Notes on Indian wolf spiders: IV. Transfer of species previously included in the genera Crocodilosa Caporiacco, 1947 and Geolycosa Montgomery, 1904 (Araneae: Lycosidae)

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  Notes on Indian wolf spiders: IV. Transfer of species previously included in the genera Crocodilosa Caporiacco, 1947 and Geolycosa Montgomery, 1904 (Araneae: Lycosidae) The enigmatic Crocodilosa Caporiacco, 1947 sensu lato currently consists of five nominal species distributed in Africa and Asia (World Spider Catalog 2026). It was established for C. kittenbergeri Caporiacco, 1947, with a superficial generic diagnosis relying only on somatic features such as length of eye rows, leg spination and relative leg lengths (Caporiacco 1947). Roewer (1955), following Caporiacco’s (1947) generic diagnosis, drastically increased the number of Crocodilosa species by transferring several species from other lycosid genera, but most of these subsequently added species were later reassigned to their appropriate genera (World Spider Catalog 2026), highlighting the need for a re-examination of the type species and remaining congeners to clarify the validity of Crocodilosa. At present, the genus ha...

SPATIOTEMPORAL SEGREGATION OF THE SYMPATRIC SPECIES CUPIENNIUS GETAZI AND C. COCCINEUS (ARANEAE: TRECHALEIDAE) IN PACUARE NATURE RESERVE, COSTA RICA

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SPATIOTEMPORAL SEGREGATION OF THE SYMPATRIC SPECIES CUPIENNIUS GETAZI AND C. COCCINEUS (ARANEAE:  TRECHALEIDAE) IN PACUARE NATURE RESERVE, COSTA RICA

ABSTRACT

The coexistence of species with similar ecological requirements is explained by resource partitioning. Spiders are a good model to test hypotheses about niche segregation between co-occurring species. Here, we analysed the spatiotemporal segregation of the sympatric species Cupiennius getazi and C. coccineus in a tropical forest of Costa Rica. Significant differences were found in the habitat of each species, with C. getazi mainly appearing in the reserve track and C. coccineus in the swamp zones. No differences between species were found in the daily activity patterns. Juveniles appeared at lower height in the vegetation than adults/subadults, but no differences between species were found in the height at which they appeared in the vegetation. The orange morphotype of C. getazi was more frequent than the grey morphotype. Cannibalism is reported in C. coccineus. Differential habitat use indicates a spatial segregation between these species. The intraspecific differences regarding the vertical distribution could contribute to reducing cannibalism in these spiders. Segregación espaciotemporal de las especies simpátricas Cupiennius getazi y C. coccineus (Araneae: Trechaleidae) en la Reserva Natural de Pacuare, Costa Rica Resumen: La coexistencia de especies con necesidades ecológicas similares se explica por reparto de recursos. Las arañas son un buen modelo para contrastar hipótesis sobre segregación de nichos entre especies coocurrentes. Aquí analizamos la segrega-ción espaciotemporal de las especies simpátricas Cupiennius getazi y C. coccineus en un bosque tropical de Costa Rica. Se en-contraron diferencias significativas en el hábitat de cada especie, apareciendo C. getazi principalmente en el sendero de la reserva y C. coccineus en las zonas pantanosas. No se encontraron diferencias entre especies respecto a los patrones de actividad diari-os. Los juveniles aparecieron a alturas más bajas de vegetacion que los adultos/subadultos, pero no se encontraron diferencias entre especies respecto a la altura a la que aparecían en la vegetación. El morfotipo naranja de C. getazi fue mas frecuente que el morfotipo gris. Se reporta canibalismo en C. coccineus. Las diferencias en el uso del hábitat indican segregación espacial entre estas especies. Las diferencias intraespecíficas obtenidas respecto a la distribución vertical podrían contribuir a reducir el canibal-ismo en estas arañas. Palabras clave: Araneae, Trechaleidae, arañas errantes, canibalismo, patrones de actividad, uso de hábitat, Costa Rica.