Occurrence
and redescription of Sipalolasma arthrapophysis (Gravely, 1915) (Araneae: Barychelidae:
Barychelinae) from India
S.M. Maqsood Javed 1,4, Robert J. Raven 2,
Farida Tampal 1 & K. Thulsi Rao 3
1World Wide Fund for Nature-India
(WWF) - APSO, 818, Castle Hills, Road No. 2, Near NMDC, Vijayanagar Colony,
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh 500057, India
2Queensland Museum, Grey Street,
PO Box 3300, South Brisbane, 4101, Queensland, Australia
3Eco-Research and Monitoring
Laboratories, Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve, Sundipenta, Kurnool
District, Andhra Pradesh 518102, India
Email:4 javedwwf2007@gmail.com
Date
of publication (online): 26 May 2010
Date
of publication (print): 26 May 2010
ISSN
0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)
Editor: Ansie Dippenaar
Manuscript
details:
Ms # o2387
Received 18 January
2010
Final revised
received 05 April 2010
Finally accepted 06
April 2010
Citation: Javed, S.M.M., R.J. Raven, F. Tampal & K.T. Rao
(2010). Occurrence and redescription of Sipalolasma arthrapophysis (Gravely, 1915) (Araneae:
Barychelidae: Barychelinae) from India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 2(5): 867-875.
Copyright: © S.M. Maqsood Javed, Robert J. Raven, FaridaTampal & K. Thulsi Rao 2010. Creative Commons Attribution
3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in
any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing
adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.
Author
Details: Mr. S.M. Maqsood
Javed is a Senior Field
Researcher-cum-Education Officer, World Wide Fund for Nature-India, Andhra
Pradesh State Office, Hyderabad. His interest lies in biodiversity
studies with special emphasis on arachnofauna and herpetofauna.
Dr. Robert J. Raven is a Senior
Curator (Arachnida) & Head, Terrestrial Biodiversity, Queensland Museum, Australia. He is working on Australian tarantulas and racing stripe
spiders (family Miturgidae) and is the world authority on tarantula and
trapdoor spiders. He has described new species world-wide,
including 300+ new Australian species.
Ms. Farida Tampal is
State Director of the Andhra Pradesh State Office of World Wide Fund for Nature
– India, Hyderabad. She is
interested in understanding the biodiversity of the Eastern Ghats with special
emphasis on arachnofauna and herpetofauna.
Mr. K. Thulsi Rao is Assistant Conservator of Forests,
Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve. He is the head of the Ecological Research and Monitoring Laboratories
(ERM Labs), Sundipenta, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh. He is having immense experience and
knowledge on biodiversity of different landscapes with special reference to the
Eastern Ghats of India.
Author
Contribution: SMMJ, FT and KTR
conducted the field surveys; SMMJ and RJR identified the specimen; SMMJ, RJR,
FT and KTR equally contributed in writing this article.
Acknowledgements:The authors are very thankful to Shri
Hitesh Malhotra, IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) and
Chief Wildlife Warden, Andhra Pradesh, Shri Sunil Kumar, IFS, Addl. Prl. Chief
Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), Shri. R. Hampaiah, Chairman and Shri V.B.
Ramana Murthy, Member Secretary, Andhra Pradesh Biodiversity Board for their
constant support and encouragement. SMMJ and FT expresses gratitude to Shri
Anil Kumar V. Epur, Chairman, WWF-AP State Committee, Hyderabad and Shri Ravi
Singh, Secretary General & CEO, WWF-India, New Delhi for constant support
and encouragement. We express our thanks to Shri Swaranjit Sen, IPS (Retd.),
Chairman, Shri B. Venkatesham, IAS, Managing Director and Shri P.V. Ramana
Reddy, IFS, Executive Director, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation,
Hyderabad for constant support and permitting us to conduct biodiversity
studies in APTDC Eco-tourism sites. RJR is grateful to Dr. Christine Rollard,
Musee National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris and Mrs. Janet Becaloni, Natural
History Museum, London for their cooperation while visiting their respective
collections. KTR expresses gratitude to Shri A.K. Nayak, IFS, Conservator of
Forests & Field Director, Nagarjunasagar Srisailam
Tiger Reserve for constant encouragement and sustained support. We thank Dr.
S.Z. Siddiqui, OC and Shri. Anand Kumar
Ayyaswamy, Sr. Zoological Assistant,
FBRC, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh for laboratory support and literature. We thank Mr.
Zeeshan A. Mirza for sharing literature. Lastly, we would like to thank Mr. P.S.M. Srinivas, Manager Corporate
for exploring new places and all the WWF-Staff of APSO, Hyderabad for their
constant support and timely suggestions.
Abstract: During a recent biodiversity survey a rare
Brush-footed trapdoor spider, Sipalolasma arthrapophysis(Gravely, 1915) was recorded from the State of Andhra Pradesh, India for the
first time and the second record from India. A detailed description with photographs and illustrations of
the male is provided.
Keywords: Andhra
Pradesh, Ananthagiri, Brush-footed trapdoor spider
For Figures, Images, Tables -
- click here
Introduction
The Brush-footed trapdoor spider family Barychelidae is
represented worldwide by 44 genera and about 303 species, of which Diplothele gravelyi Siliwal et al., 2009, D. tenebrosusSiliwal et al., 2009, D. walshi O.
Pickard-Cambridge, 1890, Sason andamanicumSimon, 1888, S. rameshwaram Siliwal & Molur, 2009, S. robustumO. Pickard-Cambridge, 1883, Sasonichus sullivaniPocock, 1900 and Sipalolasma
arthrapophysis (Gravely, 1915)
are reported from India (Gravely 1935; Pocock 1900; Platnick 2009; Siliwal et al. 2009; Siliwal &
Molur 2009).
The genus SipalolasmaSimon, 1892 is found in Africa, Malaysia, India and Sri Lanka, and represented
by nine species. The five species
recorded from Asia are: S. aedificatrix Abraham,
1924, S. arthrapophysis (Gravely, 1915), S. ellioti Simon,
1892, S. greeni Pocock, 1900, and S. ophiriensis Abraham,
1924. Of these, only S. arthrapophysis occurs in India but little is known about it. During a biodiversity inventory survey
conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India), Andhra Pradesh
State Office (APSO) in collaboration with Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development
Corporation (APTDC), Hyderabad, we collected a male and identified it as S. arthrapophysis albeit with some variations. This is the second record of S. arthrapophysis from India and the first recorded from the State of
Andhra Pradesh, India (Image 1). A
detailed description is provided using the same characters as used by Raven
(1994).
Material & Methods
The measurements taken follow Raven (2005). It is given in millimetres, and was
rounded off to one decimal where appropriate and weretaken with a digital dial calipers with an error of 0.01mm. Photographs of the preserved specimen
were taken with a Nikon Coolpix S550mounted directly on the eye piece of a Lawrence & Mayo stereomicroscope
illuminated with a 100 watt light source; only minor colour corrections of the
photos has been done. Illustrations were made with camera lucida attached to Olympus SZX 12
stereo zoom microscope. The
specimen is deposited in the collections of the Zoological Survey of India,
Fresh-water Biology Regional Center, Arachnid section
(ZSI/FBRC/A), Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India.
TAXONOMY
Barychelidae Simon, 1889
Barychelinae Simon, 1889
Sipalolasma Simon, 1892
SipalolasmaSimon, 1892: 123; Pocock 1900: 176; Benoit 1966: 236; Raven 1985: 113; Platnick
1989: 94.
CyclopelmaBenoit, 1965: 302; Raven 1985: 151 (synonym).
Type
species: Sipalolasma ellioti Simon, 1892.
Diagnosis
ALE not close to clypeal edge; ocular area as wide as
long or slightly wider behind; fovea a deep circular pit or transverse or
pro-curved or slightly re-curved; four spinnerets; tibial spur present in male;
labium and maxilla with cuspules; claw tufts absent from female palp; body size
15-29 mm (Raven 1985; Dippenaar-Schoeman 2002).
Distribution
Africa (Afrotropical region, including from Mozambique,
Ethiopia, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo), Malaysia, India
and Sri Lanka.
Sipalolasma arthrapophysis (Gravely, 1915)
(Figs.
1-2, Images 2-6)
Sasonichus arthrapophysis Gravely, 1915: 264, pl. 15, fig. 2; type specimen may
be in ZSI, Kolkata not examined; Gravely 1921: 404, pl. 10, fig. 12.
Sipalolasma athrapophysis Raven, 1985: 116 (synonymy).
Material examined
1 male, 25.vii.2009, Ananthagiri, Vishakapatnam
District, Andhra Pradesh, India, 18015’N & 82059’E,
1190m, coll. S.M. Maqsood Javed, ZSI/FBRC/A−25.
Diagnosis (Male)
ALE not close to clypeal edge; ocular area slightly
wider behind; fovea transverse to slightly recurved; pair of enlarged tibial
spur present in male; promarginal area of chelicera with 9-10 irregular sized
teeth; cuspules on labium (ca. 4-5) and maxilla ca. 28-31; claw tufts present
on all legs; body size 11-24 mm (Gravely 1915; Raven 1985).
Description of male
Carapace (excluding chelicerae) 6.13 long, 5.60 wide,
chelicerae 3.20 long (after dissection 3.60). Abdomen 5.62 long, 3.39 wide. Spinnerets: PMS, 0.22 long, 0.6 wide,
0.4 apart; PLS, 0.42 basal, 0.30 middle, 0.20 distal (PLS = 0.92); midwidth:
0.12, 0.8, 0.5 respectively. Legs (including palpi) morphometry is given in
Table 1.
Carapace (Images.
2A, 3A, 5B): length to width 1.09; ovate;
uniform dark brown (brick red in life) with light brown hairs (golden in life)
on margin, uniform cover of short dull brown hairs and short black setae or
thorns scattered in between; clypeus 0.40 long, slanting downwards below ALE;
fovea prominent, transverse and slightly re-curved; group of long and strong
forward projecting black setae present between ALE; long black setae radiates
from fovea to carapace edges (impression of tubercles distinct even after some
setae were lost), the setae between ocular tubercle and fovea forms a prominent
straight line.
Eyes (Image 5A,
Fig. 1B): Eye tubercle distinct, as long as wide; ALE not close to
clypeal edge; AME close to posterior eyes row; anterior eye row strongly
procurved; posterior eye row slightly recurved. Eye group 1.20 long, 1.42 wide (ratio width to length
1.88). AME clearly larger than
rest, ALE bigger than PLE and PME clearly smaller than
others. Eye diameter: ALE, 0.20; AME, 0.24; PLE, 0.18; PME, 0.09. MOQ, 0.51 long, front width 0.70, back width 0.79. Distance between ALE−ALE: 0.33, AME−AME: 0.14.
Maxillae (Images 3C, 5C, Figs. 1A
& D): Prolateral face smooth, glabrous,
without lyra or setae; tuft of hair present on
margin. Cuspules
ca. 31/28 (left/right) in anterior corner, of these ca. 6 large at margin.
Labium (Images
3C, Figs. 1A & E):About five cuspules in single procurved row on anterior part. Labiosternal groove broad with two
separate large sigilla. Few small setae at center and very long in anterior half.
Chelicerae
(Images 5D & F, Figs. 2A & B):Reddish-brown; lyra absent; spicules sparse and thin
row on anterior prolateral region starts from base to base of fang; prolateral
and retrolateral faces flat; promarginal area with 9 irregular sized teeth.
Sternum (Images
2B, 3B, Fig. 1E): 2.62 long, 2.80
wide. Almost circular, high in center, sloping gradually, covered with dense,
black setae. Posterior
angle sharp, but not extending between coxae IV. Setae marginal more dense and thorn-like. Pedicel pallid and
not easily seen. Sigilla, three pairs, oval, very small and more centrally
positioned, posterior largest, four lengths apart; middle pair not exactly half
size of posterior, anterior exactly half size of posterior.
Palp (Images 6A
& B, Figs. 2D & E):Short in comparison with legs. Cymbium straight, bi-lobed.Bulb round and enlarged, embolus with broad base and slightly twisted with
pointed tip, flat and curved downwards (left bulb is with deformity). Four
enlarged spines on prolateral tibia and one close to base on ventral side.
Legs (Images 5E, 6E−G, Figs.
1C, 2C): 4123. With rows of long and short
hairs intermingled with strong setae and spines. Tarsi I−IV with scopulae
entire divided by band of 2−4 setae, metatarsi I−IV with scopulae
sparse on anterior region. Coxal bases as seen from above, (with I clearly
widest, about 1.3 times length of II; IV as wide as I) Claw tufts on all legs. Tarsi I−IV with two claws, each claw with two rows (6 inner/4
outer) of small denticles. Pair of tibial spurs on leg I, base of distal
spur with enlarged blunt tubercles, basal spur with long stout spine (left side
tibia of leg I devoid of spurs and tubercle, may be absent through damage). Spines on
all legs: I (Metatarsus ventral: 4 m & p 2, r 4; Tibia dorsal/ventral: 2
m/p 2, r 3); II (Metatarsus ventral: 4 m & p 2, r 4; Tibia dorsal/ventral:
2 m/p 3, r 3); III (Metatarsus dorsal/ventral: 2 m/4 m & p 3, r 3; tibia
dorsal/ventral: 2 m/6 m [3 on distal end] & p 2, r 2; patella dorsal: p 2,
r 2 ; femur dorsal: 2 m & p 2, r 2); IV (Metatarsus dorsal/ventral: 2 m/6 m
[2 on distal end] & p 5, r 5; tibia dorsal/ventral: 2 m/6 m [3 on distal
end] & p 5, r 4; patella dorsal: p 2, r 2; femur dorsal: 2 m & p 2, r
2). Elsewhere
absent. Patellae of legs I−IV with knob at base and straight suture up to
distal end on retro-lateral face.
Abdomen (Images
4A & B): Longer than wide, dark brown,
dorsally covered with thick mat of dark brown hair with large golden hairs
(but, after a few days of preservation hair lost and exposed cuticle dorsally),
ventrally thick mat of uniform brown hairs and anterior portion above
epigastric furrow almost bare with very few light brown hairs; pair of sigilla
on anterior dorsal side.
Spinnerets (Image
4C, Fig. 1E): Two pairs with thick dull brown
hair. Apical end of PLS, dome-shaped.
Variation
The new material of Sipalolasma arthrapophysisfrom Andhra Pradesh differs from that illustrated by Gravely (1915) in
morphometry; number of spines on the pro-marginal area of chelicera and
cuspules on labium; embolus of bulb not much twisted; spines near the tibial
spurs are little enlarged.
Distribution
Barkul in southeastern Orissa;
Ananthagiri Hills (18015’N, 82059’E), northeastern Andhra
Pradesh, India.
Natural history
A male was found under a medium-size (about 1m diameter)
boulder on a mountain slope from a well camouflaged U-shaped burrow with
two openings (burrow unfortunately destroyed while flipping the boulder). Gravely (1921) described a burrow
constructed among stones and more or less loose soil and rubbish among the roots
of Ficus bengalensis and Ficus religiosa, etc. It consists of a short and almost
straight tube, somewhat wider in the middle and closed at each end by a trapdoor which is always hinged on the lower side, so that
it hangs open when not held in place by the spider. Empty burrows are thus somewhat conspicuous objects, the
whitish lining of the trap-door contrasting with the
mouth of the dark burrow above it. The trapdoor of a full grown spider is about
10mm in diameter. Males were found
only up to August (Gravely 1921).
DISCUSSION
Gravely (1915) described S. arthrapophysis based on a single male specimen, and in 1921, he
described a female with notes on their natural history. Here information on a second male
specimen based on a record from Andhra Pradesh, India is provided. This species seems to be endemic to
eastern parts of India. However we recorded several variations between the two
specimens, when compared with the description provided by Gravely (1915), and
as more specimens become available the level of variation will reveal whether
they are one or two species. Presently the specimens recorded were from different heights above sea
level and 135km apart with difference in habitat selection.
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