Journal of Threatened Taxa
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PLATINUM The Journal of Threatened Taxa (JoTT) is dedicated to building evidence for conservaton globally by publishing peer-reviewed artcles OPEN ACCESS online every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All artcles published in JoTT are registered under Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License unless otherwise mentoned. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproducton, and distributon of artcles in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publicaton. Journal of Threatened Taxa Building evidence for conservaton globally www.threatenedtaxa.org ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Note First records of the black widow spider Latrodectus elegans Thorell, 1898 (Araneae: Theridiidae) from Nepal Binu Shrestha & Tobias Dörr 26 July 2020 | Vol. 12 | No. 10 | Pages: 16385–16388 DOI: 10.11609/jot.5796.12.10.16385-16388 For Focus, Scope, Aims, Policies, and Guidelines visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-0 For Artcle Submission Guidelines, visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions For Policies against Scientfc Misconduct, visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-2 For reprints, contact <[email protected]> The opinions expressed by the authors do not refect the views of the Journal of Threatened Taxa, Wildlife Informaton Liaison Development Society, Zoo Outreach Organizaton, or any of the partners. The journal, the publisher, the host, and the part- Publisher & Host ners are not responsible for the accuracy of the politcal boundaries shown in the maps by the authors. Member Threatened Taxa Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 July 2020 | 12(10): 16385–16388 ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) PLATINUM OPEN ACCESS DOI: htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.5796.12.10.16385-16388 #5796 | Received 22 February 2020 | Finally accepted 16 July 2020 N o t First records of the black widow spider Latrodectus elegans Thorell, 1898 e (Araneae: Theridiidae) from Nepal Binu Shrestha 1 & Tobias Dörr 2 1,2 1037 Hanshaw Road, Ithaca NY, 14850, USA. 1 21 Ghumt Kumari Marg, Purano Bhaneswor, 44600 Kathmandu, Nepal. 1 [email protected], 2 [email protected] (corresponding author) The black widow spiders of the genus Latrodectus elegans, ranges from India, Burma and China to Japan Walckenaer, 1805 (32 species) have a nearly worldwide (Yoshida 2009). This species has only been recorded distributon and are among the medically most signifcant from southern Asia (India) relatvely recently (Kananbala spiders, with the bites of some species (partcularly L. et al. 2012), perhaps refectng historical undersurveying mactans (Fabricius, 1775), L. hasselt Thorell, 1870 and of arachnids in this region. This is partcularly true for L. tredecimgutatus (Rossi, 1790)) causing signifcant Nepal, with the most recent summary publicaton listng morbidity and mortality in their distributon range only 175 species of spiders (Thapa 1995), undoubtedly (Jelinek 1997; Garb et al. 2004; Ryan et al. 2017). This an underestmate. Contributons to the diversity of the exceptonally successful genus has setled on almost all Nepali spider fauna thus fll an important knowledge contnents (except Antarctca) and some species now gap in biodiversity estmates. Nepal shares borders with (likely due to anthropogenic disseminaton) have an both India (in the south, east and west) and China (in almost cosmopolitan distributon (e.g., L. geometricus the north) and is a biodiversity hotspot due to its variety C.L. Koch, 1848) (Gonzalez et al. 2004). While the majority of alttudes that create a diversity of microclimate and of species are found in Africa/Middle East (~13 species) vegetaton zones across the country. During a trip to and North/South Americas (11 species) (World Spider Nepal in April 2016, we observed several apparent Catalog 2020), southern and southeastern Asia exhibit members of the genus Latrodectus, one of which was a relatvely low Latrodectus species diversity (three clearly identfable as L. elegans. These observatons species). Among the Asian species, L. erythromelas are described herein and contextualized with a previous Schmidt & Klaas, 1991 has an uncharacteristcally (historical) record for the genus in Nepal. narrow distributon range (Sri Lanka and southern India: Observed specimens: Two adult females, Schmidt & Klaas 1991; Srinivasulu et al. 2013), while L. 28°19’35.6”N & 84°54’29.9”E, Kerauja, Yaruphant hasselt appears in southern Asia at the western edge (Manaslu), Nepal, 1,250m, 24.ii.2012, under stones in of its vast distributon area (Srinivasulu et al. 2013), dry riverbed (Buri Gandaki), observed by Henning Rose which also includes Australia and New Zealand (Garb et and Alexander Rose, not collected. Two adult females, al. 2004). The third species natve to southern Asia, L 27°56’14.1”N & 84°24’15.2”E, Bandipur, Nepal, 900m, Editor: John Caleb, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India. Date of publicaton: 26 July 2020 (online & print) Citaton: Shrestha, B. & T. Dorr (2020). First records of the black widow spider Latrodectus elegans Thorell, 1898 (Araneae: Theridiidae) from Nepal. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(10): 16385–16388. htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.5796.12.10.16385-16388 Copyright: © Shrestha & Dorr 2020. Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproducton, and distributon of this artcle in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publicaton. Funding: None. Competng interests: The authors declare no competng interests. Acknowledgements: We thank Alexander and Henning Rose for readily communicatng locaton informaton and providing pictures of Latrodectus elegans from Manaslu. We further thank Dr. Bhola Meher Shrestha for feld trips in Nepal and for help with Nepali translaton. 16385 J TT First records of the black widow spider from Nepal Shrestha & Dorr Figure 1. Known records of Latrodectus in Nepal. Lm, L. mactans sensu Levi 1959, Le, L. elegans. The map was created through modifcaton of a template obtained from Naapi Bibhag (www.dos.gov.np). 16.iv.2016, in webs at night at upper edge of roadside 60km distance from Bandipur area. Two females were embankment, observed by Binu Shrestha and Tobias found during a trekking expediton under stones in a dry Dörr, not collected. river bed (Image 1D) (Henning & Alexander Rose pers. Historical record: L. mactans (mentoned in (Levi comm. May 2016). 1959): Nepal: 28024’N & 83023’E, Mayangdi Khola nr. The nearest confrmed record for L. elegans lies in Darban, 3,000f , collected by K.H. Hyat. Manipur, India (Kananbala et al. 2012), a distance of While conductng night-tme searches (20.00–21.00 ~1,000km to the southeast, and its occurrence in Nepal, h) in Bandipur (roughly halfway between Kathmandu and thus represents a signifcant extension of the known and Pokhara) in April 2016, we encountered two large range of this species. Importantly, to the best of our individuals of a Latrodectus sp. in their webs at the knowledge, this is only the second record of the genus top of a roadside embankment (at a height of ~3m) Latrodectus from Nepal and the frst more recent one close to Bandipur main street (Image 1A–C). Based on – a historical record of L. mactans is mentoned in (Levi coloraton, these spiders were identfed as Latrodectus 1959) without a date (but must stem prior to 1959, when elegans, a species which is widely distributed in southern the citng artcle was published), however, what was and southeastern Asia (Japan, Myanmar, and India) considered by Levi as “L. mactans” comprises a group (Yoshida 2009; Kananbala et al. 2012; World Spider that other authors have considered distnct species Catalog 2020). The dorsal coloraton matches that (while presently, L. mactans refers to a species with a described for L. elegans (Image 1A,D); however, the red North American center of distributon). Importantly, the ventral hourglass marking typical of many Latrodectus Nepali “L. mactans” was collected in west-central Nepal species, though present, was not clearly visible due to only ~100km from where we found L. elegans (Figure a somewhat subdued red coloraton (Image 1B). The 1). We consider it highly likely that this record actually distnctness of this hourglass shape appears to exhibit refers to L. elegans, or an as yet undescribed Latrodectus high inter-individual variaton in other Latrodectus as species. well (Kaston 1970). The occurrence of L. elegans in Nepal raises a number An exhaustve internet search revealed an additonal of interestng questons. Firstly, Latrodectus spp. are photographic record from the Gorkha area, around medically signifcant spiders, and the degree to which 16386 Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 July 2020 | 12(10): 16385–16388 J TT First records of the black widow spider from Nepal Shrestha & Dorr A © Tobias Dörr B © Tobias Dörr C D © Tobias Dörr © Henning and Alexander Rose Image 1. Latrodectus elegans from two localites in Nepal: A—dorsal view of adult female from Bandipur | B—ventral view of same individual | C—adult female in situ in its web in Bandipur | D—adult female from Manaslu. © 1A–C—Tobias Dörr; 1D—Henning and Alexander Rose. the Nepali species cause envenomaton is unknown. habitatons and could have traveled to Nepal via, for Nepal is listed among countries in which “Latrodectsm” example, frewood. Future studies should be directed (Black Widow spider envenomaton) is endemic at phylogenetc comparisons of specimens collected in (Maretc 2013) (albeit without clear source atributon), Nepal with those from the type locality in Myanmar. suggestng that indeed Latrodectus might be of medical If L. elegans turns out to be autochthonous, this likely signifcance in Nepal. Secondly, the apparently immense means that the species is widely distributed within distributon area of L. elegans (from Japan, Burma, Nepal. Alternatvely, L. elegans might actually represent China, and India to Nepal) raises the queston of origin. a morphologically extensively homogeneous species Are the Nepali specimens autochthonous populatons complex.