Homotypic assortative mating is consistent across temporal scales in the spider Mecynogea lemniscata (Araneidae)

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Homotypic assortative mating is consistent across temporal scales in the spider Mecynogea lemniscata (Araneidae) Abstract Identifying patterns of size-assortative mating (SAM) indicates the direction of genetic changes in a population. A reliable method for estimating it in a population is to measure mate assortments within and between breeding seasons¸ as well as describing size variation of males and females between temporal scales to avoid Simpson’s paradox. We assessed sexual size dimorphism, the effects of ontogeny, size differences within each sex, the consistency of SAM within and between seasons, and male mate choice in the spider  Mecynogea lemniscata . We collected mating pairs in a  Eucalyptus  plantation across two breeding seasons and in four periods of the second season. We measured body mass and carapace width of spiders. Males matured earlier than females and guarded subadult partners. Although adults were larger and heavier than subadults, ontogeny did no...

Reidentification of historical specimens assigned to Cupiennius oculifer (Karsch, 1879) (Araneae: Trechaleidae)

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Reidentification of historical specimens assigned to Cupiennius oculifer (Karsch, 1879) (Araneae: Trechaleidae)

Karsch (1879) described Phoneutria oculifera based on a single female from Mexico, without precise locality data. The description of this species appeared as a footnote, as the broader paper was on African spiders. Karsch (1879: 350) compares P. oculifera to “Phoneutria Saléi” [= Cupiennius salei (Keyserling, 1877)] and the short text description is accompanied by a single sketch of the epigyne ventrally (Fig. 1F; Karsch, 1879: fig. 2). The species remained valid for some time, but F. O. Pickard-Cambridge (1897: 63) expressed doubt on its generic placement, stating: “Whether this form really belongs to the group to which Simon gave the name Cupiennius I cannot say. One would think probably not. The form of the vulva resembles very closely that of Lycoctenus bogotensis (Keys.) [now Ancylometes Bertkau, 1880] and L. brunneus, sp. n., but as Karsch makes no mention of the number of tarsal claws, it is impossible to say for certain. In any case It does not belong to the genus Phoneutria”. Petrunkevitch (1911: 479) may have used these remarks to justify his synonymy of P. oculifera with C. salei, which was not explained explicitly in his work. Petrunkevitch’s synonymy was subsequently accepted by Roewer (1942) and Bonnet (1956) and in total was maintained for nearly 75 years.

Sherwood, D., Cobo, S.A., Dunlop, J.A., Tsavalas, A.T., Geci, D., Lucas, S.M. & Brescovit, A.D. (2025) Reidentification of historical specimens assigned to Cupiennius oculifer (Karsch, 1879) (Araneae: Trechaleidae). Zootaxa, 5723 (1), 138–142. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5723.1.8