PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10024 Number 3499, 31 pp., 94 ®gures November 29, 2005 On the Chilean Spiders of the Family Prodidomidae (Araneae, Gnaphosoidea), with a Revision of the Genus Moreno Mello-LeitaÄo NORMAN I. PLATNICK,1 MOHAMMAD U. SHADAB,2 AND LOUIS N. SORKIN3 ABSTRACT Although no members of the spider family Prodidomidae have previously been described from Chile, that country has a substantial, and largely endemic, prodidomid fauna. The Ar- gentine genus Moreno Mello-LeitaÄo is transferred from the Gnaphosidae to the Prodidomidae. Moreno was previously known only from the female holotype of its type species, but two additional species from Argentina and three from Chile are newly described, including the ®rst known males of the genus. Three new genera are described: Chileomma, containing seven new six-eyed species from northern and central Chile; Chilongius, containing ®ve new species from northern Chile; and Chileuma, containing three new species from northern and central Chile. A newly discovered feature on the tarsal claws is hypothesized to be a synapomorphy uniting Moreno and Chilongius with the other South American tricongiine Theuminae. INTRODUCTION southern hemisphere than in Laurasian areas. The spider family Prodidomidae is wide- In South America, it is represented by such spread, occurring on all continents except genera as Prodidomus Hentz (see Dalmas, Antarctica, but is much more diverse in the 1919, and Cooke, 1964), Zimiris Simon (see 1 Peter J. Solomon Family Curator, Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History; Ad- junct Professor, Department of Biology, City College, City University of New York; Adjunct Professor, Department of Entomology, Cornell University; Adjunct Senior Research Scientist, Center for Environmental Research and Con- servation, Columbia University ([email protected]). 2 Senior Scienti®c Assistant, Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History. 3 Senior Scienti®c Assistant, Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History. Copyright q American Museum of Natural History 2005 ISSN 0003-0082 2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 3499 Figs. 1±4. Moreno chivato, new species. 1. Juvenile, anterior lateral spinnerets, distal view. 2. Fe- male, same. 3. Female, posterior median spinnerets, distal view. 4. Female, posterior lateral spinnerets, distal view. Platnick and Penney, 2004), Neozimiris Si- by the North American arachnologist, Dr. Al- mon (see Platnick and Shadab, 1976), Ly- lan Archer. Over the past 25 years, the ®rst gromma Simon (see Platnick and Shadab, author and various colleagues have made 1976), Tricongius Simon (see Platnick and several collecting trips to Chile, in search of HoÈfer, 1990), and Oltacloea Mello-LeitaÄo prodidomids as well as other taxa, and we (see Platnick, 1986). report here on the results of those expedi- Although no prodidomids have been de- tions. scribed from Chile, a few specimens that With this new material in hand, it is clear seemed to belong to the family were found that Chile actually harbors a substantial pro- in Chilean collections made in the 1950's and didomid fauna, including representatives of 1960's by two Californian entomologists, at least ®ve genera. One is the widespread Drs. Edward Ross and Evert Schlinger, and genus Prodidomus, which appears to be rep- 2005 PLATNICK ET AL.: CHILEAN PRODIDOMIDAE 3 resented in Chile only by its synanthropic otized ring enables the higher gnaphosoids to type species, P. rufus Hentz. That species, expand the soft cuticle surrounding those and its distribution and synonyms, are dis- spigots. Prodidomids differ from lamponids cussed in detail in Platnick and Baehr (in in having enlarged piriform gland spigots press), and our focus here is instead on the that are much larger than the major ampullate endemic Chilean members of the family. gland spigots, and from true gnaphosids in Those taxa belong not to the Prodidominae having those piriform gland spigots greatly but to a group that has often mistakenly been elongated (with long bases bearing short referred to as the Anagraphidinae; as detailed shafts) rather than widened, and accompa- in Platnick and Baehr (in press), the Old nied at their base by long, plumose setae World type genus of that subfamilial name is (Platnick, 1990, 2000, 2002). misplaced in the Prodidomidae, and the New World ``anagraphidines'' (i.e., Lygromma, KEY TO SUBFAMILIES AND GENERA OF Tricongius, and Oltacloea) actually belong to CHILEAN PRODIDOMIDAE the subfamily Theuminae. 1. Posterior eye row very strongly procurved, so As is typically the case for spider groups much so that the eyes of each side appear that have speciated within Chile, the theu- to form a single row together with the an- mine fauna seems to be entirely distinct, at terior lateral eyes; posterior lateral spinner- the generic level, from that found in tropical ets greatly enlarged, much larger than other South America, but does show some trans- spinnerets ......................... Andean connections with Argentine taxa. In . Prodidominae, Prodidomus rufus Hentz this case, one of the four genera discussed Ð Posterior eye row normal, not so strongly below is known to occur also in Argentina, procurved; posterior lateral spinnerets no where a female of one species was described larger than anterior lateral spinnerets .... ....................... Theuminae, 2 (in a monotypic genus in the Gnaphosidae) 2. Abdomen with clavate setae (®g. 31) ...... as Moreno morenoi by Mello-LeitaÄo (1940). ............................ Moreno The relationships and placement of Moreno Ð Abdomen without clavate setae ........ 3 are discussed in detail below. 3. Six eyes ................... Chileomma Specimens have been examined from the Ð Eight eyes ......................... 4 collections of the American Museum of Nat- 4. Tarsal claws dentate ......... Chilongius ural History (AMNH), California Academy Ð Tarsal claws smooth .......... Chileuma of Sciences (CAS), Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales (MACN), and Museo de Moreno Mello-LeitaÄo La Plata (MLP). All measurements are in millimeters; epigyna were examined in clove Moreno Mello-LeitaÄo, 1940: 47 (type species by oil to allow detailed tracing of their elaborate original designation Moreno morenoi Mello- ducts. Chilean locality records are ordered LeitaÄo, 1940). geographically, by regions and provinces, ar- DIAGNOSIS: Specimens of Moreno can eas- ranged from north to south. ily be distinguished from those of the other New World prodidomid genera by the pres- SYSTEMATICS ence of large, clavate, translucent setae on the abdominal dorsum (®g. 31; Mello-LeitaÄo, FAMILY PRODIDOMIDAE 1940, ®g. 49). DIAGNOSIS: Prodidomids are ``higher gna- PLACEMENT: Mello-LeitaÄo (1940) de- phosoids'', resembling the Lamponidae and scribed Moreno as a member of the Gna- Gnaphosidae (rather than the Ammoxenidae, phosidae, but placed it only within the ill- Cithaeronidae, Gallieniellidae, or Trochanter- de®ned ``Drassoidinarum'', and Roewer iidae) in having the anterior lateral spinnerets (1955) retained the genus within the Dras- composed of a single article. In the ``lower sodinae by default. However, the morpholo- gnaphosoid'' families, a separate distal seg- gy of the piriform gland spigots on the an- ment is represented by a complete sclerotized terior lateral spinnerets indicates that these ring surrounding the spigots on the anterior spiders are prodidomids rather than gnapho- lateral spinnerets. The loss of the distal scler- sids. Although few in number, the piriform 4 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 3499 gland spigots are elongated rather than wid- curved, from front, anterior row recurved, ened, with long bases and short shafts, and posterior row slightly procurved; anterior are accompanied by at least one long seta at medians separated by slightly more than their their base (®gs. 1, 2). Within the Prodidomi- diameter, almost touching anterior laterals; dae, the morphology of both the sternum and posterior medians separated by about their the epigynum supports the placement of the maximum width, almost touching posterior genus within the Theuminae. The sternum laterals; anterior and posterior laterals sepa- has a large protrusion between the fourth rated by less than their radius; median ocular coxae that lacks the rebordered margin found quadrangle wider in back than in front, about on the sternal sides but bears numerous long, as long as wide in back. Chelicerae vertical, erect setae; the epigynum has highly convo- not divergent, paturon without boss, promar- luted ducts. gin with row of long, curved setae, seta clos- RELATIONSHIPS: The tarsal claws of More- est to fang base greatly elongated, distinctly no are unusual, in that they bear both a series bent toward midline at about one-eighth its of normal teeth and a set of closely spaced length; promargin with three teeth, retromar- teeth situated at the base of each claw (®g. gin with two denticles, fang short, not 5). These closely spaced teeth are strongly arched; chilum indistinct, apparently unipar- arched, and are apparently used to grasp a tite, triangular. Labium wider than long, wid- short, specialized seta that originates just est posteriorly, along procurved posterior dorsally of the much longer claw tuft setae margin; anterior margin strongly rebordered. (®g. 6). Scanning electron microscopy of the Endites short, convergent anteriorly, bent and claws of representatives of the new genera obliquely