Browsing by Author "Burger, Matthias, 1976-"
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Item The male genital system of goblin spiders : evidence for the monophyly of Oonopidae (Arachnida, Araneae). (American Museum novitates, no. 3675)(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History., 2010) Burger, Matthias, 1976-; Michalik, Peter, 1976-The male reproductive system of spiders consists of paired, tubular testes and often long and convoluted deferent ducts, which are fused near the genital opening to form an ejaculatory duct. In rare cases and as revealed in previous studies the testes can be partly fused (anteriorly or posteriorly), as reported, for example, for Dysderidae (Dysderoidea). In order to determine whether this pattern is also present in other dysderoids, we studied the genital system of Oonopidae for the first time by means of light microscopy. The following species were included, covering both conventionally recognized subfamilies (Gamasomorphinae and Oonopinae): Neoxyphinus ogloblini Birabén, 1953; Silhouettella loricatula (Roewer, 1942); Opopaea recondita Chickering, 1951; Myrmopopaea sp.; Scaphiella hespera Chamberlin, 1924; Lionneta sp.; Orchestina moaba Chamberlin and Ivie, 1935; Oonops balanus Chickering, 1971, and Stenoonops reductus (Bryant, 1942). In contrast to other spider taxa observed to date, all studied goblin spiders possess an unpaired (completely fused) testis, which seems to be a synapomorphic trait for Oonopidae supporting the monophyly of the family. The deferent ducts of goblin spiders are mostly convoluted and of varying diameter whereas the ejaculatory duct is very small. Moreover, we found a remarkable diversity in the organization of the testis and spermatozoa, which underlines the high potential of the reproductive system for systematic studies on Oonopidae as well as other dysderoids. The putative sister group of Oonopidae is Orsolobidae; since the organization of the male genital system of orsolobids is unknown as well, we included one species (Ascuta media Forster, 1956) in the present study. It possesses the typical genital organization for male spiders represented by paired and unfused tubular testes.Item The new Australasian goblin spider genus Prethopalpus (Araneae, Oonopidae). (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 369)(American Museum of Natural History., 2012-06-21) Baehr, Barbara, 1953-; Harvey, Mark S.; Burger, Matthias, 1976-; Thoma, Marco.The new goblin spider genus Prethopalpus is restricted to the Australasian tropics, from the lower Himalayan Mountains in Nepal and India to the Malaysian Peninsula, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. Prethopalpus contains those species with a swollen palpal patella, which is one to two times the size of the femur, together with a cymbium and bulb that is usually separated, although it is largely fused in four species. The type species Opopaea fosuma Burger et al. from Sumatra, and Camptoscaphiella infernalis Harvey and Edward from Western Australia are newly transferred to Prethopalpus. The genus consists of 41 species of which 39 are newly described: P. ilam Baehr ([male, female]) from Nepal; P. khasi Baehr ([male]), P. madurai Baehr ([male]), P. mahanadi Baehr ([male, female]), and P. meghalaya Baehr ([male, female]) from India; P. bali Baehr ([male]), P. bellicosus Baehr and Thoma ([male, female]), P. brunei Baehr ([male, female]), P. deelemanae Baehr and Thoma ([male]), P. java Baehr ([male, female]), P. kranzae Baehr ([male]), P. kropfi Baehr ([male, female]), P. leuser Baehr ([male, female]), P. magnocularis Baehr and Thoma ([male]), P. pahang Baehr ([male]), P. perak Baehr ([male, female]), P. sabah Baehr ([male, female]), P. sarawak Baehr ([male]), P. schwendingeri Baehr ([male, female]), and P. utara Baehr ([male, female]) from Indonesia and Malaysia; and P. alexanderi Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. attenboroughi Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. blosfeldsorum Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. boltoni Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. callani Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. cooperi Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. eberhardi Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. framenaui Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. humphreysi Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. kintyre Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. scanloni Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. pearsoni Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. julianneae Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. maini Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. marionae Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. platnicki Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. oneillae Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. rawlinsoni Baehr and Harvey ([male]), and P. tropicus Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]) from Australia and Papua New Guinea. Three separate keys to species from different geographical regions are provided. Most species are recorded from single locations and only three species are more widely distributed. A significant radiation of blind troglobites comprising 14 species living in subterranean ecosystems in Western Australia is discussed. These include several species that lack abdominal scuta, a feature previously used to define subfamilies of Oonopidae.