A new species of the spider genus Nativus Casas & Rheims, 2023 from Ecuador and Peru (Sparassidae: Heteropodinae)
A new species of the spider genus Nativus Casas & Rheims, 2023 from Ecuador and Peru (Sparassidae: Heteropodinae)
The genus Nativus Casas & Rheims, 2023 was recently proposed to include the type species, N. tupana Casas & Rheims,
2023, from Brazil, and nine additional new species from the Amazonian regions of Brazil (2 spp.), Peru (1 spp.), and
Colombia (6 spp.). The genus is placed in the subfamily Heteropodinae Thorell, 1873, as it exhibits all the distinctive
characters of the group: intermarginal denticles in the chelicerae, a long-toothed female palpal claw, two recurved eye
rows with median eyes smaller than laterals (Jäger 1998), a ventral branch of the retrolateral tibial apophysis (vRTA) in
the male palp and only one lateral spine on each side of metatarsi I−II (Rheims 2010).
Within Heteropodinae, Nativus appears closely related to Guadana Rheims, 2010 and Sparianthina Banks, 1929,
based on shared morphological characters such as intermarginal denticles extending along the entire cheliceral groove,
a trilobate membrane with a median hook slightly smaller than the lateral projections, and a prominent dorsal tegular
apophysis (DTA) on the male palp (Rheims 2021; Casas & Rheims 2023).
The description follows Casas & Rheims (2023), focusing on characters that differ from the generic pattern. All
measurements are given in millimeters. Leg measurements are listed as: total length (femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus,
tarsus); eye diameters as AME, ALE, PME, PLE and interdistances as AMEAME, AMEALE, PMEPME, PMEPLE,
AMEPME, ALEPLE. The female epigyne was dissected and cleared in clove oil to visualize internal structures, following
Levi (1965). In the schematic course of the female internal duct system, copulatory openings are indicated by circles, and
the end of the fertilization duct in direction of uterus externus with an arrow. Specimens were examined and illustrated
using a Leica M205C stereomicroscope equipped with a camera-lucida. Photographs were taken with a Leica DMC 4500
digital camera mounted on a LEICA M205C stereomicroscope. Extended focal range images were composed using Leica
Application Suite (LAS) software, version X. Distribution maps were generated using SimpleMapper (Shorthouse 2010).
The material examined is deposited in the collections of the Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil (IBSP, curator: A.D.
Brescovit), Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru (MUSM, curator D.
Silva), and National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA (USNM, curator H.M.
Wood). Although older USNM material does not have actual collection numbers, all material collected by T.L. Erwin is
identified by “lot” numbers. We have included these to identify which vial/specimen was used in the descriptions.
Here, we describe a new species of Nativus, representing the first record of the genus from Ecuador and the second
from Peru. The species was discovered during a review of Sparassidae material housed in the collections of the USNM
and MUSM. This new species extends the known distribution of Nativus and contributes to our understanding of its
diversity across the Amazonian region. This finding highlights the value of examining previously collected material in
natural history collections, as incidental discoveries can uncover previously overlooked components of Neotropical spider
diversity.
Rheims, C.A. & Casas, C.M. (2025) A new species of the spider genus Nativus Casas & Rheims, 2023 from Ecuador and Peru (Sparassidae: Heteropodinae). Zootaxa, 5696 (2), 293–297. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5696.2.9