The Genus Platyoides
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AMERICAN MUSEUM Novitates PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10024 Number 2808, pp. 1-17, figs. 1-48 February 19, 1985 Studies on Malagasy Spiders, 2. The Family Trochanteriidae (Araneae, Gnaphosoidea), With a Revision of the Genus Platyoides NORMAN I. PLATNICK1 ABSTRACT The spider genus Platyoides 0. P.-Cambridge, bidentifer Strand, all with P. walteri (Karsch); P. previously placed with the hemicloeine gnapho- beta Lawrence with P. alpha Lawrence; P. pusil- soids, is assigned to the family Trochanteriidae liformis Tucker with P. pusillus Pocock; and P. Karsch on the basis of the elongated fourth tro- lawrencei Lessert with P. leppanae Pocock. The chanters and laterally divergent chelicerae. The 14 males of P. pusillus Pocock and P. grandidieri Si- known species are diagnosed, described, and il- mon are described for the first time. Five new lustrated. Nine specific names are newly synony- species are described: P. rossi and P. pirie from mized: P. abrahami 0. P.-Cambridge, P. bottegi South Africa, P. velonus and P. mailaka from Pavesi, P. laterigradus Pocock, P. separatus 0. P.- Madagascar, and P. venturus from the Canary Is- Cambridge, P. simoni 0. P.-Cambridge, and P. lands. INTRODUCTION The peculiarly flattened gnaphosoid spi- gascar. When, however, it appeared that in ders of the genus Platyoides (figs. 1-4), first addition to Platyoides grandidieri Simon at recorded from Madagascar by Simon (1903), least two additional species occur on the is- are among the most notable elements of the land, the question arose as to whether they Malagasy hunting spider fauna. The present are Malagasy endemics (P. grandidieri, ong- paper, the twenty-second in a series on gna- inally described from Madagascar, has sub- phosoids, began simply as a report on the sequently been recorded from Reunion and available Platyoides specimens from Mada- is also reported below from Aldabra and I Curator, Department of Entomology, American Museum of Natural History; Adjunct Professor, Department of Biology, City College, City University of New York. Copyright © American Museum of Natural History 1985 ISSN 0003-0082 / Price $1.85 2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 2808 2 FIGS. 1-4. Platyoides velonus, new species, female. 1. Cephalothorax and abdomen, dorsal view. 2. Cephalothorax, coxae, trochanters, and abdomen, ventral view. 3. Spinnerets and anal tubercle, posterior view. 4. Cephalothorax and abdomen, lateral view. Kenya). Finding the answer to that question from western Africa north ofAngola. Because required a full revision of the genus, pre- the other two Malagasy species do not seem sented below; the two additional Malagasy to be each other's closest relatives either, it species proved to be undescribed and (so far is likely that the genus is old, and that a sub- as known) endemic to the island. stantial part of its diversification occurred These results raised additional questions prior to the separation of Madagascar from about the interrelationships of the species of continental Africa. Platyoides, and about the taxonomic position The probably relictual nature of the dis- ofthe genus. One biogeographically interest- tribution of Platyoides may be reflected in ing question is whether the three Malagasy questions recently raised about the taxonom- species constitute a monophyletic group. Such ic placement ofthe genus. Traditionally, Pla- does not seem to be the case; the closest rel- tyoides has been considered a member of the ative of P. grandidieri appears to be a new Gnaphosidae and assigned to the gnaphosid species described below from the Canary Is- subfamily Hemicloeinae, a group ofsimilarly lands, a conclusion made even more surpris- flattened spiders otherwise known only from ing by the absence of any known Platyoides Australia and neighboring islands. Schmidt 1985 PLATNICK: TROCHANTERIIDAE 3 and Jocque (1983), however, pointed out that J. Whelan and Dr. M. U. Shadab, respec- the anterior spinnerets of Platyoides (fig. 3) tively. All measurements presented below are are unlike those of Gnaphosa and its rela- in millimeters; abbreviations for eyes are tives; they are conical rather than tubular. standard for the Araneae. Because the latter type of spinneret shape is apomorphic (as judged by outgroup compar- RELATIONSHIPS ison with other gnaphosoids and more dis- tantly related groups), the placement of Pla- There is little doubt that Platyoides has been tyoides within the Gnaphosidae is dubious. correctly placed within the superfamily Gna- Schmidt and Jocque proposed to solve this phosoidea, for its species have all three ofthe problem by removing the Hemicloeinae from characters that seem to be synapomorphic for the Gnaphosidae and elevating it to familial that group (Platnick, 1984b): sclerotized an- rank. This solution is reexamined below. terior spinnerets, obliquely depressed endites I am indebted to many colleagues for as- (fig. 5), and flattened, irregularly shaped pos- sistance with various aspects of this project. terior median eyes (fig. 6). Within the Gna- Professor Roland Legendre of the Universite phosoidea, three family-group names have des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, been based on genera that, like Platyoides, Montpellier, made available for study the have flattened bodies and laterigrade legs: collections from Madagascar that have stim- Trochanteriidae Karsch (1879), Platoridae ulated this series of papers. Specimens were Simon (1890), and Hemicloeinae Simon kindly donated by Mr. W. C. Sedgwick ofthe (1893), the last elevated to familial rank by American Museum of Natural History Schmidt and Jocque (1983) and also (in a list (AMNH) and Dr. M. Rambla of the Uni- of species only) by Mello-Leitao (1942, p. versidad de Barcelona. Material was made 386). available by the following curators and col- The earliest of these names is based on the lectors: Dr. G. Arbocco, Museo Civico di Sto- Argentinian genus Trochanteria Karsch; al- ria Naturale, Genoa (MCSNG); Mr. P. L. G. though the family has been treated as valid Benoit and Dr. R. Jocque, Musee Royal de by a few workers who have been familiar with l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren (MRAC); Dr. its type genus (such as Mello-Leitao, 1938, A. Dippenaar, National Collection ofArach- 1941, 1943), it has been largely ignored. Si- nida, Pretoria (NCAP); Dr. C. Griswold, Na- mon never examined specimens of Trochan- tal Museum, Pietermaritzburg (NM); Dr. W. teria, and suggested (1893, p. 343) on the D. Haacke, Transvaal Museum, Pretoria basis of Karsch's description that the genus (TM); Dr. B. Hauser, Museum d'Histoire Na- might belong to the Hemicloeinae; his sug- turelle, Geneva (MHNG); Dr. J. Heurtault, gestion was followed by catalogers such as Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris Roewer (1954). The family Platoridae, as (MNHN); Mr. P. D. Hillyard, British Mu- construed by Simon (1897) and all more re- seum (Natural History), London (BMNH); cent workers, includes three genera: Plator Dr. I. Lansbury, Hope Entomological Col- Simon of Asia, Vectius Simon of tropical lections, Oxford (HEC); Mrs. J. Minshull, South America, and Doliomalus Simon of National Museum of Zimbabwe, Bulawayo Chile. As emphasized elsewhere (Platnick, (MZB); Dr. M. Moritz, Zoologisches Mu- 1976a, 1976b, 1984a) the literature contains seum, Berlin (ZMB); Mr. A. J. Penniman, no demonstrated synapomorphies uniting Columbus (AJP); Dr. W. Pulawski, Califor- those three genera as opposed to any of the nia Academy of Sciences, San Francisco other flattened forms (Platyoides, Trochan- (CAS); Dr. I. D. Wallace, County Museum, teria, or the Australasian hemicloeines). Liverpool (CML); and Dr. V. Whitehead, The question, then, is: what genus, or group South African Museum, Cape Town (SAM). of genera, represents the sister group of Pla- Drs. C. D. Dondale, R. R. Forster, and C. tyoides? I have found only one explicit hy- Griswold reviewed a draft ofthe manuscript. pothesis in the literature, put forward by Ca- Assistance with scanning electron micro- nals (1933), to the effect that Platyoides and graphs and illustrations was provided by Ms. Trochanteria are closest relatives. This hy- 4 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 2808 ,',0,' I 1A' FIGS. 5-10. Platyoides grandidieri Simon. 5. Labium and endites, ventral view. 6. Median eyes, dorsal view. 7. Anterior spinneret, posterior view. 8. Median spinneret, posterior view. 9. Chelicera, posterior view; arrow indicates position of cheliceral gland pit. 10. Cheliceral gland pit; arrow indicates position of gland pores. pothesis appears to be correct. The most ob- trochanter (which in spiders in general is no vious feature of Trochanteria, reflected in longer than the trochanters of the first three Karsch's choice of name, is that the fourth legpairs) is enormously elongated, reaching 1985 PLATNICK: TROCHANTERIIDAE 5 in adults a length virtually as great as that of retained unless and until evidence becomes the fourth femur. As Canals recognized, this available to justify a change. bizarre elongation of the fourth trochanter is shared by Platyoides, although it is not so pronounced in that genus (fig. 2). The hy- PLATYOIDES 0. P.-CAMBRIDGE pothesis of a sister-group relationship be- Platyoides 0. P.-Cambridge, 1890, p. 624 [type tween Platyoides and Trochanteria is also species by monotypy Platyoides abrahami 0. corroborated by the peculiarly enlarged and P.-Cambridge, =P. walteri (Karsch)]. laterally divergent chelicerae bearing long, Pseudoplatyoides Strand, 1908, p. 36 (type species, curved fangs (figs. 1, 2, 9) found in both gen- designated by Bonnet, 1958, p. 3819, Platyoides era. bidentatus Strand). First synonymized by Roew- Neither of these features is found in Hem- er, 1954, p. 350. icloea (or, for that matter, in Plator). Al- DIAGNOSIS: The combined presence of a though a consideration of the interrelation- flattened body, laterigrade legs, and fourth ships of all the flattened gnaphosoid genera trochanters that are much longer than the is beyond the scope of the present paper, the other trochanters but shorter than the fourth nomenclatural aspects are nonetheless clear- femur distinguishes Platyoides from all other cut. Schmidt and Jocque (1983) were correct gnaphosoids.