, splitting the cribellar segment longitudinally and pushing each half to the substrate, attaching the silk with the tarsi of both legs IV simultaneously. These stereotyped movements result in web units of a very characteristic structure. We report the same split attachment behavior in the prithine Pikelinia tambilloi. We scored these observations into a previous dataset for filistatid relationships. Because of the missing observations on attachment behavior in the North American basal genus Filistatinella, the sister group of all other prithines, the evolution of split cribellar strands is a potential synapomorphic characteristic for the Prithinae, or at least the subgroup excluding its basal taxon.Item Notes on Chilean anapids and their webs. American Museum novitates ; no. 3428(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2004) Rámirez, Martín J.; Lopardo, Lara.; Platnick, Norman I.Orb webs of the Chilean anapid genera Crassanapis Platnick and Forster, Sheranapis Platnick and Forster, and Elanapis Platnick and Forster are described for the first time. Crassanapis and Sheranapis species spin a typical anapid web, with one to several radii above the orbplane, going upward from the hub. Their webs are intraspecifically variable in size and architectural details. Sheranapis villarrica Platnick and Forster often constructs smaller webs close to the water surface of streams. The web of Elanapis aisen Platnick and Forster is two dimensional, without orb-plane threads, like typical webs of Symphytognathidae. The webs of Minanapis species are still unknown. Elanapis aisen has a protruding labrum, which supports its placement in Anapidae. The spinnerets of Elanapis aisen and Crassanapis chilensis are figured and described. The respiratory system of Elanapis aisen and Minanapis floris is described; all Chilean anapids examined so far have normal booklungs and four simple tracheae limited to the abdomen.Item On the synaphrid spider Cepheia longiseta (Simon 1881) (Araneae, Synaphridae) ; American Museum novitates, no. 3575(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2007) Lopardo, Lara.; Hormiga, Gustavo.We redescribe the monotypic spider genus Cepheia and provide detailed morphological information on its type species, Cepheia longiseta. We provide the first exhaustive diagnosis for the genus, including for the first time detailed information about its external morphology as well as its tracheal system. Some morphological features previously proposed as synapomorphies for the Synaphridae are also present in Cepheia, which corroborates some of the diagnostic characters of the family. We also propose new synapomorphies for Synaphridae.Item Spinneret spigot morphology in synaphrid spiders (Araneae, Synaphridae), with comments on the systematics of the family and description of a new species of Synaphris Simon 1894 from Spain ; American Museum novitates, no. 3556(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2007) Lopardo, Lara.; Hormiga, Gustavo.; Melic, Antonio.We describe for the first time the spigot morphology of two synaphrid species (one of each of two synaphrid genera, Synaphris and Cepheia) as well as the morphology of the respiratory system of Synaphris. We also provide a taxonomic description of a new species of Synaphris from Spain, including detailed information about its morphology. This new species is known only from males, and it might belong to the so-called letourneuxi species group. Some morphological features proposed as synapomorphies for the genus Synaphris and/or the Synaphridae are questioned and discussed. Putative synapomorphies proposed here include a distinct constriction on the tarsus-metatarsus joints; a cheliceral keel ending in a strong promarginal cheliceral tooth; scarce number of maxillary setae; distal maxillary setae clavate; and a characteristic palpal morphology, comprising a distinctive tibial morphology, a modified cymbium with two separate areas, a palpal dorsal translucent expansion of the embolar base, a retrolateral paracymbium, a reduced furrow separating the major ampullate field from the piriform field, and the retention of at least one triad spigot in males. Refuted synapomorphies are the metatarsal subdistal anastomosed lyriform organ, the notched tibial trichobothrial base, and the tarsal pseudosegmentation. We also discuss the phylogenetic placement of the family, suggesting a close relationship to the araneoid Cyatholipidae.