Browsing by Author "Ubick, Darrell."
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Item The goblin spiders of the new genus Volborattella (Araneae, Oonopidae) from Madagascar. (American Museum novitates, no. 3822)(American Museum of Natural History., 2015-01-16) Saucedo, Alma D.; Ubick, Darrell.; Griswold, Charles E.; Goblin Spider Planetary Biodiversity Inventory.A new genus of goblin spider from Madagascar, Volborattella Saucedo and Ubick, is proposed and its five included species newly described and illustrated: V. teresae, the type species, V. guenevera, V. nasario, V. paulyi, and V. toliara. These species differ from other oonopids in several unusual characters, especially the variously modified setae: abdominal scutes having thick recumbent setae with large bases and conspicuous pits; the pedicel region with mats of plumose setae and associated cuticular projections; and anterior metatarsi with prolateral combs. The male palp of Volborattella appears to be unique in having a terminal projection (embolar superior prong, ESP) that forms an abrupt spiral and the female a receptaculum with an accessory duct (curved tube). Volborattella resemble members of the Gamasomorpha complex in lacking leg spines and having a flattened abdomen with complete scutes, but differ genitalically. The Volborattella female has a receptaculum that is wider than long (as opposed to longer than wide in the Gamasomorpha complex) and the male has the embolar region sharply bent (as opposed to evenly curved), which places the genus in the Pelicinus complex. The relationship of Volborattella to other pelicinoids is not resolved. Although the genus most closely resembles some Silhouettella Benoit, Noideattella Álvarez-Padilla et al. and Lionneta Benoit in various genitalic features, somatically it shares with Tolegnaro Álvarez-Padilla et al. and two undescribed Malagasy genera the gamasomorphoid body form and plumose setae. Volborattella females are unusual in having antisymmetrical internal genitalia, with the CTs occurring in either a left or right position, and that these differences in handedness (antisymmetry) are evenly distributed. The shape and size of the CT, as examined through light and scanning microscopy, suggest that it is a coupling pocket for the ESP; if so, Volborattella females are either righties or lefties in their palpal preference.Item Got males? : the enigmatic goblin spider genus Triaeris (Araneae, Oonopidae). (American Museum novitates, no. 3756)(American Museum of Natural History., 2012-09-14) Platnick, Norman I.; Dupérré, N. (Nadine); Ubick, Darrell.; Fannes, Wouter.; Goblin Spider Planetary Biodiversity Inventory.The type species of the goblin spider genus Triaeris Simon, T. stenaspis Simon, was originally described from Saint Vincent in the Lesser Antilles, but has attained a pantropical distribution and even has introduced populations living in European greenhouses. At least one of those European populations is parthenogenetic, and no males of the species have ever been found. Simon later assigned one additional species to the genus, T. equestris, from Príncipe; that species is also known only from females, but resembles T. stenaspis in having an unusually elongated, ventrally spinose patella on leg I. Numerous other species, from both the Old and New worlds, have subsequently been assigned to Triaeris; all those taxa seem to be either synonyms (including T. berlandi Lawrence from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, T. lepus Suman from Hawaii, and T. lacandonus Brignoli from Guatemala, which are newly synonymized with T. stenaspis) or misplaced in the genus. The modified patella I occurs in four new West African species (T. moca from Bioko and T. fako, T. oku, and T. menchum from Cameroon); unfortunately, those species are also represented only by females. Few other gamasomorphines have patellar spines, and most of those that do have such spines belong to a group of genera in which the males have heavily sclerotized endites, suggesting that Triaeris might belong to that group. Searching West African collections of such taxa revealed two additional new species, T. togo and T. ibadan, that are each represented by both sexes. Female genitalic structure suggests that T. togo is the closest relative of T. stenaspis.Item Indian Ocean goblin spiders (Araneae, Oonopidae) : four new species of pelicinoids from Madagascar, with a redescription of the type species Silhouettella curieusei Benoit, 1979. (American Museum novitates, no. 3835)(American Museum of Natural History., 2015-05-29) Alvarez-Padilla, Fernando.; Ubick, Darrell.; Griswold, Charles E.; Goblin Spider Planetary Biodiversity Inventory.Four new species of oonopid spiders are described from Madagascar, divided between the genera Silhouettella and Noideattella: S. perismontes, sp. nov., S. perisalma, sp. nov., N. omby, sp. nov., and N. sylvnata, sp. nov. A new diagnosis for Silhouettella is provided, its type species, S. curieusei, from the Seychelles is redescribed, and its morphology thoroughly documented with digital images..Item The Malagasy goblin spiders of the new genus Malagiella (Araneae, Oonopidae). (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 356)(American Museum of Natural History., 2011-08-10) Ubick, Darrell.; Griswold, Charles E.A new oonopid genus endemic to Madagascar, Malagiella, is proposed and its 10 constituent species newly described and illustrated: M. ambalavo ([male]), M. andringitra ([male, female]), M. fisheri ([m, f]), M. goodmani ([f]), M. nikina ([f]), M. ranavalona ([f]), M. ranomafana ([m, f]), M. toliara ([m, f]), M. valterova ([m, f]), and M. vohiparara ([m, f]). Malagiella is most similar to the Asian genus Camptoscaphiella in both somatic and genitalic features, but differs in some important characters. Unlike Camptoscaphiella, the Malagiella male has a palpal bulb completely fused with the tarsus and a sternum bearing stiff bristles; the female has a round copulatory opening and bifid 4th claws. The species may be recognized by the genitalia. Male palpi are fairly uniform, but differ in segment proportion and details of the embolus complex, which consists of a broad dorsal embolus connected to a laminar ventral prong. Female genitalia are more variable, especially in the curvature of the receptaculum, which spans the range from nearly straight to widely sinuous and occurs in mirror-image versions having opposite coiling. These torsional variants, with females having either left- or right-handed receptacula, probably occur in all species, although they are not evident in species with straight receptacula and (obviously) unknown in species represented by singleton female specimens. Malagiella species are very diverse somatically, ranging from dark, big, and large-eyed species to pale, small, and reduced-eyed ones. Our preliminary clustering uses mostly these somatic features, with some genitalic support, to identify three species groups: ranomafana, vohiparara, and toliara. Other genitalic characters that suggest different groupings are discussed.Item The Malagasy goblin spiders of the new genus Molotra (Araneae, Oonopidae). (American Museum novitates, no. 3729)(American Museum of Natural History., 2011-12-28) Ubick, Darrell.; Griswold, Charles E.A new oonopid genus endemic to Madagascar, Molotra, is proposed and its six included species are newly described and illustrated: M. molotra, the type species, M. ninae, M. katarinae, M. suzannae, M. tsingy, and M. milloti. Molotra is defined on the basis of its unusual genitalia. The male has the palpal bulb terminating in broad, liplike lobes, unlike any previously described in Oonopidae. The female is equally unusual in lacking an apparent receptaculum, although the genitalia otherwise resemble those of silhouettelloid genera. The species of Molotra form three distinct groups based on somatic and genitalic characters. The M. molotra group includes four large, strongly spined species. The remaining two are morphologically distinct and known only from males. M. tsingy is a small species with unusual palpi that are complex, contorted, and with a resting position along the sternocoxal boundary, instead of an anterior sternal cavity. M. milloti is a very bristly species that differs somatically from other Molotra but has genitalia similar to the M. molotra group. Molotra is known only from Madagascar where the three species groups are strongly disjunct. The M. molotra group occurs in higher elevation forests (1000-1300 m) in northeastern Madagascar, M. tsingy is from low elevation karst (150 m) of the southwest, whereas M. milloti is from a coastal locality in the northwest.Item Myrmecicultoridae, a new family of myrmecophilic spiders from the Chihuahuan Desert (Araneae, Entelegynae). (American Museum novitates, no. 3930)(American Museum of Natural History., 2019-06-26) Ramírez, Martín J.; Grismado, Cristian J.; Ubick, Darrell.; Ovcharenko, V. I.; Cushing, Paula Elizabeth, 1964-; Platnick, Norman I.; Wheeler, Ward.; Prendini, Lorenzo.; Crowley, Louise M.; Horner, Norman V.The new genus and species Myrmecicultor chihuahuensis Ramírez, Grismado, and Ubick is described and proposed as the type of the new family, Myrmecicultoridae Ramírez, Grismado, and Ubick. The species is ecribellate, with entelegyne genitalia, two tarsal claws, without claw tufts, and the males have a retrolateral palpal tibial apophysis. Some morphological characters suggest a possible relationship with Zodariidae or Prodidomidae, but the phylogenetic analysis of six markers from the mitochondrial (12S rDNA, 16S rDNA, cytochrome oxidase subunit I) and nuclear (histone H3, 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA) genomes indicate that M. chihuahuensis is a separate lineage emerging near the base of the Dionycha and the Oval Calamistrum clade. The same result is obtained when the molecular data are combined with a dataset of morphological characters. Specimens of M. chihuahuensis were found associated with three species of harvester ants, Pogonomyrmex rugosus, Novomessor albisetosis, and Novomessor cockerelli, and were collected in pitfall traps when the ants are most active. The known distribution spans the Big Bend region of Texas (Presidio, Brewster, and Hudspeth counties), to Coahuila (Cuatro Ciénegas) and Aguascalientes (Tepezalá), Mexico.Item Noideattella and Tolegnaro, two new genera of goblin spiders from Madagascar, with comments on the gamasomorphoid and silhouettelloid oonopids (Araneae, Oonopidae). (American Museum novitates, no. 3745)(American Museum of Natural History., 2012-05-25) Alvarez-Padilla, Fernando.; Ubick, Darrell.; Griswold, Charles E.; Goblin Spider Planetary Biodiversity Inventory.Two new genera of goblin spiders from Madagascar, Noideattella, new genus, and Tolegnaro, new genus, are described with 11 and two species respectively. Noideattella includes N. assumptia, new combination (transferred from Silhouettella), and 10 new species: N. amboa, N. famafa, N. fantara, N. farihy, N. gamela, N. lakana, N. mamba, N. saka, N. tany, and N. tsiba. Tolegnaro includes two new species: T. sagani and T. kepleri. A phylogenetic data matrix of 436 terminals and 341 morphological characters was extracted from the Goblin Spider Planetary Biodiversity Inventory (PBI) descriptive database. The monophyly of Noideattella and Tolegnaro was tested in a phylogenetic analysis of this matrix. In this analysis other oonopid genera recently revised were also recovered as monophyletic and with high support values. A key for all species described here is provided. Noideattella species can be differentiated by having the pars cephalica strongly elevated in lateral view, forming a posterior cone, tibia and metatarsi with spines, and abdomen completely covered by scuta. Tolegnaro species in addition present plumose seta around the pedicel area.Item On Hesperocranum, a new spider genus from western North America (Araneae, Liocranidae). American Museum novitates ; no. 3019(New York, N.Y. : American Museum of Natural History, 1991) Ubick, Darrell.; Platnick, Norman I.Item A review of the Asian goblin spider genus Camptoscaphiella (Araneae, Oonopidae). (American Museum novitates, no. 3697)(American Museum of Natural History., 2010) Baehr, Barbara, 1953-; Ubick, Darrell.The goblin spider genus Camptoscaphiella Caporiacco has been shrouded in mystery because its type species, C. fulva Caporiacco, was based on a juvenile specimen and considered a nomen dubium. The discovery of near-topotypic material, including both males and females, now permits a more complete description of the type species and name stabilization with some certainty. Camptoscaphiella is here delimited to include only those species with the combined presence of a greatly enlarged male palpal patella, a palpal bulb well separated from the cymbium, male endites with anteromedian brushlike scopula, male abdomen with the dorsal and ventral scuta fused anteriorly, female genitalia with an external copulatory opening, and with extremely long paired spines on the tibiae and metatarsi of legs I and II in both sexes. Camptoscaphiella now includes 15 species, mostly recorded from single locations and distributed primarily in the Himalayan Mountains, from Pakistan to China, but with two isolated species in Sri Lanka and Thailand. The type species, C. fulva Caporiacco, is here described and Camptoscaphiella hilaris Brignoli from Bhutan redescribed. Nine species are newly described: C. gunsa Baehr, n. sp. ([female]), and C. loebli Baehr, n. sp. ([male, female]), from North India; C. martensi Baehr, n. sp. ([f]), C. nepalensis Baehr, n. sp. ([m,f]), C. panchthar Baehr, n. sp. ([f]), and C. taplejung Baehr, n. sp. ([f]), from Nepal; C. paquini Ubick, n. sp. ([m,f]), from China; C. schwendingeri Baehr, n. sp. ([m]), from Thailand; and C. simoni Baehr, n. sp. (m], from Sri Lanka. These species, along with C. silens Brignoli and C. strepens Brignoli from Nepal and C. sinensis Deeleman-Reinhold and C. tuberans Tong and Li from China, are included in the key and mapped. Excluded from Camptoscaphiella is C. infernalis Harvey and Edward from Western Australia that, along with Opopaea fosuma Burger et al. from Sumatra, represents an undescribed genus.Item A revision of the endemic Californian spider genus Titiotus Simon (Araneae, Tengellidae) ; American Museum novitates, no. 3608(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2008) Platnick, Norman I.; Ubick, Darrell.Titiotus Simon is revised, and contains at least 16 species known only from California. Males of the type species, T. californicus Simon, are described for the first time, as are those of T. flavescens (Chamberlin and Ivie). Eusparassus hansii Schenkel is transferred from the Sparassidae to Titiotus, and its male is newly described. Thirteen new species are described.Item A revision of the North American spider genus Anachemnis Chamberlin (Araneae, Tengellidae). American Museum novitates ; no. 3477(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2005) Platnick, Norman I.; Ubick, Darrell.Anachemmis Chamberlin is revised, and contains five species from California, Arizona, and Sonora that are hypothesized to represent the sister group of the Appalachian genus Liocranoides Keyserling. The male of the southern Californian type species, A. sober Chamberlin, is described for the first time, as are both sexes of four new species: A. linsdalei from northern and central California, A. jungi from caves in Inyo County, California, A. aalbui from in and near caves in San Bernardino County, California, and A. beattyi from Arizona and Sonora.Item A revision of the North American spiders of the new genus Socalchemmis (Araneae, Tengellidae). American Museum novitates ; no. 3339(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2001) Platnick, Norman I.; Ubick, Darrell.A new genus, Socalchemmis, is established for one of the three main groups of spiders from California and adjacent areas that are closely related to the Appalachian genus Liocranoides Keyserling. Although only one species belonging to the genus appears to have been described, as Anachemmis dolichopus Chamberlin, the genus includes two species groups and at least 15 additional species. Eleven new species are described from California: S. gertschi, S. bixleri, S. shantzi, S. cruz, S. monterey, S. icenoglei, S. cajalco, S. palomar, S. idyllwild, S. miramar, and S. prenticei; one new species (S. kastoni) is apparently widespread in southern California, Arizona, and Baja California Norte, and three other new species (S. rothi, S. williamsi, and S. catavina) are described from northern Baja California Norte.Item A revision of the spider genus Drassinella (Araneae, Liocranidae). American Museum novitates ; ; no. 2937.(New York, N.Y. : American Museum of Natural History, 1989) Platnick, Norman I.; Ubick, Darrell.Item A revision of the spider genus Zorocrates Simon (Araneae, Zorocratidae) ; American Museum novitates, no. 3579(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2007) Platnick, Norman I.; Ubick, Darrell.The spider genus Zorocrates is revised, and comprises at least 31 species found from the southern United States south to Central America; it provides a notable example of the loss of a functional cribellum within a relatively small (but seemingly monophyletic) group of species. Two specific names are removed from synonymy: Z. gnaphosoides O. P.-Cambridge and Z. mordax O. P.-Cambridge (from Z. fuscus Simon and Z. mistus O. P.-Cambridge, respectively). Two other specific names are newly synonymized: Z. isolatus Gertsch and Davis, with Z. unicolor (Banks), and Z. petersi Kraus, with Z. gnaphosoides O. P.-Cambridge. Males are newly described for Z. badius Simon and Z. pictus Simon; females are newly described for Z. karli Gertsch and Riechert. Twenty new species are described from Texas and Mexico.Item Tarsal organ morphology and the phylogeny of goblin spiders (Araneae, Oonopidae), with notes on basal genera. (American Museum novitates, no. 3736)(American Museum of Natural History., 2012-02-29) Platnick, Norman I.; Abrahim, Naiara.; Alvarez-Padilla, Fernando.; Andriamalala, Daniela.; Baehr, Barbara, 1953-; Baert, L.; Bonaldo, Alexandre B.; Brescovit, Antonio D.; Chousou-Polydouri, Natalia.; Dupérré, N. (Nadine); Eichenberger, Beata.; Fannes, Wouter.; Gaublomme, Eva.; Gillespie, Rosemary G., 1957-; Grismado, Cristian J.; Griswold, Charles E.; Harvey, Mark S.; Henrard, Arnaud.; Hormiga, Gustavo.; Izquierdo, Matías A.; Jocqué, R.; Kranz-Baltensperger, Yvonne.; Kropf, Christian.; Ott, Ricardo.; Ramírez, Martín J.; Raven, Robert J.; Rheims, Cristina A.; Ruiz, Gustavo R. S.; Santos, Adalberto J.; Saucedo, Alma D.; Sierwald, Petra.; Szűts, Tamás.; Ubick, Darrell.; Wang, Xin-Ping.Based on a survey of a wide variety of oonopid genera and outgroups, we hypothesize new synapomorphies uniting the Oonopidae (minus the South African genus Calculus Purcell, which is transferred to the Orsolobidae). The groundplan of the tarsal organ in Oonopidae is hypothesized to be an exposed organ with a distinctive, longitudinal ridge originating from the proximal end of the organ, and a serially dimorphic pattern of 4-4-3-3 raised receptors on legs I-IV, respectively. Such organs typify the diverse, basal, and ancient genus Orchestina Simon. Several other genera whose members resemble Orchestina in retaining two plesiomorphic features (an H-shaped, transverse eye arrangement and a heavily sclerotized, thick-walled sperm duct within the male palp) are united by having tarsal organs that are partly (in the case of Cortestina Knoflach) or fully capsulate (in the case of Sulsula Simon, Xiombarg Brignoli, and Unicorn Platnick and Brescovit). The remaining oonopids are united by the loss of the heavily sclerotized palpal sperm duct, presumably reflecting a significant transformation in palpal mechanics. Within that large assemblage, a 4-4-3-3 tarsal organ receptor pattern and an H-shaped eye arrangement seem to be retained only in the New Zealand genus Kapitia Forster; the remaining genera are apparently united by a reduction in the tarsal organ pattern to 3-3-2-2 raised receptors on legs I-IV and by the acquisition of a clumped eye arrangement. Three subfamilies of oonopids are recognized: Orchestininae Chamberlin and Ivie (containing only Orchestina; Ferchestina Saaristo and Marusik is placed as a junior synonym of Orchestina), Sulsulinae, new subfamily (containing Sulsula, Xiombarg, Unicorn, and Cortestina), and Oonopinae Simon (containing all the remaining genera, including those previously placed in the Gamasomorphinae). The type species of Sulsula and Kapitia, S. pauper (O. P.-Cambridge) and K. obscura Forster, are redescribed, and the female of S. pauper is described for the first time. A new sulsuline genus, Dalmasula, is established for Sulsula parvimana Simon and four new species from Namibia and South Africa.