Stasimopus Simon 1892

Brandt, Shannon, Sole, Catherine & Lyle, Robin, 2023, An integrative taxonomy of the genus Stasimopus Simon 1892 (Araneae: Mygalomorphae) of the Karoo with the description of nine new species and a Stasimopus maraisi Hewitt 1914 male, Zootaxa 5341 (1), pp. 1-60 : 15-19

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5341.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8EFAFE67-8C74-46D4-A4F7-966822C8DEBC
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8326593
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03D88786-FFA8-8B7E-FF12-FEDCFA36F260
treatment provided by	Plazi (2023-09-07 06:51:34, last updated 2024-11-27 01:45:00)
scientific name	Stasimopus Simon 1892
status

Treatment

Genus Stasimopus Simon 1892 View in CoL View at ENA

Simon 1892: 82; Pocock 1897: 726–728; Hewitt 1915b: 75–85; Roewer 1942: 159; Raven 1985: 143–144; Dippenaar-Schoeman 2002: 31–38; Engelbrecht and Prendini 2012: 8.

Type species: Stasimopus caffrus ( Koch 1842) View in CoL .

Diagnosis: The family Stasimopidae is monogeneric ( Opatova et al. 2020. The characters for distinguishing this genus thus applies to the family. The family differs from other Ctenizid-like taxa based on the following suite of characteristics based on Raven (1985): The tibia of leg III lacking a saddle-like excavation, the ocelli is twice as wide as it is long and the anterior lobe of the maxillae is anteriorly produced ( Engelbrecht & Prendini 2012; Opatova et al. 2020).

Description:

General: Medium to large bodied spiders (22–42 mm) ( Dippenaar-Schoeman 2002).

Carapace: Cephalic region dome shaped with procurved fovea ( Dippenaar-Schoeman 2002). In S. filmeri , the fovea forms into horn-like protrusion ( Engelbrecht & Prendini 2012).

Ocelli: The eyes occur in single cluster on forefront of cephalic region and eyes arranged in two transverse rows ( Dippenaar-Schoeman 2002; Pocock 1897). Posterior row wider than anterior row ( Dippenaar-Schoeman 2002; Raven 1985).

Chelicerae: Distinct rastellum with thick spines, as well as cheliceral furrow with two rows of teeth ( Dippenaar-Schoeman 2002).

Sternum, labium and maxillae: The sternum has single pair of sigilla present. Sigilla are situated opposite III coxa ( Dippenaar-Schoeman 2002; Pocock 1897). In some male species sigilla are fused at anterior end, forming an arrow-like shape. Labium cuspules present in females and bare in males ( Dippenaar-Schoeman 2002). Maxilla has longer process only at distal end forming a long cone ( Pocock 1897; Raven 1985). Maxilla has few basal teeth present ( Pocock 1897).

Abdomen: Varies in colour. Four spinnerets. Posterior spinnerets have domed apical segments ( Dippenaar-Schoeman 2002).

Pedipalps: Male bulb is simple pyriform ( Dippenaar-Schoeman 2002).

Legs: Female legs are short and stocky. Three tarsal claws present, the paired claw with one large tooth and two smaller teeth below, third claw is untoothed ( Dippenaar-Schoeman 2002). Distal segments of leg I and II densely spined ( Dippenaar-Schoeman 2002). Males have long slender legs.

Spermathecae: Multilobular ( Dippenaar-Schoeman 2002).

Distribution: The genus is currently recorded from Lesotho and South Africa, in all provinces except Limpopo. It is an endemic to the Afrotropical region.

Included taxa: In this paper, nine new species are described and a description of a S. maraisi male. This increases the number of species in the genus to 56, with 23 of them found in the Karoo region.

Key to adult females of five Stasimopus species in the Karoo region

1. Tuft of spines present ventrally on metatarsus III ( Fig 20E View FIGURE 20 ).................................................... 2

- Tuft of spines not present ventrally on metatarsus III......................................................... 3

2. Patch of spinules on metatarsus I extends ½ the segment length ( Fig 20A View FIGURE 20 )........................ S. hamartia sp. nov.

- Patch of spinules on metatarsus I extends ¼ the segment length ( Fig 38A View FIGURE 38 ).................... S. venterstadensis sp. nov.

3. Chelicera with extremely dense denticles (>45) ( Fig 34C View FIGURE 34 )........................................ S. theaei sp. nov.

- Chelicera with few denticles (<15) ( Fig 23C View FIGURE 23 )............................................................... 4

4. Metatarsus III with>26 spines in each row dorsally ( Fig 24C View FIGURE 24 )...................................... S. ignis sp. nov.

- Metatarsus III with <21 spines in each row dorsally ( Fig 31E View FIGURE 31 )...................................... S. teras sp. nov.

Key to adult males of six Stasimopus species in the Karoo region*

* S. hamartia not included due to damaged state.

1. The largest eye is the AME ( Fig 11D View FIGURE 11 )..................................................................... 2

- The largest eye is the ALE ( Fig 11B View FIGURE 11 )...................................................................... 3

2. Embolus extends posteriorly in relation to pedipalp tibia ( Fig 29B View FIGURE 29 )............................ S. malesociatus sp. nov.

- Embolus extends perpendicularly in relation to pedipalp tibia ( Fig 27A View FIGURE 27 ).......................... S. karooensis sp. nov.

3. Pedipalp reaches <1/5 of tibia I length..................................................................... 4

- Pedipalp reaches>1/3 of tibia I length..................................................................... 5

4. The carapace is smooth in texture ( Fig 7D View FIGURE 7 )................................................... S. maraisi View in CoL sp. nov.

- The carapace is rugose in texture ( Fig 5B View FIGURE 5 )...................................................... S. finni sp. nov.

5. Embolus extends almost parallel in relation to pedipalp tibia ( Fig 10B View FIGURE 10 ).............................. S. dylani sp. nov.

- Embolus extends distally in relation to pedipalp tibia ( Fig 25B View FIGURE 25 )..................................... S. ignis sp. nov.

References

Dippenaar-Schoeman, A. S. (2002) s. n. In: Baboon and Trapdoor Spiders of Southern Africa: An Identification Manual. Plant Production Research Institute, Agricultural Research Council, Pretoria, pp. 29 - 38.

Engelbrecht, I. & Prendini, L. (2012) Cryptic diversity of South African trapdoor spiders: Three new species of Stasimopus Simon, 1892 (Mygalomorphae, Ctenizidae), and redescription of Stasimopus robertsi Hewitt, 1910. American Museum Novitates, 3732, 1 - 42. https: // doi. org / 10.1206 / 3732.2

Hewitt, J. (1915 b) New South African Arachnida. Annals of the Natal Museum, 3, 289 - 327. https: // doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. part. 7433

Koch, C. L. (1842) Die Arachniden. Neunter Band. Zeh'sche Buchhandlung, Nurnberg, 98 pp.

Opatova, V., Hamilton, C. A., Hedin, M., de Oca, L. M., Kral, J. & Bond, J. E. (2020) Phylogenetic Systematics and Evolution of the Spider Infraorder Mygalomorphae Using Genomic Scale Data. Systematic Biology, 69 (4), 671 - 707. https: // doi. org / 10.1093 / sysbio / syz 064

Pocock, R. I. (1897) On the Spiders of the Suborder Mygalomorphae from the Ethiopian Region contained in the Collection of the British Museum. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 65, 724 - 774. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1096 - 3642.1897. tb 03116. x

Raven, R. J. (1985) The spider infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): cladistics and systematics. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 182, 1 - 180.

Roewer, C. F. (1942) Katalog der Araneae von 1758 bis 1940. Bremen, 1, 1 - 1040.

Simon, E. (1892) Histoire naturelle des araignees. Tome Premier. Deuxieme Edition. Roret, Paris, 256 pp. https: // doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. title. 51973

Figures

FIGURE 5. Three Stasimopus species in habitus view. (A) Male of Stasimopus dylani sp. nov. (NCA 2019/663). (B) Male of Stasimopus finni sp. nov. (NCA 2019/605). (C) Female of Stasimopus hamartia sp. nov. (NCA 2017/1852). (D) Male of Stasimopus hamartia sp. nov. (NCA 2017/1891). Scale: 1cm.

FIGURE 7. Four Stasimopus species in habitus view. (A) Female of Stasimopus teras sp. nov. (NCA 2019/643). (B) Female of Stasimopus theaei sp. nov. (NCA 2019/606). (C) Female of Stasimopus venterstadensis sp. nov. (NCA 2019/610). (D). Male of Stasimopus maraisi (NCA 2019/630). Scale: 1cm.

FIGURE 10. Male of Stasimopus dylani sp. nov. (NCA 2019/663). (A) Pedipalp tibia, bulb, retrolateral aspect. (B) Pedipalp tibia, bulb, prolateral aspect. (C) Leg I metatarsus, tarsus. Ventral aspect. (D) Leg III metatarsus, tarsus. Ventral aspect. (E) Leg IV metatarsus, tarsus. Ventral aspect. (F) Leg III tibia, dorsal aspect. Scale: 0.5mm. (G) Leg IV patella, dorsal aspect. Scale: 1mm.

FIGURE 11. Ocular patterns for the male Stasimopus Simon, 1892 species. (A) S. dylani sp. nov. (NCA 2019/663). (B) Stasimopus finni sp. nov. (NCA 2019/605). (C) Stasimopus ignis sp. nov. (NCA 2019/642). (D) Stasimopus karooensis sp. nov. (SAM-ENW-C007293). Scale: 1mm.

FIGURE 20. Female of Stasimopus hamartia sp. nov. (NCA 2017/1852). (A) Leg I tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Dorsal aspect. (B) Leg II tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Dorsal aspect. (C) Leg III tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Dorsal aspect. (D). Leg IV partial tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Prolateral aspect. (E) Leg III metatarsal tuft. Ventral aspect. (F) Leg IV metatarsus preening comb. Scale: 1mm.

FIGURE 23. Female of Stasimopus ignis sp. nov. (NCA 2019/653). (A) Sternum with fused labium and visible sigilla (as shown by the arrows). (B) Labium teeth. (C) Fangs with cheliceral teeth. Scale: 1mm.

FIGURE 24. Female of Stasimopus ignis sp. nov. (NCA 2019/653). (A) Leg I tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Dorsal aspect. (B) Leg II tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Dorsal aspect. (C) Leg III tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Dorsal aspect. (D). Leg IV partial tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Prolateral aspect. (E) Leg IV metatarsus preening comb. Scale: 1mm.

FIGURE 25. Male of Stasimopus ignis sp. nov. (NCA 2019/642). (A) Pedipalp tibia, bulb, retrolateral aspect. (B) Pedipalp tibia, bulb, prolateral aspect. (C) Pedipalpal bulb, ventral aspect. (D) Cheliceral teeth. (E) Sternum with fused labium and visible sigilla (as shown by the arrows). (F) Leg I tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Ventral aspect. (G) Leg III metatarsus, tarsus. Ventral aspect. (H) Leg IV metatarsus. Ventral aspect. Scale: 1mm.

FIGURE 27. Male of Stasimopus karooensis sp. nov. (SAM-ENW-C007293). (A) Pedipalp tibia, bulb, retrolateral aspect. (B) Pedipalp tibia, bulb, prolateral aspect. (C) Sternum with fused labium and visible sigilla (as shown by the arrows). (D) Leg I partial tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Ventral aspect. (E) Leg III metatarsus, tarsus. Ventral aspect. (F) Leg IV metatarsus, tarsus. Ventral aspect. Scale: 1mm.

FIGURE 29. Male of Stasimopus malesociatus sp. nov. (AMGS-5367). (A) Pedipalp tibia, bulb, retrolateral aspect. (B) Pedipalp tibia, bulb, prolateral aspect. (C) Pedipalpal bulb, ventral aspect. (D) Sternum with fused labium and visible sigilla (as shown by the arrows). (E) Leg I tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Ventral aspect. (F) Leg IV metatarsus. Ventral aspect. Scale: 1mm.

FIGURE 31. Female of Stasimopus teras sp. nov. (NCA 2019/643). (A) Sternum with fused labium and visible sigilla (as shown by the arrows). (B) Labium teeth. (C) Fangs with cheliceral teeth. (D) Leg I tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Dorsal aspect. (E) Leg III tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Dorsal aspect. Scale: 1mm.

FIGURE 34. Female of Stasimopus theaei sp. nov. (NCA 2019/606). (A) Sternum with fused labium and visible sigilla (as shown by the arrows). (B) Labium teeth. (C) Fangs with cheliceral teeth. Scale: 1mm.

FIGURE 38. Female of Stasimopus venterstadensis sp. nov. (NCA 2019/610). (A) Leg I tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Dorsal aspect. (B) Leg II tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Dorsal aspect. (C) Leg III tibia, metatarsus, tarsus. Dorsal aspect. (D). Leg IV metatarsus, tarsus. Prolateral aspect. (E) Leg III metatarsal tuft. Ventral aspect. (F) Leg IV metatarsus preening comb. Scale: 1mm.