Descriptions of four new trapdoor spider species in the subfamily Ummidiinae from Thailand (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Halonoproctidae)

Abstract

Males and females of four mygalomorph spider species (family Halonoproctidae, subfamily Ummidiinae) are newly described from Thailand, and the taxonomy of Ummidiinae is discussed. This is the first time that trapdoor spider species in this subfamily are described from Thailand. Two of these new species belong to the genus Conothele, the other two species are placed in the genus Latouchia. Conothele martensi spec. nov. was found in the north of the country (Chiang Mai Province), C. isan spec. nov. and Latouchia incerta spec. nov. were collected in northeastern Thailand (Buri Ram Province, Surin Province and Roi Et Province), and L. maculosa spec. nov. was found in the southern coastal province of Prachuap Khiri Khan.

The Nemesia trapdoor spider fauna of the Maltese archipelago, with the description of two new species (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Nemesiidae)

“…Figures were composed using Photoshop Elements 2021, lettering was done with Apple Preview. Observation techniques on preserved specimens are described in Decae et al (2021).…”

“…Terminology follows Decae et al (2021), except for terms that are of particular descriptive value for the genus Nemesia. Nemesia males carry distinctive 'armature' on the pedipalps and first legs that supposedly have a function in copulation and qualify as secondary sexual characters.…”

“…In fact, these species construct very different tree-nests from that of N. arboricola. The main difference is that the species that Pocock envisioned do not excavate burrows, as all other trapdoor spider species including N. arboricola do, but construct short cocoon-shaped, or cigar-shaped nests of silk and debris that they attach to the surfaces of tree trunks or other hard surfaces (Griswold 1987;Schwendinger 2003;Decae et al 2021). Such spider nests have never been found in Malta.…”

Correlation with a limited set of behavioral niches explains the convergence of somatic morphology in mygalomorph spiders

“…Many nests have two trapdoor entrances, one at each end, and this probably allows greater exploitation of this expanded prey-capture area and provides a second escape route from predators. Nests also allow the exploitation of new microhabitats, as they are often constructed off the ground, on tree trunks or cave walls (Decae et al, 2021;Griswold & Ledford, 2001;Raven, 1986). In this way, evolution from a burrow to a nest represents an evolutionary pathway with similar trade-offs to the opportunistic, web-building niche: the sacrifice of microclimate regulation for an expanded foraging area and exploitation of a different microhabitat.…”

Two new species of the genus Latouchia Pocock, 1901 from southeast China (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Halonoproctidae)

“…The relative scarcity of specimens in museum collections might be the reason why this genus was rarely known in taxonomy (Haupt and Shimojana 2001). Decae (2019) and Decae et al (2021) questioned the unity of Latouchia and Decae and Caranhac (2020) re-established L. fossoria Pocock, 1901 as the type species of the genus. For the fauna of China, eight species and one subspecies of Latouchia were recorded (World Spider Catalog 2021): L. cornuta Song, Qiu & Zheng, 1983;L.…”