PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10024 Number 3577, 21 pp., 15 figures June 28, 2007 First Records of Extant Hispaniolan Spiders of the Families Mysmenidae, Symphytognathidae, and Ochyroceratidae (Araneae), Including a New Species of Ochyrocera GUSTAVO HORMIGA,1 FERNANDO ALVAREZ-PADILLA,2 AND SURESH P. BENJAMIN3 ABSTRACT A new species of ochyroceratid spider, Ochyrocera cachote, n.sp., is described and its unique web architecture is documented. This is the first record of Ochyroceratidae for the extant fauna of Hispaniola. Additional new family records include Symphytognathidae (Patu sp. and Symphytognatha sp.) and Mysmenidae (Microdipoena sp.), with the latter family having been previously recorded from the fossil amber fauna. This makes a new total of 46 spider families recorded from the extant Hispaniolan fauna, but on the whole the island’s araneofauna remains poorly known and warrants further investigation. INTRODUCTION the world where the fossil fauna is most similar to that of the Recent fauna. The The taxonomic knowledge of the spider spiders of the Dominican Republic preserved fauna of the Dominican Republic is unique in amber are relatively well known (Penney, because more families are known from fossils 2006). The Dominican amber and the extant in Miocene amber than are recorded from fauna are ecologically comparable because the extant species (Penney, 1999; Penney and amber was formed in a tropical climate similar Pe´rez-Gelabert, 2002). It is also the region of to that in the region at the present time 1 Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052; Research Associate, Department of Invertebrates, American Museum of Natural History ([email protected]). 2 Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052 ([email protected]). 3 Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052 ([email protected]). Copyright E American Museum of Natural History 2007 ISSN 0003-0082 2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 3577 (Penney and Pe´rez-Gelabert, 2002). However, Lesser Antilles (Dominica and Guadaloupe). apart from the pioneering works by Elizabeth In this paper we describe the new species in Bryant (1943, 1945, 1948), the extant spider detail and document its web architecture. fauna of Hispaniola has not been studied in Additionally, we report the presence of extant much detail (for a history of Hispaniolan species from the araneoid families Mysme- araneology, see Penney and Pe´rez-Gelabert, nidae and Symphytognathidae in the island 2002). During the course of a recent field trip for the first time. Two fossil species of to the Dominican Republic we had the Mysmenidae, Mysmenopsis lissycoleyae Pen- opportunity to collect and study spiders in ney, 2000 and Dominicanopsis grimaldii four areas with different habitats and eleva- Wunderlich, 2004, have been described from tions. In this paper we report on three spider Dominican amber (Penney, 2000; Wunderlich, families that were previously undiscovered for 2004b). The family Symphytognathidae had the extant fauna of Hispaniola: Ochyro- not been recorded before. Schawaller’s (1981) ceratidae, Mysmenidae, and Symphyto- records of eight symphytognathid specimens gnathidae. The ochyroceratid species is mor- in Dominican amber held at the Staatliches phologically very similar to one of the species Museum fur Naturkunde (Stuttgart, Ger- described from amber, and it is formally many) are misidentifications of theridiids described here. (Wunderlich, 2004c: 228). Ochyroceratidae is a relatively small family (146 described species in 13 genera) of small MATERIALS AND METHODS ecribellate haplogyne spiders with a cosmotrop- ical distribution (Platnick, 2006). Although Taxonomic descriptions follow the format the natural history of ochyroceratids is not of Hormiga (1994, 2002). Specimens of fossil well known (Machado, 1951; Deeleman- Ochyroceratidae in Dominican amber were Reinhold, 1995), it seems that many of them not examined. Discussion of their relation- build sheet webs, sometimes with conspicuous ships is based on the published text and parallel silk lines in the sheet (figs. 13B, 14D). figures. Specimens were examined and illus- Recently, Wunderlich (1988, 2004a) described trated using a Leica MZ 16A stereoscopic two fossil species of Ochyroceratidae from the microscope with a camera lucida. Further Dominican Republic (Arachnolithulus pyg- details were studied using a Leica DMRM maeus Wunderlich, 1988 and A. longipes compound microscope with a drawing tube. Wunderlich, 2004). To accommodate the first Some microscopic images were recorded using of these two Dominican fossil species he a Nikon DXM1200F digital camera and erected the genus Arachnolithulus Wun- stacked using the software package Auto- derlich, 1988. However, Wunderlich was un- Montage. A LEO 1430VP scanning electron certain as to relationships of Arachnolithulus, microscope was also used to study and pointing out the need for more specimens, photograph morphological features. Left fossil and extant. Penney (1999) predicted structures (e.g., palps, legs) are depicted unless extant Hispaniolan ochyroceratids (and mys- otherwise stated. Hairs and macrosetae are menids) based on their occurrence in the usually not depicted in the final drawings. All amber fauna. Alayo´n-Garcı´a (2001) reported morphological measurements are given in the presence of ochyroceratids from Navassa, millimeters. Somatic morphology measure- a 5.2-km2 island 64 km west of Hispaniola. ments were taken using a scale reticle in the During our fieldwork in the Dominican dissecting microscope. Eye diameters are Republic we found a new species of Ochyro- taken from the span of the lens. Cephalo- ceratidae in leaf litter, in a patch of cloud thorax length and height were measured in forest near Paraı´so (Barahona Province). This lateral view, and its width was taken at the new species is morphologically similar to the widest point. Similarly, the length and height extinct Dominican species Arachnolithulus of the abdomen were measured in lateral view, longipes (known after a single male specimen and the width was taken as the widest point as in amber) and to the extant Ochyrocera seen from a dorsal view. Measurements of the thibauldi Emerit and Lopez, 1985 from the abdomen are only approximations because the 2007 HORMIGA ET AL.: HISPANIOLAN SPIDERS 3 abdomen size changes more easily in preserved MAP major ampullate gland spigot(s) specimens than do other more sclerotized mAP minor ampullate gland spigot(s) parts (e.g., the chelicerae). Total length was PI piriform gland spigot(s) measured in lateral view and is also an PLS posterior lateral spinneret approximation because it involves the size of PMS posterior median spinneret the abdomen and its relative position. PTS posterior tracheal spiracle Approximate femur lengths were measured in lateral view, without detaching the legs TAXONOMY from the animal, by positioning the article being measured perpendicularly. Female gen- italia were excised using surgical blades or OCHYROCERATIDAE FAGE, 1912 sharpened needles. Epigyna and palps were OCHYROCERA SIMON, 1891 transferred to methyl salicylate (Holm, 1979) Type Species: Ochyrocera arietina Simon, for examination under the microscope, tem- 1891 by original designation. porarily mounted as described in Grandjean Composition: In addition to O. cachote, (1949) and Coddington (1983). Male palps n.sp., the genus Ochyrocera includes 21 species examined with the SEM were first excised and (Platnick 2006), most of them from the transferred to a vial with 70% ethanol and Neotropical region. There are also species then cleaned ultrasonically for 1–3 minutes. described from Cuba, the Lesser Antilles, The specimen was then transferred to absolute including the type species, and Samoa. ethanol and left overnight. After critical point drying, the specimens were glued to rounded aluminum rivets using an acetone solution of Ochyrocera cachote, new species Acryloid B-72 and coated with gold-palladium figures 1–12 for examination with the SEM. For SEM TYPE: Male holotype and female paratype examination of the tracheal system, the non- from Barahona Province, Paraı´so, Reserva chitinous abdominal tissue was digested with Natural Cachote, cloud forest surrounded by SIGMA Pancreatin LP 1750 enzyme complex secondary growth, N 18u05954.80:W (Alvarez-Padilla and Hormiga, in press) in 71u11922.00, 1220 m, 6–9.IV.2005, G. Hor- a solution of sodium borate prepared follow- miga, F. Alvarez-Padilla, and S.P. Benjamin ing the concentrations described in Dingerkus (deposited in MCZ). and Uhler (1977). ETYMOLOGY: The species epithet is a noun Webs were photographed after dusting in apposition taken from the type locality. them with cornstarch (Eberhard, 1976) and DIAGNOSIS: Males of Ochyrocera cachote, photographed with a Nikon F100 using a 60- n.sp. can be distinguished from other species mm macro lens and a speedlight. All photo- of Ochyrocera by the absence of a clypeal graphs have associated voucher specimens. apophysis (fig. 1B) and the details of the cheliceral teeth (fig. 2C, D), including the ANATOMICAL ABBREVIATIONS presence of a large tooth toward the base of the cheliceral furrow. The cymbial apophysis Male Palp and the embolus shape (figs. 2A, B, 8A–C) are E embolus also diagnostic. The lack of a monographic m30 claw extensor muscle treatment of Ochyrocera and the absence of T tegulum tm29 tendon of claw