Uaitemuri rupicola, Santos & Gonzaga, 2017

Santos, Adalberto J. & Gonzaga, Marcelo O., 2017, Systematics and natural history of Uaitemuri, a new genus of the orb-weaving spider family Uloboridae (Araneae: Deinopoidea) from south-eastern Brazil, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 180 (1), pp. 155-174 : 159-166

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12471
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9C7495D-95A5-4CFF-9142-F20E815CA691
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EC7D47-3612-C80D-1FC7-F20A88ABF9B6
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Uaitemuri rupicola
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

UAITEMURI RUPICOLA View in CoL SP. NOV.

FIGURES 1 A, B View Figure 1 , 2–4 View Figure 2 View Figure 3 View Figure 4 , 6–12 View Figure 6 View Figure 7 View Figure 8 View Figure 9 View Figure 10 View Figure 11 View Figure 12 , S 1 View Figure 1

Type material: Holotype — Male from Brazil: Minas Gerais: S ao ~ Gonçalo do Rio Abaixo ( Estaç ao ~ de Preservaç ao ~ e Desenvolvimento Ambiental de Peti ; 19.8833 ° S, 43.3667 ° W), 5.VI.2010, A. J. Santos coll. ( UFMG 5867 View Materials ) GoogleMaps . Paratypes — Female from the same locality and date ( UFMG 5868 View Materials ). Male and female from Brazil: Minas Gerais: Alto Caparao ( Parque Nacional do Caparao ; 20.5167 ° S, 41.9 ° W), 1 – 7. V GoogleMaps .2002, Equipe Biota coll. ( IBSP 156031 View Materials ) .

Additional material examined: Brazil: Esp � ırito Santo: Santa Teresa ( Reserva Biologica Augusto Ruschi , Trilha Roda d’ Agua �, 19.893 ° S, 40.5428 ° W), 30.I.2015, T. G. Kloss coll., 1 male, 1 female ( UFMG 18550 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; as above ( Trilha da Preguiça , 19.9102 ° S, 40.5419 ° W), 1 female ( UFMG 18594 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; Minas Gerais: Alto Caparao ( Parque Nacional do Caparao , 20.5167 ° S, 41.9 ° W), 1 – 7. V.2002, Equipe Biota coll., 1 male ( IBSP 156024 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; 1 female ( IBSP 156025 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; 6 females ( IBSP 156027 View Materials ) ; 1 female ( IBSP 156029 View Materials ) ; 1 female ( IBSP 156030 View Materials ) ; 1 female ( IBSP 156032 View Materials ) ; 1 female ( IBSP 156033 View Materials ) ; Brumadinho (distrito de Casa Branca, Espaço Verde Folhas ; 20.0878 ° S, 44.0511 ° W), 2. V.2014, A. J. Santos et al. coll., 3 females, 1 juvenile ( UFMG 15499 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; Carrancas (21.5 ° S, 44.65 ° W), 2001, E. Mendes coll., 3 males, 5 females, 1 juvenile ( IBSP 39618 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; Inconfidentes (22.3131 ° S, 46.3306 ° W), IV – IX.2014, M. M. Souza coll., 2 females ( UFMG 17467 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; Juiz de Fora ( Reserva Biologica Municipal Poço D’Anta ; 21.7605 ° S, 43.3195 ° W), 2 – 3.IV.2011, G. H. F. Azevedo & A. J. Santos coll., 1 male ( UFMG 5332 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; Morro do Pilar ( Lageado ; 19.2298 ° S, 43.3833 ° W), 13 – 14.XI.2013, P. H. Martins et al. coll., 1 male, 1 female, 6 juveniles ( UFMG 14366 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; S ao ~ Gonçalo do Rio Abaixo (Estaç ao ~ de Preservaç ao ~ e Desenvolvimento Ambiental de Peti ; 19.8833 ° S, 43.3667 ° W), 7.IV.2004, E. S. S. Alvares � & E. T. Rodrigues coll., 1 female ( UFMG 1285 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; 9.IV.2004, E. S. S. Alvares � & E. T. Rodrigues coll., 1 male ( UFMG 1657 View Materials ) ; 3 females ( UFMG 1658 View Materials , 1659 View Materials , 1660 View Materials ) ; 5. VI.2010, A. J. Santos coll., 3 females, 3 juveniles ( UFMG 5866 View Materials ) ; 3 females, 1 juvenile ( UFMG 5869 View Materials ) ; 1.IX.2012, M. O. Gonzaga et al. coll., 3 females ( UFMG 12042 View Materials ) ; Rio de Janeiro: Petropolis ( Fazenda Ranchinho da Roça ; 22.5 ° S, 43.1833 ° W), 15 – 16.VIII.2001, 1 male ( IBSP 156022 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; Volta Redonda (Area � de Relevante Interesse Ecologico Floresta da Cicuta ; 22.5167 ° S, 44.1167 ° W), 24.IV.1994, M. O. Gonzaga coll., 1 female ( UFMG 651 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; same, 27.XII.2001, 1 female ( UFMG 3892 View Materials ) ; same, 31.VIII.2002, 1 female ( UFMG 3893 View Materials ) ; S ao ~ Paulo: Atibaia ( Parque Municipal do Itapetinga ; 23.1667 ° S, 46.4167 ° W), X.2002, L. M. Rosseto & G. Machado coll., 1 female ( UFMG 3894 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; Cotia ( Fragmento Florestal Pedroso ; 23.6333 ° S, 46.8833 ° W), 9.XII.2002, A. A. Nogueira et al. coll., 1 male ( IBSP 131240 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; 1 male ( IBSP 131238 View Materials ); ( Reserva Florestal do Morro Grande ; 23.7 ° S, 46.95 ° W) GoogleMaps , 16.XII.2002, A. A. Nogueira et al. coll., 1 male, 1 female ( IBSP 131239 View Materials ) ; Guarulhos (Parque Estadual da Cantareira, Cabuçu ; 23.4041 ° S, 46.5331 ° W), 16 – 22.VII.2001, Equipe Biota coll., 1 female ( IBSP 156019 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; Itapevi, ( Caucaia do Alto ; 23.6833 ° S, 46.9 ° W), 18 – 28. VI.2002, Equipe Biota coll., 1 female ( IBSP 156020 View Materials ) GoogleMaps ; S ao ~ Jose do Barreiro ( Parque Nacional da Serra da Bocaina ; 22.7167 ° S, 44.6 ° W), 28.IV – 3. V.2002, equipe Biota coll., 1 female ( IBSP 156021 View Materials ) GoogleMaps .

Etymology: The specific epithet is a Latin adjective meaning ‘rock-inhabiting’, and refers to the shaded places under large rocks where we have found this species.

Diagnosis: Males of Uaitemuri rupicola can be distinguished from those of U. demariai by the relatively narrower and twisted embolus, the base of the conductor’s ventral plate not being projected retrolaterally, and the longer dorsal projection of the conductor, surpassing the apex of the cymbium ( Figs 2A – D View Figure 2 , 4A – C View Figure 4 ). Females can be recognized by the characters mentioned in the genus diagnosis.

Description: Male (holotype). Carapace pale brown, darker laterally and with a darker subtriangular median spot, with three dark brown longitudinal stripes over pars cephalica. Clypeus pale brown. Chelicerae dark brown, paler apically. Endites and labium pale brown, mottled with dark brown. Palpus entirely pale brown, suffused with black. Sternum brown, with lateral dusk brown spots near legs I – III and at the posterior tip. Femur I mottled with dark brown, with a pale brown ring on the median third. Femora of remaining legs pale brown, with median and apical dark-brown rings. Patellae pale brown, darker ventrally. Tibiae pale brown, darker ventrally and on the apical half. Metatarsi and tarsi pale brown. Opisthosoma pale brown, dorsum black medially, covered laterally with white spots. Sides with five transversal black stripes. Epigastric plate mottled with black, pulmonary plates pale brown. Post-epigastric area mottled with white, with a posterior median black spot near spinnerets. Cribellum brown, posteriorly black and with a median black spot. Spinnerets and anal tubercle brown, suffused with black. Copulatory apparatus as in the genus description and the species diagnosis. Total length 3.09. Carapace 1.27 long, 1.12 wide. Sternum 0.56 long, 0.56 wide. Leg I, length of segments: femur 1.98, patella 0.56, tibia 1.62, metatarsus 1.72, tarsus 0.76. Length of tibia II 0.66, III 0.46, IV 0.71. Opisthosoma 2.13 long.

Female (paratype, UFMG 5868). Colour as in the male, except as follows. Carapace with a median, posterior white spot. Median dark brown spot without dark brown longitudinal stripes over pars cephalica. Opisthosoma covered with white spots. Dorsum with a median black stripe. Post-epigastric area with two anterior, paramedian black spots. Cribellum brown, with an anterior, median black spot. Genital organs as in the genus description. Total length 4.77. Carapace 1.83 long, 1.32 wide. Sternum 1.12 long, 0.81 wide. Leg I, length of segments: femur 2.23, patella 0.61, tibia 1.83, metatarsus 1.88, tarsus 0.81. Length of tibia II 0.76, III 0.56, IV 0.91. Opisthosoma 3.07 long.

Variation: The opisthosoma of several female specimens has almost completely faded dorsal and lateral black stripes. Measurements: males (N = 10), total length 2.86 – 3.95, carapace width 1.07 – 1.22, tibia I length 1.57 – 1.88. Females (N = 38), total length 4.16 – 5.59, carapace width 1.27 – 1.42, tibia I length 1.83 – 2.03.

Natural history: Uaitemuri rupicola was found on webs in shaded sites within crevices of large rocks ( Fig. 9A – C View Figure 9 ) in three localities: Estaç ~ ao de Preservaç ao ~ e Desenvolvimento Ambiental de Peti (N = 11), Espaço Verde Folhas (N = 3) and Morro do Pilar (P. H. Martins, pers. commun.). All specimens were found resting on the rock surface, holding a signal thread connected to the hub of the orb web. The resting posture resembles ‘posture D’ of Opell & Eberhard (1984), with the front legs flexed against the body ( Fig. 9D, E View Figure 9 ), although we could not see which leg holds the signal thread. This position, together with the body colour, makes the spider cryptic against the substrate. The web is composed of a mesh placed in contact with the rock and a vertical orb with a free sector ( Fig. 9A – C View Figure 9 ) within which passes the signal thread. No stabilimentum or any kind of web decoration was observed. The orb comprises a relatively small number of radii (mean

SD = 11.00 3.65, N = 4) and spirals (8.75 1.89, N = 4), compared to webs of other uloborid species, such as Zosis geniculata ( Olivier, 1789) ( Eberhard, 2014) , Philoponella divisa Opell, 1979 , P. tingens ( Chamberlin & Ivie, 1936) and P. republicana ( Simon, 1891) ( Opell, 1979) . As reported for other uloborid orb webs ( Lubin, 1986), spiral threads include zig-zag loops near the periphery of the capture area and several switchbacks ( Fig. 9A, B View Figure 9 ). Prey capture was not observed, but prey remains found on webs or under consumption showed that the spider wraps the prey in a dense cover of silk ( Figs 9F, S View Figure 9 2 View Figure 2 ), which probably kills the prey by compression (see Eberhard, Barrantes & Weng, 2006).

Males were seen resting in a cryptic posture, hanging from the rock ceiling, close to females ( Fig. 9E View Figure 9 ). We did not observe any courtship or copulation events, but the specimens examined indicate males probably seal female copulatory openings with copulatory plugs ( Fig. 3B View Figure 3 ). Females of Uaitemuri rupicola build several stellate egg sacs connected to each other and to the rock surface, always suspended on an orb-like silk scaffold built around the mother’s resting site ( Figs 9B View Figure 9 , 10A, B View Figure 10 ). Egg sacs are composed exclusively of fine silk (sensu Opell, 1984b; Fig. 11A – F View Figure 11 ), with 17.77 lm of coating thickness and two layers. The thread diameters on external (mean SD = 1.04 0.11 lm, N = 15) and internal (1.01 0.08, N = 15) layers were not significantly different (t = 0.972, P = 0.339). The silk covering was particularly dense throughout the egg sac, but included sparse pore-like apertures ( Fig. 11B – F View Figure 11 ), possibly made by the wasp mentioned below.

We observed egg sacs being attacked by two specimens of Arachnopteromalus dasys ( Pteromalidae ), an egg predator wasp ( Fig. 10C – E View Figure 10 ), in Estaç ao ~ de Preservaç ~ ao e Desenvolvimento Ambiental de Peti. The wasps were seen walking around the females and their egg sacs, climbing on egg sacs and piercing them with the ovipositor. Unfortunately, due to the wasp’s small size and the poor lighting, we could not ascertain how frequently the wasps touched the spi- der silk, but the female spider seemed unresponsive to their presence, even when they were walking over and piercing the egg sacs. Four additional wasp specimens were obtained in the laboratory, from egg sacs collected in the same place.

Distribution: Known from south-eastern Brazil, in the states of Esp � ırito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de

Janeiro and S ~ ao Paulo ( Fig. 12 View Figure 12 ). Distribution records are from 100 to ~ 1500 m a.s.l.