Tbe Pbolcid Spiders of Costa Rica (Araneae: Pbolcidae)
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Rev. Biol. Trop., 45(4): 1583-1 634, 1997 Tbe pbolcid spiders of Costa Rica (Araneae: Pbolcidae) Bernhard A. Huber Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, CiudadUniversitaria, Costa Rica Mailing address: Dept. ofEntomology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79� Street,New York, NY 10024, USA. Received 30-IV-1997. Corrected 29-VIII-1997. Accepted 18-IX-1997. Abstract: Recent studies on the pholcid fauna of Central America have elevated the number of known Costa Rican species from 11 to 28 in only two years. The present paper summarizes the scattered literature and adds two new species as well as three undescribed species, bringing the total number. to 33 species representing seven genera. An illustrated key is presented. An annotated list surnmarizesthe information available about taxonomy, morphology and · natural history of all known Costa Rican pholcids. The two new species are Anopsicus tico n.sp. from the Central Valley, and Physocyclus guanacaste n.sp. from the Santa Rosa National Park, Guanacaste. The male of Metagonia hondura Huber, 1997 is de�cribed and illustrated for fue fIrst time. Old pholcid records.from Costa Rica are discussed, and types of unsuffIciently well described species are redescribed, including all previously known Costa Rican Anopsicus species (A. chiriqui Gertsch, 1982; A. concinnus Gertsch, 1982; A fa cetus Gertsch, 1982; A. turrialba Gertsch, 1982) as well as Metagonia osa Gertsch, 1986 and M. selva Gertsch, 1986. New localities are given for twelv.e species; of these, four are new for Costa Rica: Anopsicus chiriqui Gertsch, 1982; 'Coryssocneinis' viridescens Kraus, 1955; Physocyclus globosus (TacZanowski, 1873); and Smeringopus pallidus (Blackwall, 1858). The genera Coryssocnemis Simon, 1893 and Smeringopus Simon, 1890 are new for Costa Rica. It is argued that carefully directed· collecting in certain areas and habitatS will probably lead to a further considerable increase in known species. Key words: Araneae, Pholcidae, taxonomy, Costa Rica. When Reimoser (1939) published the in other publications (Huber 1996b, 1997b, arachnol()gical results of the 1930 Austrian 1998b), and (3) describes two new species and expedition to Costa Rica, he included four presents illustrations of three undescribed pholcid species: Physocyclus dugesi, P. 'rotun species, resulting in a total of 33 pholcid dus, Modisimus inornatus, and Metagonia cau species known from Costa Rica. data. Four decades later, Zuñiga's (1980) anno tated list of Costa Rican spiders still contained MATERlALS AND METHODS the same four species and no new entries. Gertsch's revisions then added three Anopsicús· This work is primarily based on the pholcid species (1982) and four Metagonia species collections of the. Instituto National de (1986), bringing the total number to eleven. Biodiversidad, Costa Rica (INBIO), the The present paper (1) discusses aH previous Escuela de Biología of the Universidad de records, showing that three of Reimoser's Costa Rica (UCR), and the author's collection. species were probably misidentified and do not These are probably the best coHections of occur in Costa Rica, (2) it briefly characterizes Costa Rican pholcids, but Chave not made an several Costa Rican pholcids recently described effort to extensively borrow material from 1584 REVISTA DE BIOLOGIA TROPICAL North American and European collections, fact be common and widespread. It lives in hid other than types of previously described Costa den places, under all sorts of objects, and Rican pholcids and of species that appeared builds no web or only a few finethreads close closely related to the new material, from the to the substrate (Huber 1996b). Smeringopus following institutions: The Natural History pallidus is a large pholcid that lives in much Museum, London (BMNH), Museum of the same habitat as P. globosus, but is appar Comparative Zoology, Cambridge (MCZ), ently much less common. Physocyclus dugesi American Museum of Natural History, New has been recorded from several localities by York (AMNH), Museum National d'Histoire Reimoser (1939) ; all new records (see below) Naturelle, Paris(MNHN) . are from the Central Valley in or near San José, Drawings were made with a compound but 1 have never found the species. Nothing is microscope with camera lucida. Measurements known about its habitat, but the records suggest (all in mm) were taken with ocular micrometers it may be anthropophilic. The new species in a compound or a dissecting microscope. Physocyclus guanacaste was collected within Measurement error was about +/- 0.07 mm for the administration buildings of the Santa Rosa leg measurements, +/- 0.03 mm for other mea National Park, and is so far only known from surements. Averages are given for N�5. that site. Prosoma length was defined as the distance AH other species were collected in natural between frontal face of eye region and posteri habitats, usually in forests. Here they inhabit a or border of carapace medially, but it varies variety of microhabitats: sorne live under widely with the angle at which the prosoma is stones or in the leaf litter on the ground, either viewed. The term carapace is used to refer to without webs or with fine 'two-dimensional' the dorsal part of the prosoma. The most accu webs (aH Anopsicus spp.) or in srnall dorne rate indicators of size are probably prosoma shaped webs (sorne Modisimus spp.). Sorne width and tibia length. Total size is simply the live close to the ground, in dome shaped webs sum of prosoma length and opisthosoma between buttresses of trees, or in corners length, regardless of the petiolus, and is given between the ground and fallen logs or other as an approximate indication of Oyeran size. objects (several dark Modísimus spp.; probably The tibia index ("tibind") is the length of the 'Coryssocnemis' viridescens). Sorne live higher tibia divided by its width at the middle, and is up in the vegetation, either in dome shaped so a measure of the 'slenderness' of the legs. sheet webs which are usually in contact wíth The error for this index is about +/- 2. the underside of one or more leaves that pro Diagnoses are only given for the genera in vide a sheIter (sorne light Modisimus spp.) or which species are (re )described, and these only on the underside of preferably large lea ves of a intend to cover the Costa Rican species and can variety of plant farnílies, to which they attach a thus not be used for the entire genus. The few barely visible threads (aH Metagonia spp.). names of two collectors are abbreviated as fol Information about other aspects of natural lows: Carlos E. Valerio (C.E.V.) and Bernhard history has been accumulating: on web con A. Huber (B.A.H.). struction and web structure in a Modisimus species and Physocyclus globosus (Briceño 1985; Eberhard 1992a, b; Eberhard & Briceño NATURAL HISTORY 1983), on courtship, copulation and other intraspecifíc interactions (Eberhard 1992b; Five of the 33 known Costa Rican pholcid Eberhard & Briceño 1983, 1985; Huber & species are anthropophilic . Of these, Eberhard 1997; Huber 1996b, 1997b, 1998c), Physocyclus globosus can be found in almost on population fluctuation (Huber unpubl. data), every building, e�pecially in bathrooms, in and on genital rnorphology and mechanics in loose three dimensional webs, preferably in the several species (Huber & Eberhard 1997; corners between ceiling and walls (cf. Eberhard Huber 1997b, 1998a, c). 1992b). Modisimus culicinus i8 a very small spider, and has in Costa Rica been found only at four localities, but it is easily confounded with juvenile Physocyclus globosus andmay in Huber: ThePholcids of Costa Rica 1585 SPECIES THAT WERE ERRONEOUSLy SPECIES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN REPORTED FROM COSTA RICA, AND FOUND IN COSTA RICA BUT MAY BE NAMES THATARE SYNONYMS PRESENT Modisimus inornatus O. P.-Cambridge has The following five species have not been been described and recorded from the Mexican found in Costa Rica, but their distributions sug states Tabasco, San Luis Potosí and gest they might occur there. Pholcus phalan Tamaulipas (O. P.-Cambridge 1895, 1896, gioides (Fuesslin), Artema atlanta Wa1ckenaer, 1899; Gertsch & Davis 1937, 1942), and later and Micropholcus fauroti (Simon) are anthro recorded from "La Palma between Irazu and pophilic cosmopolitan species, and have been Barba" in Costa Rica (Reimoser 1939). This found in other American countries. American species has been redescribed recentIy (Huber records of P. phalangioides inc1ude the USA, 1998b). It is not present in the collections of Brazil, Argentine and Chile; those of A. atlanta Costa Rican pho1cids 1 studied. "La Palma" include the USA, several Antilles, Mexico, (Alto Palma) is only about 2 km from the type Panama and several South American countries; locality of Modisimus guatuso Huber, the most those of M. fauroti inc1ude the USA, Mexico, common Modisimus in Costa Rica (Huber Puerto Rico and Cuba. Anopsicus zeteki 1998b). At this locality, no other dark (Gertsch) is a Panamanian species that has been Modisimus has been found, making it probable recorded from the Canal Zone (Gertsch 1982; that Reimoser's record of M. inornatus is based Nentwig 1993), and from David, Prov. Chiriquí on a misidentification. (Huber 1996b), which is about 300 km from Metagonia caudata O. P.-Cambridge is also the Canal Zone but only about 50 km from the a Mexican species. Gertsch (1986) syn border with Costa Rica. As is true of most onymized the Panamanian records other Anopsicus species, it lives in the ground, (Petrunkevitch 1911; Banks 1929) with the under stones and in the leaf litter, and may newly described M. panama, but did not com therefore have gone unnoticed. FinaIly, ment on Reimoser's (1939) record from Modisimus david Hub�r has been found both in Turrialba, Costa Rica. Metagonia caudata is Panama (David), and in Nicaragua (San Juan not present in the studied collections, but at del Sur) (Huber 1996b), and almost certainly least two other medium-sized to large occurs between these localities in Costa Rica.