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Suresh P Benjamin - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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first record of platythomisus sudeepi from sri lanka araneae Thomisidae
Arachnology, 2016Co-Authors: Suresh P Benjamin, Sandunika Ileperuma I Arachchi, Bhagya P HerathAbstract:Summary Platythomisus sudeepi Biswas, 1977 is newly recorded in Sri Lanka from six localities, extending its current distribution in southern Asia. General and genital morphology of males and females are illustrated and described; the male is illustrated for the first time. Further, notes on stalking and egg sack construction behaviour are given.
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phylogenetic placement and revision of the tropical asian crab spider genus pagida araneae Thomisidae
Invertebrate Systematics, 2016Co-Authors: Suresh P Benjamin, Crisenthiya I ClaytonAbstract:The tropical Asian crab spider genus Pagida Simon, 1895 has remained taxonomically unrevised and has never been subjected to phylogenetic evaluation. The present study is designed to investigate the monophyly of the genus, its placement within Thomisidae and review all species. Our cladistic analysis, based on 78 morphological characters from 34 taxa (30 ingroup and four outgroup), demonstrates the monophyly of the genus and shows that Pagida is sister to Stiphropus Gerstacker, 1873 within Thomisidae. The monophyly of Pagida and Pagida + Stiphropus is well supported. Pagida salticiformis (O. P.-Cambridge, 1883), the type species of Pagida, is redescribed from a series of specimens collected recently from its type locality, Sri Lanka. Pagida pseudorchestes is redescribed based on nine males and seven females. A new species, Pagida minuta, sp. nov., is described, based on four males and one female.
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the first description of adult female of borboropactus asper o p cambridge 1884 from sri lanka araneae Thomisidae
Zootaxa, 2013Co-Authors: Yuri M Marusik, Mikhail M Omelko, Suresh P BenjaminAbstract:Regillus, a new genus of spiders with R. asper as its type species, was described by O.P.-Cambridge (1884) from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) on the basis of a subadult female. The genus was placed in Cryptothelidae (now considered a subfamily of Zodariidae) due to its similarity with Cryptothele ceylonica O.P.-Cambridge, 1877. However, the new genus had a different eye arrangement, differently shaped maxillae and six spinnerets instead of two (O.P.-Cambridge 1884). Soon after, Simon (1895) recognized that this genus belonged to Thomisidae and synonymised his Borboropactus Simon, 1884 with Regillus . When it was found that Regillus was a junior homonym of the name used by Macgillivray in 1839 (for kinglets) Borboropactus was revalidated. Since the original description R. asper was redescribed only once, by Simon (1895), who illustrated its leg, chelicera and labium-maxilla complex (Simon 1895: figs 1094–1096). Wunderlich (2004) transferred Borboropactus to a new family Borboropactidae, which was rejected by Benjamin et al. (2008) and Benjamin (2011). However, the type species was never studied in any detail.
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on the crab spider genus angaeus thorell 1881 and its junior synonym paraborboropactus tang and li 2009 araneae Thomisidae
Zootaxa, 2013Co-Authors: Suresh P BenjaminAbstract:Morphological comparison of the genera Angaeus Thorell, 1881 and Paraborboropactus Tang and Li, 2009 (Araneae: Thomisidae) shows that the latter should be relegated to a junior synonym of the former. Further, I propose the following new synonyms: Angaeus leucomenus (Thorell, 1895), Stephanopis weyersi Simon, 1899 and Paraborboropactus leguminaceus Tang and Li, 2009 = Angaeus rhombifer Thorell, 1890 syn. nov. , Paraborboropactus oblatus Tang and Li, 2010 = Angaeus lenticulosus Simon, 1903 syn. nov. The following species are transferred from Paraborboropactus : Angaeus canalis (Tang & Li, 2010) comb. nov. , Angaeus liangweii (Tang & Li, 2010) comb. nov. , Angaeus rhombus (Tang & Li, 2009) comb. nov. and Angaeus zhengi (Tang & Li, 2009) comb. nov. The holotype of Angaeus pudicus (type species of the genus) is illustrated, and the male and female of Angaeus rhombifer are redescribed and illustrated based partly on fresh material from Singapore. A new species, Angaeus christae sp. nov. is described based on both sexes, and a syntype of Angaeus comatulus Simon, 1909 is illustrated.
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phylogenetics and comparative morphology of crab spiders araneae dionycha Thomisidae
Zootaxa, 2011Co-Authors: Suresh P BenjaminAbstract:The higher-level phylogenetic relationships of crab spiders (Thomisidae) are studied from morphological data. 33 taxa are coded for 74 characters (53 binary and 21 multistate). Several analyses using equal, successive and implied weights were carried out. The most parsimonious tree obtained by analysis with successive and implied weights is put forward as the preferred hypothesis of thomisid relationships (length 222 steps, CI 0.74, RI 0.83). Thomisidae emerge monophyletic in all analyses, supported by four unambiguous synapomorphies. It is now apparent that thomisid taxa have been mostly defined on the basis of plesiomorphic character states. A number of taxonomic changes, including the description of new taxa are proposed and the evolution of diverse behaviors of thomisids is studied in light of the new phylogenetic result. Color change behavior evolved once within the family, but eye arrangement patterns of the median ocular quadrangle, thought to be diagnostic for many genera, evolved as much as 10 times independently. The following new species are described: Borboropactus nyerere sp. nov., Cebrenninus srivijaya sp. nov., Geraesta lehtineni sp. nov. and Geraesta mkwawa sp. nov. The following new generic synonymies are proposed: Bucranium O. P.-Cambridge, 1881 = Aphantochilus O. P.-Cambridge, 1870; Sanmenia Song and Kim, 1992 = Pharta Thorell, 1891 and Cupa Strand, 1906 = Epidius Thorell, 1877. The following species are synonymized: Regillus divergens Hogg, 1914 and Borboropactus hainanus Song, 1993 = Borboropactus bituberculatus Simon, 1884 syn. nov., Epidius ganxiensis (Yin, Peng & Kim, 1999) = Epidius rubropictus Simon, 1909 syn. nov., Geraesta bilobata Simon, 1897 = Geraesta hirta Simon, 1889 syn. nov., Sanmenia kohi Ono, 1995 = Pharta bimaculata Thorell, 1891 syn. nov. and Sanmenia zhengi (Ono & Song, 1986) = Pharta brevipalpus (Simon, 1903) syn. nov. The following new combinations are proposed: Aphantochilus taurifrons (O. P.-Cambridge, 1881) comb. nov., Epidius typicus (Bosenberg & Strand, 1906) comb. nov., Pharta brevipalpus (Simon, 1903) comb. nov., Pharta gongshan (Yang, Zhu and Song, 2006) comb. nov., Pharta nigra (Tang, Griswold & Peng, 2009) comb. nov. and Pharta tengchong (Tang, Griswold & Yin, 2009) comb. nov.
Douglass H Morse - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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changing oviposition times of the crab spider misumena vatia Thomisidae correlate with climate change
Journal of Arachnology, 2018Co-Authors: Douglass H MorseAbstract:The crab spider Misumena vatia (Clerck, 1757) (Thomisidae) is an important sit-and-wait predator at flowers visited by nectar or pollen-seeking insects. Typically, female M. vatia molt into their adult stage when many insect-attracting flowers come into bloom, and the spiders quickly gain weight leading up to oviposition. Between 1979 and 2010, the first spider ovipositions shifted one month earlier, from late July to late June, at my study site in coastal Maine, USA, in accordance with a concurrent temperature increase of ca. 0.44°C and a lengthening growing season. Flowering times of the spiders' most important hunting site, common milkweed Asclepias syriaca, as well as recruitment dates of their most important prey, bumblebees Bombus spp., to flowering milkweed, advanced as well. The shift in spider oviposition times increased the feasibility of second broods, though I found no successful second broods in the field, and the success of such broods would be problematic because of heavy overwintering losses. Differing rates of change of spider, milkweed and bumblebee activity indicated decreasing synchrony among these species; in particular, lessening future hunting opportunities for the spiders.
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excretion behavior of adult female crab spiders misumena vatia araneae Thomisidae
Journal of Arachnology, 2008Co-Authors: Douglass H MorseAbstract:Abstract Excreta potentially provide parasites or predators with information about the presence of hosts or prey; hence, vulnerable individuals experience strong selection to minimize danger from this source. Alternatively or additionally, excreta could alert potential prey to a spider's presence. Adult female crab spiders Misumena vatia (Clerck 1757) exhibited a strong reluctance to excrete when retained under tightly confined conditions. Only 5% of regularly fed individuals (1% of total observations) excreted over observation periods of as many as 50 days while confined in 7-dram vials (5 cm high, 3 cm diameter). Individuals retained large amounts of excreta during this time. However, when released upon vegetation over two-thirds of them excreted within 5 min, after moving to the distal end of a leaf or petal such that the excreta fell below them onto lower vegetation or the substrate. In the field they showed little tendency to excrete close to their hunting sites. The ability to retain excreta should ...
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mating frequencies of male crab spiders misumena vatia araneae Thomisidae
Journal of Arachnology, 2007Co-Authors: Douglass H MorseAbstract:The number of matings obtained by a male is likely to be a major component of his lifetime fitness. Males that depend on finding mates before their competitors must allocate resources to this effort, potentially at the expense of their reproductive rate. Male crab spiders Misumena vatia (Clerck 1757) often occur at low densities and experience considerable difficulty in finding females. This constraint might select for their cursorial body form and high movement rates at the expense of their reproductive rate. Male M. vatia will not mate more than once in rapid succession and typically no more than once every other day, although they are capable of several matings over their lifetime. Males may rarely encounter virgin females more often than once every other day and thus would experience little loss of fitness from an inability to mate in rapid order.
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the movement and activity patterns of similar sized adult and juvenile crab spiders misumena vatia araneae Thomisidae
Journal of Arachnology, 2004Co-Authors: Heather L Sullivan, Douglass H MorseAbstract:Adult male animals are commonly believed to exhibit higher activity than other conspe- cifics, but little information exists to compare their activity with that of other conspecifics of similar size. Here we compare the activity of adult male and similar-sized juvenile female crab spiders Misumena vatia (Araneae, Thomisidae). Adult males moved farther and more frequently than juvenile females of similar size (fourth instar) that were not affected by impending molt. Juvenile females influenced by impending or recent molt did not move as far or as frequently as nonmolting juveniles, even though their exoskeletons were hard enough to permit rapid movement. A small sample of penultimate males, of similar size to the adult males and juvenile females, exhibited activity patterns similar to the juvenile females. All of these data indicate that the high activity level of adult males is not a simple manifestation of behavior that is solely a function of size. We suggest that the high activity levels of the adult males facilitate search for scarce, cryptic mates.
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the roles of prey and flower quality in the choice of hunting sites by adult male crab spiders misumena vatia araneae Thomisidae
Journal of Arachnology, 1998Co-Authors: Susan A Chien, Douglass H MorseAbstract:Since adult male crab spiders Misumena vatia(Clerck 1757) (Thomisidae) feed sparingly and do not increase in mass, we wished to determine whether they responded to cues from hunting sites that would maximize their prospects of capturing prey . These spiders used cues from both prey and substrate as indicators of satisfactory hunting sites in the absence of females . They remained longer on red clover (Trifolium pratense) and ox-eye daisies (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum) in peak-condition flower than on senescent ones, and longer on daisies in peak-condition flower with prey than on peak- condition flowers without prey . They also remained as long on senescing daisies and clover with prey as on daisies and clover in peak-condition flower, but without prey . Thus, the effects of prey and substrate acted cumulatively on daisy, but not clover . However, they did not respond markedly differently on flowering and senescing branches of goldenrodcanadensis), although individuals on peak- condition flowers visited by prey remained somewhat longer than those at sites not visited by prey .
Guo Tang - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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crab spiders from xishuangbanna yunnan province china araneae Thomisidae
Zootaxa, 2019Co-Authors: Guo TangAbstract:The crab spiders (Araneae: Thomisidae) collected from Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, China are studied. A total of 34 genera and 62 species are reported, including 2 new genera and 23 new species: Micromisumenops gen. nov. of the tribe Misumenini Simon, 1895 (type species Misumenops xiushanensis Song and Chai, 1990), Spilosynema gen. nov. of the tribe Talaini Simon, 1895 (type species S. ansatum sp. nov.); Heriaeus concavus sp. nov., H. convexus sp. nov., Indoxysticus lumbricus sp. nov., Lycopus cha sp. nov., L. tabulatus sp. nov., Massuria bandian sp. nov., M. ovalis sp. nov., Mastira serrula sp. nov., Ozyptila imbrex sp. nov., Paraborboropactus canalis sp. nov., Phrynarachne brevis sp. nov., P. lancea sp. nov., Pistius rotundus sp. nov., Smodicinodes yaoi sp. nov., Spilosynema ansatum sp. nov., S. comminum sp. nov., S. mancum sp. nov., S. ravum sp. nov., Synema revolutum sp. nov., Takachihoa lamellaris sp. nov., T. tumida sp. nov., Talaus sulcus sp. nov., Tmarus gladiatus sp. nov. Male Epidius bazarus (Tikader, 1970), male Paraborboropactus rhombus Tang and Li, 2009, female Smodicinodes schwendingeri Benjamin, 2002 are described for the first time.
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crab spiders from hainan island china araneae Thomisidae
Zootaxa, 2010Co-Authors: Guo TangAbstract:The crab spiders (Araneae: Thomisidae) collected from Hainan Island, China are studied. A total of 25 genera, 43 species are reported, including 12 new species, two new combinations and one new synonym. The new species are: Borboropactus brevidens sp. nov., Borboropactus edentatus sp. nov., Borboropactus longidens sp. nov., Lycopus longissimus sp. nov., Lysiteles furcatus sp. nov., Lysiteles leptosiphus sp. nov., Oxytate multa sp. nov., Ozyptila biprominula sp. nov., Paraborboropactus liangweii sp. nov., Paraborboropactus oblatus sp. nov., Thomisops altus sp. nov., Thomisus eminulus sp. nov. The species Philodamia gongi (Yin et al, 2004) comb. nov. is transferred from Tmarus and Sinothomisus hainanus (Song, 1994) comb. nov. from Xysticus. The species Lysiteles guangxiensis He & Hu, 1999 is a junior synonym of Alcimochthes limbatus Simon, 1885. The true females of B. hainanus Song, 1993 and Lysiteles minusculus Song & Chai, 1990 are described for the first time.
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rediscovery of an obscure spider genus zametopina simon 1909 araneae Thomisidae from yunnan china
2010Co-Authors: Guo Tang, Theo Blick, Hirotsugu OnoAbstract:The crab spider genus Zametopina Simon, 1909 (Araneae, Thomisidae) is revised and newly defined on the basis of examinations of the male holotype of the type species, Zametopina calceata Simon, 1909 from northern Vietnam and fresh specimens of the same species recently ob- tained from Yunnan, China. The female of the spider is described for the first time.
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the crab spiders of the genus tmarus from xishuangbanna yunnan china araneae Thomisidae
Zootaxa, 2009Co-Authors: Guo TangAbstract:Four new and three known crab spider species of the genus Tmarus are reported from the Xishuangbanna Rainforest of Yunnan, China: T. byssinus sp. nov., T. hastatus sp. nov. male only), T. spicatus sp. nov. (female only), T. undatus sp. nov. (female only), T. menglae Song and Zhao, 1994, T. songi Han and Zhu, 2008 and T. taiwanus Ono, 1977. The male of T. menglae is described for the first time. The type specimens are deposited in the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.
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Three new crab spiders from Xishuangbanna Rainforest, southwestern China (Araneae: Thomisidae)
Zootaxa, 2009Co-Authors: Guo Tang, Shuqiang LiAbstract:This study deals with three new crab spiders, Alcimochthes meridionalis sp. nov., Lycopus primus sp. nov. and Oxytate capitulata sp. nov., all from Xishuangbanna Rainforest, Yunnan, China. The genus Lycopus Thorell, 1895, formerly described from females only, is reported from China for the first time in both sexes.
Arno Antonio Lise - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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taxonomic notes on the crab spider genus tobias simon 1895 araneae Thomisidae stephanopinae
Zootaxa, 2015Co-Authors: Miguel Machado, Renato Augusto Teixeira, Arno Antonio LiseAbstract:The males of Tobias caudatus Mello-Leitao, 1929 and Tobias pustulosus Simon, 1929 are described for the first time, females are redescribed and both sexes are illustrated. New distribution records are presented for both species. Tobias monstruosus Mello-Leitao, 1929 is considered a junior synonym of T. pustulosus. The types of Tobias albovittatus Caporiacco, 1954, and Tobias gradiens Mello-Leitao, 1929 are lost, and Tobias albicans Mello-Leitao, 1929 and Tobias corticatus Mello-Leitao, 1917 are known only from poorly preserved specimens, thus they all are considered nomina dubia.
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phylogeny of aphantochilinae and strophiinae sensu simon araneae Thomisidae
Zoologica Scripta, 2014Co-Authors: Renato Augusto Teixeira, Luiz Alexandre Campos, Arno Antonio LiseAbstract:This study tests the monophyly of ant-mimicking Thomisidae (Aphantochilinae and Strophiinae sensu Simon), redefines the composition of these taxa, proposes tribes and discusses aspects of their myrmecomorphy and biogeography. The analysis is based on a matrix composed of 113 morphological characters and 37 terminal taxa (11 Aphantochilinae, 16 Strophiinae and 10 belonging to the out-group). The 12 most parsimonious trees with 232 steps, obtained with equally weighted characters, support the monophyly of Aphantochilinae sensu Simon. Strophiinae emerges as a paraphyletic group divided into two clades: a basal clade that groups Strophius and Strigoplus (Strophiini new status) and another clade that includes Ceraarachne, Simorcus and Ulocymus (Ceraarachnini new status) as the sister group of Aphantochilus + Bucranium (Aphantochilini new status). Diagnoses are presented for the tribes and genera in this analysis. The synonymy between Bucranium and Aphantochilus is rejected. Majellula and Acracanthostoma are considered junior synonyms of Bucranium, and Synstrophius of Ceraarachne. The monophyly of Synstrophius is not recovered, S. blanci is transferred to Ceraarachne and S. muricatus is transferred to Ulocymus. Ant-preying behaviour appears to be basal and has been documented for Strophiini and Aphantochilini species. Myrmecomorphy, which was documented for Aphantochilus, is presumably derived. The biogeographical analysis of Aphantochilinae and Strophiinae suggests an ancient relation between Neotropical, Afrotropical and Oriental species, with probable origin after the breakup of Gondwana, that is, in early Paleogene.
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Rejanellus, a new genus of Thomisidae (Araneae, Stephanopinae)
Iheringia. Série Zoologia, 2005Co-Authors: Arno Antonio LiseAbstract:A new genus, Rejanellus, type species Onocolus venustus Bryant, 1940, is established for four species of spiders of the subfamily Stephanopinae from Cuba and Haiti. The presence of dorsal tubercles on the male carapace is a possible synapomorphy for the genus. The four known species by now Onocolus venustus Bryant, 1948, O. pallescens Bryant, 1940, O. granulata [sic] Bryant, 1940 and Epicadus mutchleri Petrunkevitch, 1930 are transferred to the new genus. All species are redescribed and illustrated.
Marie E. Herberstein - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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UV and Camouflage in Crab Spiders (Thomisidae)
Spider Ecophysiology, 2012Co-Authors: Marie E. Herberstein, Felipe M. GawryszewskiAbstract:Crab spiders are formidable predators of many insects. Their colour is particularly fascinating and we have an excellent account of the foraging ecology of some species. A more recent research focus has been the prevalence of UV reflection in some crab spider species. In this chapter we discuss the methods of quantifying colour and colour contrast and review the distribution, mechanism, function and evolution of UV reflectance amongst crab spiders.
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exploitation of floral signals by crab spiders thomisus spectabilis Thomisidae
Behavioral Ecology, 2004Co-Authors: Astrid M Heiling, Ken Cheng, Marie E. HerbersteinAbstract:Flowers exhibit characteristics through which they exploit the sensory biases of pollinating insects, and both signaler and receiver benefit from this interaction, either through reproductive service or food reward. However, the preferences of pollinators for certain flower traits such as color or odor might be exploited by predators that target pollinating insects. Crab spiders, Thomisus spectabilis, position themselves on flowers to prey on pollinators such as honeybees, Apis mellifera. We gave both honeybees and crab spiders the choice between two randomly chosen white Chrysanthemum frutescens, including olfactory signals in one experiment and excluding odor in a second experiment. When olfactory signals were included, crab spiders and honeybees clearly preferred the same flower out of a pair. However, agreement level was at chance in the absence of olfactory signals. We also analyzed the visual flower characteristics that might influence the decision of the animals. Neither the size of flowers (diameter of flower and diameter of reproductive flower center) nor the reflectance properties (receptor excitation values in ultraviolet, blue, and green; overall brightness) influenced the choices of crab spiders and honeybees. Therefore, odor seems to be the floral signal that bees use to identify high-quality flowers and that crab spiders exploit to encounter honeybees. Key words: Apis mellifera, communication, crab spider, floral signal, honeybee, signal exploitation. [Behav Ecol 15:321–326 (2004)]