Megalostrata raptor (L. Koch, 1866 )

Bonaldo, Alexandre B., Galán-Sanchez, M. Antonio & García, Fabián, 2024, Advances on the taxonomy of Megalostrata Karsch, 1880 (Araneae, Corinnidae, Corinninae), with descriptions of two new species, Zootaxa 5458 (4), pp. 495-523 : 497-500

Megalostrata raptor (L. Koch, 1866)

Figs 1A, 2, 3A, B

Hypsinotus raptor L. Koch, 1866: 274 , pl. 11, figs 174, 175 ( ♂ holotype from Mexico, deposited in The Natural History Museum , London, 1916.6.1.801, not re-examined).

Corinna raptor ; Petrunkevitch 1911: 469.

Corinna raptrix ; Bonnet 1957: 1215 (invalid emendation).

Megalostrata raptrix ; Bonaldo 2000: 118, figs 110–111, 302–309 (invalid emendation).

Note. For a complete list of synonyms, see Bonaldo (2000: 118) and WSC (2024). Bonaldo (2000), following Bonnet (1957), used the epithet raptrix , the feminine form of raptor , to agree in gender with the feminine generic names Megalostrata and Corinna , respectively. However, according to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (article 31.2.2), since there is no indication in the original description that the species-group name is a noun or an adjective, the epithet raptor must be considered a noun in apposition. Consequently, raptrix is an invalid emendation.

Diagnosis. Males of M. raptor resemble those of M. depicta by the rounded, smooth apical tegular process, differing by the retro-basally oriented embolus (oriented retro-apically in M. depicta , Fig. 3C) and by the entire RTA (bifid in M. depicta , Fig. 3C). They share with M. paludosa spec. nov. the entire RTA, being differentiated by the smooth apical tegular process (with a field of apical teeth in M. paludosa , Fig. 22A) and the embolus oriented retro-basally (oriented retro-apically in M. paludosa , Fig. 22A) ( Figs 3A, B; Bonaldo 2000, figs 304–306). Females are similar to those of both M. depicta and M. pacifica spec. nov. by the elongated, tube-shaped secondary spermathecae, but can be distinguished from the former by the oblique orientation of the secondary spermathecae (oriented longitudinally in M. pacifica spec. nov., Figs 8A, B) and from the latter by the posterior atrium defined by a transversal anterior ridge at the level of the copulatory openings (posterior atrium ill-defined in M. depicta , Figs 5A, 6A) ( Bonaldo 2000, figs 308, 309).

Description. See Bonaldo (2000: 118). Additional photographic documentation: Figs 1A, 2, 3A, B.

New records. MEXICO: Veracruz, Calcahualco, Xamaticpac [ 19°07’34.1”N 97°04’01.5”W, 1.700 m a.s.l.]. Oak forest fragment, leg. Alvarez-Padilla et al., 19–27.IV.2013, 1 ♂ (PXF258 UNAM) . NICARAGUA: Esteli, Reserva Natural Miraflor [ 13°15’00.0”N 86°14’20.4”W], 1 ♂, photographed by A. Anker (not collected) . CURAÇAO: Seru Gracia, Christoffel National Park, Dry evergreen [ 12°21’43.2”N 69°08’42.0”W], leg. R. Jocqué & E. Tybaert, 13.VII.2011, on bromeliad, 2 ♂ ( MRAC) .

Distribution. Previously known from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Panama ( Bonaldo, 2000). Herein newly recorded from Curaçao, Caribbean Netherlands.Additionally, a male specimen from Nicaragua, photographed alive ( Fig. 1A), is reported here. Despite the fact it was not collected, the photograph depicts sufficient elements for identification, notably the male palp in retro-dorsal view, showing a massive, rounded RTA that is typical of M. raptor ( Fig. 25).