First records and three new species of the family Symphytognathidae (Arachnida, Araneae) from Thailand, and the circumscription of the genus Crassignatha Wunderlich, 1995

Abstract

The family Symphytognathidae is reported from Thailand for the first time. Three new species: Anapistula choojaiaesp. nov., Crassignatha seeliamsp. nov., and Crassignatha seedamsp. nov. are described and illustrated. Distribution is expanded and additional morphological data are reported for Patu shiluensis Lin & Li, 2009. Specimens were collected in Thailand between July and August 2018. The newly described species were found in the north mountainous region of Chiang Mai, and Patu shiluensis was collected in the coastal region of Phuket. DNA sequences are provided for all the species here studied. The relations of these symphytognathid species were tested using previously published phylogenetic analyses on micro orb-weavers. Also, we used micro CT analysis to build 3D models of the male genitalia and somatic characters of two species of Crassignatha Wunderlich, 1995. The molecular phylogeny and 3D models were used to discuss the taxonomy and circumscription of the currently valid symphytognathid genera, with focus on Crassignatha and Patu Marples, 1951. Based on this, three new combinations are suggested: Crassignatha bicorniventris (Lin & Li, 2009), comb. nov., Crassignatha quadriventris (Lin & Li, 2009), comb. nov., and Crassignatha spinathoraxi (Lin & Li, 2009), comb. nov. A new record of Crassignatha danaugirangensisMiller et al. 2014 is reported from Brunei.

Old Brains in Alcohol: The Usability of Legacy Collection Material to Study the Spider Neuroarchitecture

“…Internal anatomy is inherently difficult to study due to the necessity of performing invasive histological techniques and dissections in order to document it. Nevertheless, the last decade has seen a growing number of studies that rely on the utilization of X-ray micro-CT scanning for reconstructing and quantifying various internal organs and tissues in spiders [25][26][27][28][29][44][45][46]. Still, we consider that the conscientious use of legacy material can be an important route to fill the taxonomic sampling gaps and more easily and promptly understand the evolution of the spider central nervous system.…”

Figure 9 from: Li Y, Li S, Lin Y (2021) Taxonomic study on fourteen symphytognathid species from Asia (Araneae, Symphytognathidae). ZooKeys 1072: 1-47. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1072.67935

“…Swilda longtou, (Miller et al, 2009) Diagnosis. The male of S. longtou can be distinguished from that of S. spinathoraxi by the larger proximal cymbial process (CP1), the human-ear-shaped median apophysis and the wider and longer conductor (Fig.…”

“…data). Therefore, Swilda gen. nov. is proposed as a new genus in which to place S. longtou (Miller et al, 2009) comb. nov., transferred from Crassignatha and S. spinathoraxi comb.…”

“…Before the current study, fourteen species from China, Colombia, Fiji, Japan, New Guinea, Samoa, Seychelles and Vietnam were assigned to Patu Marples, 1951. Miller et al (2009 mentioned that Patu is a particularly problematic genus because of insufficient study of the copulatory organs, the scarcity of material in collections and the minute size of these animals.…”

Micro‐CT visualization of the CNS: Performance of different contrast‐enhancing techniques for documenting the spider brain

“…Spider micro‐CT scanning studies have not explored the applications of PTA staining; nevertheless, the commonly used iodine method has been pivotal for studies on the anatomy of the male genitalia (Lipke et al., 2015; Dederichs et al., 2019; Rivera‐Quiroz et al., 2021), as well as the description and analysis of the spider CNS (Steinhoff et al., 2017; Stafstrom et al., 2017; Steinhoff et al., 2018, 2020). Spiders are one of the most successful arthropod taxa.…”