Medionops blades Sanchez-Ruiz & Brescovit 2017
Creators: name: Martínez, Leonel
name: Sánchez-Ruiz, Alexander
name: Bonaldo, Alexandre B.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Caponiidae
Medionops
Medionops blades

description: Medionops blades Sánchez-Ruiz & Brescovit, 2017
Figs 1, 6, 7A, 8A–B
Medionops blades Sánchez-Ruiz & Brescovit 2017: 122, figs 1e, 2a–l, 3a–l, 4a–l, 5a–l, 6a–e (♀ ♂).
Medionops blades – Sánchez-Ruiz, Brescovit & Bonaldo 2020: 485, fig. 19e (♂).
Diagnosis
Males resemble those of M. carolinae sp. nov. in having similar copulatory bulb shape, but can be distinguished by the straighter embolus tip and by the size of the tegulum, only ½ as long as the cymbium length (Figs 1E–F, 7A) (in M. carolinae sp. nov., only ⅓ as long, Figs 2E–F, 7B). Females of M. blades differ from those of M. carolinae sp. nov. by the wide, concave area below the genital opening (Fig. 1G) (in M. carolinae sp. nov., narrower and triangular, Fig. 2G).
Material examined
Holotype COLOMBIA • ♂; Cundimarca department, Páramo de Monserrate, 40 km NE of Bogotá; 4°36′ N, 74°3′ W; alt. 2920 m; 23 Jul. 1968; H. Sturm leg.; AMNH.
Paratype COLOMBIA • 1 ♀; same collection data as for holotype; AMNH.
Additional material
COLOMBIA – Boyacá department • 1 ♂; Sotaquirá, Vereda Cuaguaní; 5°48′32.8″ N, 73°15′10.9″ W; alt. 3502 m; 8–10 Jun. 2015; Y. Cifuentes and J. Moreno leg.; IAvH-I 3381 • 1 ♂; Paipa, Parque Municipal Ranchería; 05°51′08.1″ N, 73°08′23.1″ W; alt. 3554 m; 21 Dec. 2014; J. Barrera, M. Castro and S. Mondragón leg.; IAvH-I 3391 • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding; 05°50′56.6″ N, 73°07′46.8″ W; alt. 3390 m; 15–21 Dec. 2014; IAvH-I 3401 • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding; 05°50′57.3″ N, 73°07′46.8″ W; alt. 3392 m; 15–21 Dec. 2014; IAvH-I 3411 • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; IAvH-I 3382 • 1 ♂; Chaina, Santuario de Flora y Fauna Iguaque, Sector Chaina; 5°25′ N, 73°27′ W; alt. 2730 m; 11 Jul. 2001; J. Barrera and B. Robles leg.; IAvH-I 3773 • 1 ♂; Sector Chaina, Quebrada Los Mudos; 5°44′ N, 73°26′ W; alt. 2840 m; 5–9 Oct. 2002; P. Reina leg.; IAvH-I 3774.
Natural history
The holotype was found in the Andean moorland complex of the eastern hills of Colombia (Fig. 8A–B) which is predominantly populated by plant species such as Espeletia grandiflora Humb. & Bonpl. and Cupressus sp.
Description
Male and female described by Sánchez-Ruiz & Brescovit (2017).
Variation
Males from the Boyacá department population (Fig. 1A–B) have the embolus tip somewhat more curved than those from Cundinamarca department (see images from types in Sánchez-Ruiz & Brescovit 2017: figs 2h, 6d). Females from the Boyacá population (Fig. 1G) have a narrower and more sclerotized area under the genital opening than those from the Cundinamarca population.
Distribution
Known from Cundinamarca and Boyacá in Colombia (Fig. 6).
description: Published as part of Martínez, Leonel, Sánchez-Ruiz, Alexander & Bonaldo, Alexandre B., 2021, The spider genus Medionops Sánchez-Ruiz & Brescovit (Araneae: Caponiidae) in Colombia, with the description of four new species, pp. 61-79 in European Journal of Taxonomy 773 on pages 64-65, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2021.773.1511, http://zenodo.org/record/5536387