19th European Arachnological Colloquium Poster presentation.

Bacelarella (Araneae, Salticidae) in Eastern Ivory Coast: salticid radiation in a poorly lit environment.

 Tamás Szűts 1 & Rudy Jocqué 2
1 Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest, Baross u.13., H-1088 Hungary
2 Section Invertebrata, Royal Africa Museum, Tervuren, B-3080 Belgium

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Seven species of closely related, soil dwelling Bacelarella were discovered to live in sympatry in rain forest in eastern C?te D?Ivoire. Six of the species are new and are described in a paper in preparation: B. tentativa, B. pavidus, B. conjugans, B. dracula, B. iactans, B. tanohi. The seventh is the type species of the genus: Bacelarella fradei Berland et Millot, 1941 described from C?te d?Ivoire. The genus is characterized by the presence of paired external atria in the female and the combination of a lateral tegular apophysis and a flattened embolus in the male. The female of B. tentativa is still unknown and is only tentatively attached to the genus; it might be the most ancestral species in the cline. The case is an excellent example of evolutionary acquisition of complex secondary genitalia under relative somatic stability. It is assumed that in the poorly lit forest floor habitat, instead of the elaboration of courtship, the evolution of complex secondary genitalia is favoured. The study emphasizes that the use of genitalic characters, as embolus size, which have often been used to delimit genera, should be used with great care.

20th European Arachnological Colloquium Member of the organizer comitee, Poster presentation.

The afromontane salticid genus Tomocyrba (Araneae: Salticidae) in Tanzania.

Tamás Szűts 1 &  Nikolaj Scharff 2
1Hungarian Natural History Museum, Baross u. 13., Budapest, Hungary H-1088
2 Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15., Copenhagen, Denmark

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 The afromontane jumping spider genus Tomocyrba is redefined; the type species of the genus: Tomocyrba decollata Simon, 1900 is redescribed, and seven new Tomocyrba species are described from the Eastern Arc mountains as new. Several representatives of two uncertain, but very similar species are also found; which makes the former definition of the genus based on the constriction between the PME-PLE less effective. The definition of the genus is based now on the hook shaped apophysis of the tegulum called „tegular hook” which have been found all the Tanzanian Tomocyrba males, and in Tomocyrba decollata and according to the drawings of Proszynski & Zabka obviously present in most of the other species, described from the mountains of Kenya, and the Kilimanjaro. Scanning electron micrographs of that newly discovered synapomorph caracter of the male palp, illustrations, distributon maps and key of the species provided. Now there are at least eight species in Tanzania, and all of them are endemic, as each occurs only on one mountain: one species found in the Uluguru Mts, one in the West Usambara Mts, one in the East Usambara Mts, while the Uzunwa Mts has at least four Tomocyrba species. Characters for further – cladistic and biogeographic – studies are proposed, the matrix of the species described here is presented.

A phylogenetic analysis of Thorelliola and its relatives (Araneae: Salticidae). Domir De Bakker 1 & Tamás Szűts 2
1 Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences,  Vautierstraat 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.
2 Hungarian Natural History Museum, Baross u. 13, Budapest, Hungary H-1088.

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The genus Thorelliola Strand, 1942 are comprised by conspicuous salticids: males have a horn composed by the clypeal setae. The horn seems to have a role during male-male interactions. A phylogenetic analysis was carried out based on characteristics of setae, and male copulatory organs. Nine strong setae are present in all Thorelliola-species, among them three compose a “triad”, which is found in all salticids. The two lower setae of the triad (hI-II) are stronger, longer and compose the “horn”. In several species (e.g. T. glabra & T. javaensis), hI-II sit on a truncated protuberance. There are three additional setae on both sides of the clypeus. The following characteristics were used in the analysis: shape of the bulbus, shape of the tibial apophysis, presence of retrolateral protuberance, latter with three setae, prolateral protuberance with a seta, femoral ventral spines, shape of embolus. As an outgroup we used a “Saitis sp.” sharing a “teeth like” outgrown on the outer ridge of the chelicerae. We included all the known Thorelliola-species (plus one new Thorelliola species), a new taxon (possible of generic status), and Pristobaeus jocosus Simon, 1902. The results shows that Thorelliola is monophyletic, supported by many synapomorphies. The new taxon is indeed a new genus and Pristobaeus seems to be the closest relative of Thorelliola. One species (T. dumicola) is excluded from Thorelliola as it does not fulfil the definition of the genus.

 Taxonomic revision and phylogenetic relationships of Hisponine genera (Araneae: Salticidae).

 Tamás Szűts 1 & Nikolaj Scharff 2
1 Hungarian Natural History Museum, Baross u. 13., Budapest, Hungary H-1088
2 Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15., Copenhagen, Denmark DK-2100

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The hisponine genera composing a distinct group of jumping spiders, as all have a constriction behind PME-s. The group possibly merit a subfamiliar status. At the moment three genera belong here: Hispo Simon, 1886; Tomocyrba Simon, 1900 and Massagris Simon, 1900. As genera Hispo and Massagris have been revised recently (by Wanless and Wesołowska respectively), our study focused mainly on Tomocyrba: it was hitherto known from Madagascar by two species and from East Africa by five species. Our results show, that “Tomocyrba” is a paraphyletic group and far more diverse, than previously thought. More than fifteen additional Madagascarian Tomocyrba sensu stricto species have been found, together with 40 more closely related, but not congeneric species. The East African Tomocyrba are not the closest relatives of the Madagascarian Tomocyrba species (where the type species belongs), and the differences are big enough to propose a generic status for them. The rest of the new taxa cannot include any of the known hisponine genera. It seems there are at least nine distinct groups. Although both somatic and in copulatory characters vary within a wide range amongst those groups, several characters could be used to delimit the “hisponine genera”: 1., carapace constriction; 2., tegular hook; 3., spination of the first Mt. The tegular hook seems to be very useful for reconstruction the phylogeny: it present in all groups. However this retrolateral outgrown is not a tegular apophysis, as it is not linked to the tegulum with a haematodocha. Hispo has a thin and long tegular hook, in the Madagascarian Tomocyrba it is a spine like outgrown, whereas the East African Tomocyrba species has a well developed hook. Massagris has it as a small spine. The other groups – not corresponding any of those genera – have the tegular hook in various size and shape: large or stout, straight or hook-shaped. According to the first phylogenetic approach of those genera, it seems, that Hispo and Massagris are more closely related with each other, than any with the Tomocyrba. However while Massagris and Hispo are monophyletic, Tomocyrba with its recent limit is paraphyletic. As most of the species occurs in Madagascar, it might be the speciation centre for those.

Phylogenetic placement of hisponine genera (Araneae: Salticidae).

 Tamás Szűts & Nikolaj Scharff
Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15., Copenhagen, Denmark DK-2100 VIEW SLIDE SHOW

The living genera Hispo Simon, 1886, Tomocyrba Simon, 1900 and Massagris Simon, 1900 share a unique morphological feature. They all have a carapace constriction behind the posterior median eyes and as a group they are therefore easy to recognize. The three genera have been placed in the subfamily Hisponinae by Simon, but the phylogenetic placement of the subfamily within Salticidae is controversial (sister to Ballinae, Euophrynae, etc.,). The phylogenetic analyses of basal salticids based on morphological evidence are severely hampered by the lack of information about the phylogenetic placement of salticids within Araneae. Thus character polarity within Salticidae depends on the choice of outgroup, and as long as we do not know the sister group, we cannot make convincing statements about the phylogenetic placement within the family. Several families (Oxyopidae, Miturgidae, araneoids, Clubionidae, Liocranidae, Thomisidae, etc.) have been suggested as possible outgroups to Salticidae by different authors, but there is still no concensus. We have tried to place the hisponine genera in the salticid phylogeny, using a variety of the suggested outgroups, but the results are highly ambiguous. The problems encountered are discussed and include 1) selection of outgroup 2) homology of male palpal sclerites, and 3) the lack of illustrations depicting the somatic morphology and it variability within Salticidae. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies have supported earlier morphologically based suggestions about a basal position of Lyssomanes within Salticidae, but molecular studies are also subject to some of the same problems encountered by morphological studies. The differences between the recently published molecular phylogenies and our morphological based study are discussed, and the importance of morphological studies based on expanded male palpi and a wider selection of somatic morphology are emphasized.  

 Tamás Szűts*, Nikolaj Scharff* & Volker Framenau**
*Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15., Copenhagen, Denmark DK-2100
**Department of Terrestrial Zoology Western Australian Museum Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, WA 6986 AUSTRALIA

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The spider genus Arkys is only known from the Austral-Pacific region. It was originally established by Walckenaer (1837) to hold some very conspicuous triangular spiders from New Guinea and Australia, but was synonymised with the “bird-dropping” mimics belonging to the genus Archemorus in 1984. The morphology and biology (as far as it is known) of the genus is remarkable and the genus has therefore been placed in several different families since it original description. It is currently placed in Araneidae, but was formerly placed in what is currently known as Tetragnathidae, Mimetidae and Thomisidae. We have examined the morphology of the genus in detail in connection with an ongoing project on araneid phylogeny, and we here present details on the genitalia and somatic morphology and discuss character homology in light of previous and present family assignments. .