Episinus Walckenaer

Durán-Barrón, César G., Rosas, María V. & Contreras-Ramos, Atilano, 2013, Phylogenetic relationships of the comb-footed spider subfamily Spintharinae (Araneae, Araneoidea, Theridiidae), with generic diagnoses and a key to the genera, Zootaxa 3666 (2), pp. 171-193 : 186-187

Episinus Walckenaer , in Latreille, 1809

( Fig. 8 D–F)

Walckenaer, in Latreille, 1809. Genera Crustaceorum et Insectorum, vol. 4, p. 371. Type species by monotypy: E. truncates Latreille, 1809 , ibid.

Diagnosis. The opisthosoma is straight in relation to the location of the pedicel while in all other spintharine genera it is inclined. Also, the posterior portion of the opisthosoma is widest in dorsal view ( Fig. 8 D–E), while in the remaining genera the widest portion is anterior or in the middle. An “H”-like architecture of the web is shared with Thwaitesia and Spintharus . Levi (1954a, 1964a) included the characters horns between the anterior eyes, eyes often on tubercles, and eyes with reddish pigment, as diagnostic characters, all of which we could not observe in the specimens examined.

Distribution. Worldwide, mainly in warmer areas; relatively species rich in North, Central, and South America, poorly known from the Caribbean (Platnick 2013).

Material examined. Episius amoenus : MEXICO, Hidalgo, 10–20 miles south of Jacala, 20 July 1956, V. Roth & W. Gertsch, 1 3 (AMNH). U. S. A., North Carolina, Buncombe County, Valley 2 1/ 2 mi S of Black Mt., 2400 m, 23 June 1951, A. F. Archer, 1 Ƥ (AMNH). E. bruneoviridis : PANAMA, C[anal] Zone, Barro Colorado Island, 3–20 April 1953, A. M. Nadler, 1 Ƥ (AMNH). E. cognatus : MEXICO, Jalisco, Estación de Biología Chamela, 7 August 1989, S. Guzmán, 1 3 (CNAN); same data but 16 August 1989, S. Guzmán, 1 3 (CNAN); same data but 29 October 1989, S. Guzmán, 1 3 (CNAN); same data but 15 November 1990, S. Guzmán, 2 3 (CNAN); same data but 15 November 1990, S. Guzmán, 2 3 (CNAN); same data but 0 2 June 1998, J. L. Castelo, 2 Ƥ, 3 3 (CNAN); same data but 0 2 September 1998, S. Guzmán, 1 Ƥ (CNAN); Jalisco, Mpio. La Huerta, Estación de Biología Chamela, Sendero del Tejón, 19.50501° N, 105.08326° W, 3 October 2010, R. Paredes, G. Montiel- Parra, D. Barrales, G. Contreras, 1 Ƥ (CNAN); same data but 4 October 2010, R. Paredes, G. Montiel-Parra, D. Barrales, G. Contreras, 1 Ƥ [diurnal collecting] (CNAN). E. erythrophthalmus : PANAMA, Canal Zone, Forest Reserve, 4–6 July 1939, A. M. Chickering, 1 Ƥ, 1 3 (AMNH).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Opisthosoma (dorsal view). A, Chrosiothes chirica Ƥ; B, C. silvaticus Ƥ; C, C. portalensis Ƥ; D, Episinus bruneoviridis Ƥ; E, E. erythrophthalmus 3; F, E. cognatus Ƥ.