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...

Comparative morphology of stridulating setae of Theraphosinae (Araneae: Theraphosidae)

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Comparative morphology of stridulating setae of Theraphosinae (Araneae: Theraphosidae) 

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Zoologischer Anzeiger

Volume 283, November 2019, Pages 58-68

Abstract


Theraphosid spiders are repleted with cuticular structures that evolved into distinct morphologies and developed different functions. The stridulatory apparatus present in the subfamily Theraphosinae is composed by a group of setae and opposed organs (ridged surface) that emit sound through friction. Only sixteen genera of Theraphosinae spiders were reported with stridulatory setae: Acanthoscurria, Aguapanela, Brachypelma, Citharacanthus, Cyrtopholis, Grammostola, Hemirrhagus, Lasiodora, Longilyra, Nhandu, Theraphosa, Pamphobeteus, Phormictopus, Proshapalopus, Pterinopelma and Vitalius. Besides these stridulating setae, other cuticular structures have been traditionally used in Theraphosinae taxonomy: the plumose scopula on the lateral faces of femora I and IV. However, the ultrastructure of these setae and scopulae was never studied in detail. Here, we analyzed the diversity of cuticular structures on coxae, trochanters and femora of Theraphosinae spiders using SEM. Beside the description of plumose and claviform stridulating setae on femora, we established five distinct variations of stridulatory setae found on coxae and trochanters and report their presence for the genus Megaphobema, Crassicrus and Cotztetlana for the first time.

Galleti-Lima, A., & Guadanucci, J. P. L. (2019). Comparative morphology of stridulating setae of Theraphosinae (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Zoologischer Anzeiger, 283, 58-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcz.2019.08.010