Sex Role–Dependent Behavioral and Architectural Divergence in a Jumping Spider

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  Sex Role–Dependent Behavioral and Architectural Divergence in a Jumping Spider ABSTRACT Sex differences in behavior and functional traits are often attributed to differences in mating effort intensity, but the role of sex-specific parental demands remains poorly understood. Using the jumping spider Toxeus maxillosus —where males engage in mate searching and courtship without providing parental care, while females provide extended maternal care from egg attendance to offspring maturity (around 3 months)—we conducted an exploratory investigation into whether these distinct selective pressures led to divergence in spatial behaviors and nest architecture. Results revealed that males and females showed equivalent accuracy, latency, and learning-related performance in both a route-planning test under water stress and a color-pattern associative memory task. In contrast, during nest-construction assays, females built complex, multi-entrance structures that closely matched the container'...

On the first Subandean species of Eutichurus Simon, 1897 (Araneae: Cheiracanthiidae) from the Cordillera del Cóndor, Ecuador

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On the first Subandean species of Eutichurus Simon, 1897 (Araneae: Cheiracanthiidae) from the Cordillera del Cóndor, Ecuador

Cheiracanthiidae Wagner, 1887 is a family composed of 14 genera, being Eutichurus Simon, 1897 the only genus currently known to occur in Ecuador. Although the confusing relocations within families that this group faced (e.g. Clubionidae), the taxonomy of this genus has recently been revised and proven to have great diversity across the neotropical region from Costa Rica to Argentina (Lehtinen 1967; Ramirez et al. 2014; Murphy & Roberts 2015; Bonaldo 1994; Bonaldo et al. 2018). According to the World Spider Catalog (2024), currently, Eutichurus has 31 valid species but is expected that two species described from India (Eutichurus chingliputensis Majumder & Tikader, 1991 and E. tezpurensis Biswas, 1991) and one from Colombia (E. keyserlingi Simon, 1897) could be misplaced within the genus (Bonaldo et al. 2018).

A multidisciplinary expedition conducted by the Laboratory of Terrestrial Zoology of Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) was carried out at several localities from the Cordillera del Cóndor, Province of Zamora Chinchipe, Ecuador. This expedition resulted in the discovery of a great number of new potential spider species from this particular Amazonian mountain system; being Eutichurus tendetza sp. nov. the first described species from this expedition and the first Cheiracanthiidae species to be described from an Ecuadorian Tepuy. Few publications related to the spider diversity of the Cordillera del Cóndor have been made (i.e. Dupérré & Tapia, 2020; Dupèrrè et al. 2023). We hope that the present paper will be the first of a series of publications showing the great potential of this region as a hotspot of spider diversity.

Description format of the new species follows Bonaldo et al. (2018) with modifications. Comparative information from other Eutichurus species was based on Bonaldo (1994) and Bonaldo et al. (2018). The specimen is preserved in a vial with 75% ethanol and deposited at Museo de Zoología, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador (ZSFQ, Curator: Margarita M. López-García). For general information on microscopy, photographs, and female genitalia treatment see Peñaherrera-R. et al. (2023). Abbreviations are giving in the legends of the plates.


Peñaherrera-R., P., Guerrero-Campoverde, A., Guerrero-Molina, T. & Cisneros-Heredia, D. F. (2024b). On the first Subandean species of Eutichurus Simon, 1897 (Araneae: Cheiracanthiidae) from the Cordillera del Cóndor, Ecuador. Zootaxa 5477(2): 246-250. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5477.2.8