Description of a new genus and three new species of the family Palpimanidae (Arachnida, Araneae) from Kenya

A new genus and three new species of the spider family Palpimanidae Thorell, 1870 from Kenya are described. Sceliscelis Oketch & Li, gen. nov. is close to Sarascelis Simon, 1887 and Scelidocteus Simon, 1907 but differs in the structure of the male palp. The new species reported are Sceliscelis marshi Oketch & Li, sp. nov., Scelidocteus taitave Oketch & Li, sp. nov., and Hybosida machondogo Oketch & Li, sp. nov.Sceliscelis marshisp. nov. is described from males and females collected from Tsavo in south Kenya. Scelidocteus taitavesp. nov. can be distinguished from other congeners, as well as from the morphologically similar Scelidomachus socotranus Pocock, 1899, by the shape of the palpal “conductor”. Hybosida machondogosp. nov. differs from other six-eyed Hybosida spp. by possessing rudimentary posterior median eyes.

Visual pathways in the brain of the jumping spider Marpissa muscosa

Some animals have evolved task differentiation among their eyes. A particular example is spiders, where most species have eight eyes, of which two (the principal eyes) are used for object discrimination, whereas the other three pairs (secondary eyes) detect movement. In the spider species Cupiennius salei these two eye types correspond to two visual pathways in the brain. Each eye is associated with its own first and second order visual neuropil. The second order neuropils of the principal eyes are connected to the arcuate body, whereas the second order neuropils of the secondary eyes are linked to the mushroom body. However, eye size and visual fields are considerably different in jumping spiders. We explored the principal- and secondary eye visual pathways of the jumping spider Marpissa muscosa. We found that the connectivity of the principal eye pathway is the same as in C. salei, while there are differences in the secondary eye pathways. In M. muscosa, all secondary eyes are connected to their own first order visual neuropils. The first order visual neuropils of the anterior lateral and posterior lateral eyes are further connected with two second order visual neuropils, whereas the posterior median eyes lack second order visual neuropils and their axons project only to the arcuate body. This suggests that the posterior median eyes probably do not serve movement detection in M. muscosa. Furthermore, the second order visual neuropil (L2) in Marpissa muscosa potentially integrates information from the secondary eyes and might thus enable faster movement decisions.

Myrmarachnine jumping spiders of the new subtribe Levieina from Papua New Guinea (Araneae, Salticidae, Myrmarachnini)

A previously unreported radiation of myrmarachnine jumping spiders from New Guinea is described, which, although having few known species, is remarkably diverse in body forms. This clade is the new subtribe Levieina, represented by seven new species in three new genera. WithinLevieagen. n.are three new species,L.herbertisp. n.,L.lornaesp. n., andL.francesaesp. n., all of which are unusual among the myrmarachnines in appearing as typical salticids, not antlike.Papuamyrgen. n.superficially resemblesLigonipesKarsch, 1878 orRhombonotusL. Koch, 1879 as a compact antlike spider, but lacks their laterally-compressed palp and bears an ectal spur on the paturon of the chelicera. Two species ofPapuamyrgen. n.are described,Papuamyromhifosgasp. n.andP.pandorasp. n.Agorioidesgen. n., containingA.cherubinosp. n.andA.papagenasp. n., is antlike, with the carapace sunken inwards (concave) between the posterior lateral and posterior median eyes. Phylogenetic analysis of data from the 28S, 16SND1, and COI gene regions of 29 species of myrmarachnines shows that the three new genera form a clade that is sister to the subtribe Myrmarachnina (Myrmarachnesensu lato), with the subtribe Ligonipedina less closely related.

A new species of Phonotimpus Gertsch & Davis, 1940 (Araneae: Phrurolithidae) from Mexico

The genus Phonotimpus Gertsch & Davis, 1940 includes four species all known only from Mexico (World Spider Catalog 2018). P. separatus and P. eutypus were described by Gertsch & Davis (1940) from San Luis Potosí and from Nuevo León, respectively. Phonotimpus pennimani and P. talquian, described by Chamé-Vázquez, Ibarra-Núñez & Jiménez (2018), are the southernmost species in this genus (Chamé-Vázquez et al. 2018), and have restricted allopatric geographic distributions in Chiapas. This genus differs from other American phrurolithid genera by the following combination of characters: posterior eye row recurved, posterior median eyes closer to posterior lateral eyes than to each other, posterior median eyes smaller than posterior lateral eyes, females with dorsal scutum on the opisthosoma; palpi of males with retrolateral and dorsal tibial apophyses not joined at the base, and copulatory bulb with a conductor, embolus and embolar basal process (Gertsch & Davis 1940; Penniman 1985; Chamé-Vázquez et al. 2018). In this paper, a new species of Phonotimpus is described and illustrated, based on specimens collected in soil of a pine-oak forest in the state of Mexico.

A new species of Tegenaria Latreille, 1804 (Araneae: Agelenidae) from western Iran

Agelenidae is a species rich and globally-distributed spider family comprising 1274 species in 77 genera (World Spider Catalog 2018). In Iran, this family is currently represented by eight species in four genera (Zamani et al. 2018). Being the second largest genus of the family (after Draconarius Ovtchinnikov, 1999), Tegenaria Latreille, 1804, currently encompasses 105 species that are primarily distributed in the Palaearctic (World Spider Catalog 2018; Marusik & Zamani 2015). So far, four species of this genus are known from Iran: Tegenaria domestica (Clerck, 1758) (western, northern, central and eastern Iran), T. lenkoranica (Guseinov et al., 2005) (northern Iran), T. pagana C.L. Koch, 1840 (northern Iran), and the endemic T. zamanii Marusik et Omelko, 2014 (northern Iran) (Zamani et al. 2018). Two of these species, T. lenkoranica and T. zamanii have been reported from caves (Malek-Hosseini & Zamani 2017). Considering the lack of studies on this genus in Iran, many species are undoubtedly awaiting to be discovered. During the biospeleological investigations of Zagros Mountains, a new species of Tegenaria was collected in western Iran, which is described and illustrated in this paper. The specimens were photographed using an Olympus Camedia E-520 camera attached to an Olympus SZX16 stereomicroscope and digital images were prepared using “CombineZP” image stacking software. Leg ratios were measured on the dorsal side and all measurements are given in millimeters. Measurements of leg are listed as: total length (femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus). Standard abbreviations were used for the eyes: AME, anterior median eyes; ALE, anterior lateral eyes; PME, posterior median eyes; PLE, posterior lateral eyes. The specimens will be deposited in the Manchester Museum of the University of Manchester (MMUE).

A new species of Charinus Simon, 1892 (Arachnida: Amblypygi: Charinidae) from Israel and new records of C. ioanniticus (Kritscher, 1959)

A new species of Charinus is described from Israel and new localities for C. ioanniticus are reported. Charinus israelensis sp. nov. is a cave dwelling species with extremely small median eyes, no median tubercle and reduced lateral eyes. It is similar to C. ioanniticus, which occurs in nearby areas, but can be differentiated by the shape of the carapace, the number of pedipalp spines and the development of the eyes. A detailed comparison is made between the two species, including pictures, drawings and scanning electron micrographs. Charinus ioanniticus is reported here from several new localities in Israel and Turkey. Identification keys to the Charinus species groups and to the species of the bengalensis group are provided.

Nocturnal foraging enhanced by enlarged secondary eyes in a net-casting spider

Animals that possess extreme sensory structures are predicted to have a related extreme behavioural function. This study focuses on one such extreme sensory structure—the posterior median eyes of the net-casting spider Deinopis spinosa. Although past research has implicated the importance of vision in the nocturnal foraging habits of Deinopis , no direct link between vision in the enlarged eyes and nocturnal foraging has yet been made. To directly test the hypothesis that the enlarged posterior median eyes facilitate visually based nocturnal prey capture, we conducted repeated-measures, visual occlusion trials in both natural and laboratory settings. Our results indicate that D. spinosa relies heavily on visual cues detected by the posterior median eyes to capture cursorial prey items. We suggest that the enlarged posterior median eyes benefit D. spinosa not only through increased diet breadth, but also by allowing spiders to remain active solely at night, thus evading predation by diurnal animals.

Ballomma, a new Afrotropical genus in the Cryptothelinae (Araneae, Zodariidae): eyes on the run

Ballomma gen. nov. is described in the zodariid subfamily Cryptothelinae. It is characterized by the pairs of adjacent anterior median eyes and anterior lateral eyes and triangular palpal tarsus in the female, the concave tegulum with thin embolus in the male. Apart from the type species B. erasmus gen. et sp. nov. (♂♀), the genus contains B. haddadi gen. et sp. nov. (♂♀), B. neethlingi gen. et sp. nov. (♂♀), and B. legala gen. et sp. nov. (♀). A key to the species is provided. The restricted distribution of the genus is discussed.