To boldly go: on invasive goblin spiders in Brazil (Araneae, Oonopidae)

Abstract

Twelve non-native species of the spider family Oonopidae are recorded in Brazil: Brignolia dasysterna Platnick, Dupérré, Ott & Kranz-Baltensperger, 2011, B. parumpunctata (Simon, 1893), Triaeris stenaspis Simon, 1892, Ischnothyreus peltifer (Simon, 1892), I. velox Jackson, 1908, Opopaea concolor (Blackwall, 1859), O. deserticola Simon, 1892, Pelicinus marmoratus Simon, 1892, Heteroonops spinimanus (Simon, 1892), Gamasomorpha parmata (Thorell, 1890) (herein restored to its original combination in Xestaspis), Orchestina pavesiiformis Saaristo, 2007 and O. dentifera (Simon, 1893). Among these species, six new synonyms were detected: Hytanis oblonga Simon, 1893, Xestaspis bipeltis Thorell, 1895, Gamasomorpha insularis Simon, 1907 and Opopaea lutzi Petrunkevitch, 1929 with Xestaspis parmata Thorell, 1890; Gammasomorpha humilis Mello-Leitão, 1920 with Opopaea concolor (Blackwall, 1859) and Gamasomorpha rufa Banks, 1898 with Opopaea deserticola Simon, 1891. Since Hytanis oblonga is the type species of the genus, its synonymy with Xestaspis parmata imply in the synonymy of Hytanis Simon, 1893 with Xestaspis Simon, 1884. The partenogenetic species T. stenaspis is the most distributed synanthropic oonopid in Brazil, occurring all over the country, mainly in urban areas. Some species are reported here to occur in the interior of natural caves, a finding that should raise conservation concerns.

Ground spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) associated with urban forest fragments in southern Amazon

“…In this study, the species was found in Horto Florestal, a fragment with a regular IBI, characterized by anthropic pressures by the population. In addition to the new record reported in this study, in the Amazon of Mato Grosso State, O. concolor is also found in 37 other Brazilian locations in the states of Bahia, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul (Brescovit et al 2019).…”

“…Abundance ( Sinop, occurring in Horto Florestal, an area of marked urban influence. This species was known only from the Pantanal area of Poconé, in the south of the state (Brescovit et al 2019).…”

“…For O. concolor, which is considered a pantropical species introduced in Brazil (Platnick & Dupérré 2009), a very pronounced invasive and synanthropic behavior was observed, which caused this species to be present in areas intensely disturbed by human activities. These include urban areas, houses, buildings or even caves (Brescovit et al 2019), and, now, forest fragments in the urban matrix of Sinop. In this study, the species was found in Horto Florestal, a fragment with a regular IBI, characterized by anthropic pressures by the population.…”

Imperfect and askew: A review of asymmetric genitalia in araneomorph spiders (Araneae: Araneomorphae)

“…Other cases difficult to assess are: the reduction of spermathecae to a single receptacle, as seen in some oonopids [67,69,71,93], pholcids [73,76,77], and telemids [22,62,63,[80][81][82] (Fig 2f and 2g); and the presence of odd numbered spermathecae in some sicariids [19,78,79,94], ochyroceratids [18,72,95] (Fig 2b and 2c) and probably some mecymaucheniids [96]. Both phenomena can sometimes generate a seemingly asymmetric morphology.…”

Taxonomic study of the genus Ischnothyreus Simon, 1893 from Myanmar (Araneae, Oonopidae)

“…This genus is an Old World taxon, being represented in the New World by only two species, I. peltifer and I. velox Jackson, 1908, both of which are assumed to be introduced (Platnick et al 2012;Brescovit et al 2019).…”