Chrysometa otavalo Levi, 1986

Peñaherrera-R, Pedro, 2025, On some Chrysometa Simon, 1894 species collected from Ecuador: redescription of C. bolivia, description of a new species, and comments on the type locality of C. otavalo (Araneae, Tetragnathidae), Zootaxa 5636 (3), pp. 511-522 : 519-520

Chrysometa otavalo Levi, 1986

Chrysometa otavalo Levi, 1986: 200 , figs 674–677

Type material. Holotype ♀, Otavalo, Atuela , 2,200 m, provincia de Pichincha?, Ecuador, 8–9 September 1977, Peña, L. leg. ( AMNH) (not examined).

Notes. According to Levi (1986), C. otavalo was described based on a female from the locality of Otavalo, Atuela, 2200 m, province of Pichincha, in Ecuador. It should be noted that although there are cities and communities with repeated names across the different provinces of Ecuador, the locality of Otavalo is not mentioned in any older or contemporary maps of Ecuador as part of the province of Pichincha (pers. obs.). Likewise, the locality of Atuela does not exist in the province of Pichincha or any other province of Ecuador, thus acknowledging the need to correctly georeferencing this locality. Fortunately, while investigating Levi (1986), a locality with almost the exact information was provided for the distribution record of Chrysometa schneblei Levi, 1986 and is provided as follows “ Prov. Imbabura: Otavalo-Apuela, 2200 m …’’. According to this information, considering that both specimens are deposited in the American Museum of Natural History, were collected by the Chilean entomologist Luis Peña, and have the same date range and year (8–9 September 1977), the type locality of C. otavalo can be inferred as a misspelling of Apuela [possibly in the specimen label] and should refer to the one provided in C. schneblei instead. Additionally, the locality of Apuela can easily be located on contemporary maps (e.g. Google Earth) confirming its placement within the province of Imbabura.

Following the verbatim locality, these specimens were found at 2,200 m, however, according to the maps this village is located approximately 1,500 –1,600 m. Searching the plausible localities where L. Peña collected the spiders it was found that starting from a central point in the village of Apuela, a 6 km radius provides a realistic area where the altitudinal range matches that of the verbatim locality. In this respect, the author considers it pertinent to propose that the type locality of C. otavalo and the population record of C. schneblei should be temporarily restricted to Apuela, 0°21'22.28"N 78°30'45.71"W ( Fig. 11 ) as a midpoint where these species could be found within a radius of approximately 6 km. Regarding the mention of the city of Otavalo, this may simply be a general reference point set by the collector or it could be that it indicates a route between the two localities. Considering that it was collected in the 70’s, it likely refers to the only road that connects these places and that is currently in use. As a result, if the second option is considered from the proposed area, it is possible that ~ 6 km SSE of the midpoint could be where these specimens were collected. However, this will need to be verified through fieldwork in this area.

Figures

FIGURE 11. Distribution of the species of Chrysometa studied in this article.