Tapinauchenius cupreus Schmidt & Bauer 1996
Creators: name: Cifuentes, Yeimy
name: Bertani, Rogerio
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Theraphosidae
Tapinauchenius
Tapinauchenius cupreus

description: Tapinauchenius cupreus Schmidt & Bauer, 1996
(Figs 19, 21, 92–102)
Tapinauchenius cupreus Schmidt & Bauer, 1996: 2, figs 1–3; Auer, Huber & Bochtler, 2007: 21, figs 8, 27–28, 49.
Diagnosis. Females of Tapinauchenius cupreus resemble those of T. latipes, T. plumipes, T. polybotes and T. rasti by the spermathecae with a constriction near the tip, forming a small and strongly sclerotized lobe (Fig. 99). They differ from all of these species by the oval shaped spermathecae. Males of T. cupreus resemble those of T. latipes by the embolus being 3.0 to 3.5 times subtegulum length in retrolateral view (Fig. 92). They differ from T. latipes by embolus thick, roughly straight, ending in a slight curvature to retrolateral side (Fig. 95).
Type material. Holotype male and paratypes two females from Ecuador, Bullmer, deposited at SMF 39015, examined (Figs 100–102).
Other material examined. ECUADOR: Napo: Mondaña [0°50’12”S, 77°13’09”W], on bird mist net at night, 1 male, B. Lammar col., 2 August 1995 (MNRJ 7698).
Redescription. Male (MNRJ 7698). Total length, not including chelicerae or spinnerets 23.11. Carapace 12.32 long, 10.39 wide, 6.55 high. Chelicera: 5.94 long. Legs (femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus, total): I: 13.02, 6.83, 12.56, 9.89, 5.29, 47.59; II: 11.85, 5.91, 10.46, 10.15, 5.35, 43.72; III: 10.44, 4.73, 8.47, 9.29, 4.6, 37.53; IV: 13.05, 5.44, 12.38, 12.66, 4.41, 47.94 Palp: 8.07, 4.40, 7.04, -, 2.36, 21.87 Midwidths: femora I–IV= 2.00, 2.10, 2.10, 2.18, palp= 1.63; patellae I–IV= 1.96, 1.79, 1.98, 1.98, palp= 1.48; tibiae I–IV= 1.52, 1.45, 1.59, 1.69, palp= 1.54; metatarsi I–IV= 1.18, 1.06, 1.00, 1.13; tarsi I–IV= 1.12, 1.13, 1.08, 1.11, palp= 1.26. Abdomen: 10.77 long, 5.00 wide. Spinnerets: PMS, 1.72 long, 0.55 wide, 0.1 apart; PLS, 2.34 basal, 1.63 middle, 2.68 distal; midwidths 0.89, 1.01, 0.82 respectively. Carapace: 1.18 times longer than wide; cephalic region slightly raised, thoracic striae conspicuous. Fovea: deep, straight, 0.53 wide. Eyes: eye tubercle 0.99 high, 1.69 long, 2.97 wide. Clypeus: absent. Anterior eye row straight, posterior recurved. Eye size and interdistances: AME 0.75, ALE 0.61, PME 0.43, PLE 0.58, AME–AME 0.39, AME–ALE 0.12, AME–PME 0.18, ALE–ALE 2.15, ALE–PME 0.44, PME–PME 1.62, PME–PLE 0.11, PLE–PLE 2.23, ALE–PLE 0.28.
Maxilla: length to width 1.87. Cuspules: ca. 111 spread over ventral inner heel. Labium: 1.73 long, 1.91 wide, with ca. 131 cuspules spaced by one diameter from each other on anterior third. Chelicera: basal segment with 9 teeth in row. Sternum: 6.33 long, 4.95 wide.
Legs: Formula: I = IV II III. Length leg IV to leg I: 1.01. Scopula: Tarsi I–IV fully scopulate; IV with a few sparse setae. Metatarsi I–II fully scopulate; III 2/3 distal; IV 1/4 distal. IV divided by rows of setae. Spination: Palps and legs (ventral apical: tibia/metatarsi): Palp 0; I: 1 behind retrolateral process of tibial apophysis; II: 0/0; III 2/0; IV 2/0. Tibial apophysis (Figs 96–98): two processes, retrolateral longer than prolateral, one spine at side of prolateral process, one at apical part of retrolateral process. Conspicuous triangular protuberance behind retrolateral process. Metatarsus I folds on retrolateral side of tibial apophysis.
Palp (Figs 92–95): tegulum length 0.96, width 1.60, embolus proximal width 0.66, length 3.10. Embolus proximal portion straight. Embolus length to tegulum: 3.23, roughly straight in dorsal view with a slight curvature at its distal portion to retrolateral side. Embolus distal portion narrows abruptly ending in curved tip.
Color pattern (preserved in alcohol): Carapace, legs, palpal femora, and tibiae brown, with golden setae.
Redescription. Female paratype (SMF 39015). Total length, not including chelicerae or spinnerets 29.01. Carapace 13.10 long, 12.06 wide. Legs (femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus, total): I: 10.56, 6.79, 8.95, 7.86, 4.76, 39.00; II: 9.66, 6.05, 7.33, 7.31, 4.29, 34.60; III: 8.54, 4.91, 6.64, 7.22, 4.06, 31.30; IV: 10.59, 5.57, 9.57, 9.74, 3.97, 39.5; Palp: 7.40, 4.30, 5.19, -, 5.31, 22.20.
Carapace: 1.08 times longer than wide; cephalic region slightly raised, thoracic striae conspicuous. Fovea: deep, straight. Eyes: tubercle 1.81 long, 3.11 wide. Clypeus: absent. Anterior eye row straight, posterior slightly recurved. Labium: 1.90 long, 2.06 wide, with ca. 122 cuspules spaced by one diameter from each other on anterior third. Chelicera: basal segment with 10 teeth in row. Sternum: 6.51 long, 5.86 wide.
Legs: Formula: I = IV II III. Length leg IV to leg I: 1.01. Scopula: Tarsi I–IV fully scopulate; IV with a few sparse setae. Metatarsi I–II fully scopulate; III 3/4 distal; IV 1/4 distal. IV divided by rows of setae. Spination: Palps and legs (ventral apical: tibia/metatarsi): Palp 5, 1 prolateral; I: 2/0; II 2/0; III 2/1 and row of spiniform setae; IV 2/ 2 and row of spiniform setae.
Spermathecae (Fig. 99): Two spermathecae completely separated, long, with base wide, oval, apex with constriction forming a small well-sclerotized lobe of ca. a quarter the diameter of the width of the middle spermathecae.
Distribution. Ecuador (Fig. 21).
Remarks. We did not examine other female specimens apart from the paratypes, which were examined prior to this study. Thus, only a brief redescription of a paratype female was done. The type material consists of the holotype male lacking the chelicerae and part of the maxillae (Figs 100–102), and two paratype females. Both were dissected but the spermathecae of a single specimen was found in the vial, with only the right spermatheca preserved.
description: Published as part of Cifuentes, Yeimy & Bertani, Rogerio, 2022, Taxonomic revision and cladistic analysis of the tarantula genera Tapinauchenius Ausserer, 1871, Psalmopoeus Pocock, 1985, and Amazonius n. gen. (Theraphosidae, Psalmopoeinae), pp. 1-123 in Zootaxa 5101 (1) on pages 49-50, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5101.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6253223