From the Lowlands to the Highlands of Ecuador, a Study of the Genus Masteria (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Dipluridae) with Description of Seven New Species

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From the Lowlands to the Highlands of Ecuador, a Study of the Genus Masteria (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Dipluridae) with Description of Seven New Species Zootaxa 5005 (4): 538–568 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2021 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5005.4.4 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:43AB6083-4E39-47DD-819E-8EC21F3B3C90 From the lowlands to the highlands of Ecuador, a study of the genus Masteria (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Dipluridae) with description of seven new species NADINE DUPÉRRÉ1,2*, ELICIO TAPIA3, DIETMAR QUANDT4,5, VERÓNICA CRESPO-PÉREZ6 & DANILO HARMS7 1Zoological Museum Hamburg, Leibniz-Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB), Center for Taxonomy and Morphology, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146, Hamburg, Germany. 2Research Associate, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. 3Fundación OTONGA, Calle Rither N° 20-10 y Bolivia, Quito, Ecuador. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9005-5328 4Nees Institute for Plant Biodiversity, University of Bonn, Meckenheimer Allee 170, 53115 Bonn, Germany. 5Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Corrensstraße 3, 06466 Gatersleben, Germany https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4304-6028 6Laboratorio de Entomología, Museo de Zoología QCAZ, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Avenida 10 de Octubre 1076, 170143, Quito, Ecuador. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8811-1965 7Zoological Museum, Center of Natural History, Universität Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146, Hamburg, Germany. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7189-5345 *Corresponding author. �[email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2195-878X Abstract Dipluridae represent a small Mygalomorphae family of South American origin, the family includes two subfamilies Diplurinae and Masteriinae although the placement of the latter in Dipluridae is still under debate. The family has a predominantly South American distribution although the genus Masteria L. Koch, 1873 presents an interesting distribution with representatives found in Fiji, Micronesia, New Caledonia, New Guinea and Australia. This genus is diverse at the species level in tropical South America and the Caribbean but no species have been described from Ecuador to date. Ongoing field work as part of the BIO-GEEC Project—a consortium established by several Ecuadorian and German institutions—has resulted in the discovery of several new species from both lowlands and highland habitats in Ecuador. Herein we described seven new species of Masteria from Ecuador: M. jatunsacha n. sp. (male); M. machay n. sp. (female); M. chalupas n. sp. (male); M. papallacta n. sp. (male and female); M. pasochoa n. sp. (male and female); M. lasdamas n. sp. (male); and M. otongachi n. sp. (male). The type species of the genus, Masteria hirsuta L. Koch, 1873 from Fiji, is redescribed and re-illustrated, from the original type specimen. Key words: New species, DNA-barcoding, taxonomy Introduction The BIO-GEEC (German-Ecuadorian Biodiversity Consortium) project was launched in 2019 with the mandate to develop a platform that disseminates Ecuadorian biodiversity data through a combination of targeted field work, taxonomy, DNA barcoding and WebApp assessment. The consortium led by four Ecuadorian universities and four German partner institutions in collaboration with the Ministerio del Ambiente y Agua (MAAE) and the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INABIO) is developing pipelines for the rapid characterisation of diverse organismic groups such as seed plants (tissue, seeds & pollen), pollinators (in particularly insects), arachnids, and soil mi- croorganisms. The Web App will include relevant morphological and genetic and genetic information, as well as high-resolution images, thereby facilitating fast species-level identification, ideally by non-arachnologists. Barcod- ing these and additional samples from Ecuador and providing baseline data in EcBioDiv (Ecuadorian Biodiversity Database) will help to dissociate the growing knowledge on Ecuador’s impressive Arachnid fauna, establish a stable 538 Accepted by J. Bond: 9 Jul. 2021; published: 28 Jul. 2021 baseline for future species discoveries. Furthermore, these pipelines shall be applied to other taxa and handed over to government agencies and industry. Ecuador’s distinctive geography and topography represents the foremost unique, highly diverse study system. In fact, all ecoregions of Ecuador belong to one of the prime global biodiversity hotspots with extreme levels of species endemism and genetic richness (e.g., Mutke & Barthlott 2005, Myers et al. 2000). The Andes separate the entire country longitudinally and both sides of the Andes are covered with tropical rainforests at low elevation up to the Páramo or alpine tundra (6,000 m), though with different ecological parameters. One aim of the BIO-GEEC project is to discover, describe and characterize the morphological and genetic biodiversity of spiders found along an altitudinal gradient on the eastern side of the Andes. In February–March 2020 a series of pitfall traps were in- stalled along a transect near Tena (1,048 m) up to Papallacta (4,020 m). Additional sampling was also done on both sides of the Andes at different elevations. The samples collected led to the discovery of seven new species belonging to the mygalomorph spider family Dipluridae Simon, 1889. The family was recently redelimited by Opatova et al. (2020) but the limits are not fully resolved, and the family remains non-monophyletic (Opatova et al. 2020). The family currently includes two sub- families, the Diplurinae Simon, 1889 and the Masteriinae Simon, 1889, but the latter may in future be elevated to family level (Opatova et al. 2020). As of present, Masteriinae includes three recent genera next to the fossil Edwa Raven, Jell & Knezour, 2015: Masteria C.L. Koch, 1873 (32 valid species) and occurs in the Americas and Oceania including New Caledonia and New Guinea and Australia, while Siremata Passanha & Brescovit, 2018 (3 species) is endemic to Brazil and Striamea Raven, 1981 (2 species) is endemic to Colombia (WSC 2021). Masteria is a genus of small (1.97–6.06 mm), 6 or 8 eyed mygalomorph spiders. The American fauna has been revised by Passanha & Brescovit (2018), Raven (1991) reviewed the New Caledonia fauna, but the rest of the genus is still pending revision. In the present paper we described seven new species of Masteria from Ecuador’s lowland forest systems (430 m) up to the Páramo (4,020 m), on both sides of the Andes. The type species of the genus, Mas- teria hirsuta L. Koch 1873, from Fiji is redescribed and the female internal genitalia is imaged for the first time. A distribution map of all Ecuadorian species is presented. Materials and methods Specimens were initially collected and examined in 90% ethanol under a Leica M125 dissection microscope. Female genitalia were excised using a sharp entomological needle, washed in 80% alcohol and digested with Pancreatin solution following Álvarez-Padilla & Hormiga (2007), then placed on a slide in lactic acid for imaging. Imaging was achieved using a custom-made BK Plus lab System by Dun, Inc. with integrated Canon camera, macro lens (65mm) and the Zerene stacking software (Zerene Systems LLC 2018). All measurements are in millimeters and were made using a Leica M205A with Leica Application Suite X. Descriptions of specimens colours are based on specimens conserved in ethanol, in specimens recently collected (e.g. M. chalupas n. sp., M. jatunsacha n. sp.) the colouration is likely to be more authentic. Collection abbreviations are as follows: QCAZ-I, Museum of Invertebrates, Pontificia Universidad Católica, Quito (Ecuador); ZMH, Zoological Museum Hamburg, Hamburg (Germany). Morphological nomenclature follows Passanha & Brescovit (2018). Abbreviations in text and figures are as follows: ALE, anterior lateral eyes; AME, anterior median eyes; BS, basal spine; EcL, ectal lobe; EnL, ental lobe; GR, glandular region; P1, Process 1; P2, Process 2; P3, Process 3; PLE, posterior lateral eyes; PLS, posterior lateral spinnerets; PME, posterior median eyes; PMS, posterior median spinnerets; plv, prolatero-ventral; rlv, retrolatero-ventral; SB, spermathecae base. Taxonomy Family Dipluridae Simon, 1889 Genus Masteria L. Koch, 1873 Type species. Masteria hirsuta L. Koch, 1873 Masteria from lowlands to highlands of Ecuador Zootaxa 5005 (4) © 2021 Magnolia Press · 539 Diagnosis. See Passanha & Brescovit 2018: 8. Composition. For complete list of species see WSC 2021. M. chalupas n. sp., M. jatunsacha n. sp., M. lasdamas n. sp., M. machay n. sp., M. otongachi n. sp., M. papal- lacta n. sp., M. pasochoa n. sp. Distribution in the Americas. Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Martinique, Dominican Republic, St. Vincent, Jamaica, Trinidad, Tobago, Venezuela, Guyana, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil and Peru. Masteria hirsuta L. Koch, 1873 Figs 1A–C, 20A. Masteria hirsuta L. Koch, 1873: 458, pl. 35, f. 5 (Description female from Ovalau). Masteria hirsuta Simon, 1892a: 190, f. 131. Masteria hirsuta Roewer, 1963a: 109, f. 2a–d (Description male from Ponape). Masteria hirsuta Raven, 1979: 627, f. 5–7. (Illustration of holotype female). Masteria hirsuta Passanha & Brescovit, 2018: 13, f. 3B, 6A, 7A–B (Illustration female from Ponape, images of male from Ponape per Roewer). Type material. Ein Exemplar im Museum Godeffroy. Von Ovalau. (Koch 1873: 458). Holotype female in Zoolo- gisches Museum Hamburg (ZMH-A0003083). Examined. Diagnosis. Masteria hirsuta is distinguished from all species by the combination of the following characters: six eyes
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