Opopaea Simon

Platnick, Norman I. & Dupérré, Nadine, 2009, The Goblin Spider Genera Opopaea and Epectris (Araneae, Oonopidae) in the New World, American Museum Novitates 3649, pp. 1-44 : 3-4

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.1206/664.1

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/5B0FDF6B-B116-FFDD-FC8E-7549AFD77A92

treatment provided by

Carolina

scientific name

Opopaea Simon
status

 

Opopaea Simon View in CoL View at ENA

Opopaea Simon, 1891: 560 View in CoL (type species by monotypy Opopaea deserticola Simon View in CoL ).

Myrmecoscaphiella Mello-Leitão, 1926: 1 (type species by original designation Myrmecoscaphiella borgmeyeri Mello-Leitão ). NEW SYNONYMY.

DIAGNOSIS: Males of Opopaea are easily recognized by the unusual conformation of the palpal patella, which is oddly enlarged and originates subbasally from the palpal femur (figs. 55, 56, 61, 62, 93, 94, 99, 100). A similarly modified palpal patella occurs in some other Old World taxa, such as those currently assigned to Camptoscaphiella Caporiacco (1934) , but in those males, the palpal cymbium and bulb are separate, rather than fused as in Opopaea . In the New World, males are likely to be confused only with those of Marsupopaea Cooke (1972) , which can easily be distinguished by the large sternal excavation that provides a ‘‘pouch’’ in which the palps are held ( Cooke, 1972: fig. 10). Females are more difficult to characterize, but in the New World they are most likely to be confused with those of Brignolia Dumitresco and Georgesco (1983) , which are similar in appearance but can be distinguished by the presence of a central elevated projection on the epigastric region ( Saaristo, 2001: fig. 142A, B).

DESCRIPTION: A detailed generic description has been provided by Saaristo and Marusik (2008: 18), and improvements on that summary must await a full revision of the Old World fauna.

MISPLACED SPECIES: We discuss here the specific names that are currently assigned to the genus and are based on New World specimens, but do not actually belong to Opopaea .

Opopaea cupida ( Keyserling, 1881) was originally described in Oonops View in CoL , but Simon (1891) noted the similarities of this species to O. deserticola View in CoL , and the name was later formally transferred to Opopaea View in CoL by Simon (1893a: 299). Brignoli (1975: 228) pointed out that O. cupida might be a senior synonym of Marsupopaea sturmi Cooke (1972) , which is the type species of that genus. A comparison of the two holotypes, both from Colombia, confirms Brignoli’s conjecture (at least at the generic level), and O. cupida is here transferred to Marsupopaea cupida , NEW COMBINATION.

Three species from the United States, O. floridana View in CoL ( Banks, 1896, originally described in Gamasomorpha View in CoL ) from Florida, O. meditata Gertsch and Davis (1936) View in CoL from Texas, and O. sedata Gertsch and Mulaik (1940) View in CoL from Texas, are based on females that differ from those of Opopaea View in CoL in having the much more heavily sclerotized epigastric region characteristic of members of the Gamasomorpha View in CoL complex of genera. Because the limits of Gamasomorpha View in CoL itself remain to be determined, we leave these species in Opopaea View in CoL pending their examination by Ricardo Ott as part of his studies on the Gamasomorpha View in CoL complex. The same is true for O. calona Chickering (1969) View in CoL from Florida, the male of which has an unexpanded palpal patella and palpal bulb morphology unlike those of true Opopaea View in CoL .

Opopaea recondita Chickering (1951) from Panama has an epigastric region with a central elevated projection, and the name is therefore transferred to Brignolia recondita View in CoL , NEW COMBINATION. It may well prove to be a senior synonym of the type species of that genus, Brignolia cubana Dumitresco and Georgesco (1983) View in CoL , which (like the three species treated below) is seemingly synanthropic and pantropical.

Finally, two more recently described species from southern Brazil, O. ita Ott (2003) View in CoL and O. viamao Ott (2003) View in CoL , differ from true Opopaea View in CoL in having the posterior median eyes reduced or absent, and will be placed elsewhere in future contributions by Ricardo Ott.

SYNONYMY: Mello-Leitão (1926) provided no characters to differentiate Myrmecoscaphiella from Opopaea , and there appears to be none.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Arachnida

Order

Araneae

Family

Oonopidae

Loc

Opopaea Simon

Platnick, Norman I. & Dupérré, Nadine 2009
2009
Loc

Myrmecoscaphiella Mello-Leitão, 1926: 1

Mello-Leitao, C. F. de 1926: 1
1926
Loc

Opopaea

Simon, E. 1891: 560
1891
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