Tekellina Levi 1957
Creators: name: Estol, Narelle
name: Valiati, Victor Hugo
name: Brescovit, Antonio D.
name: Rodrigues, Everton Nei Lopes
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Theridiidae
Tekellina

description: Key to the Neotropical species of Tekellina Levi, 1957
1. Males (those of Tekellina miudinha Rodrigues & Estol sp. nov. unknown) .................................... 2
– Females ............................................................................................................................................. 9
2. Paracymbium retrolaterally very prominent in ventral view, thumb-shaped (Figs 2A, G, J, 6D) .... 3
– Paracymbium not thumb-shaped (Figs 2D, 6A) or not enlarged retrolaterally (Fig. 1D) ................ 5
3. Mesal arm of conductor medially positioned ................................................................................... 4
– Mesal arm of conductor apically positioned ..................................................................................... 7
4. Mesal arm of conductor coiled upwards (Fig. 2G) ........ Tekellina minor Marques & Buckup, 1993
– Mesal arm of conductor hook shaped (Fig. 6D) ....................... T. miuda Rodrigues & Estol sp. nov.
5. Coiled mesal arm (Fig. 2D) .............................................................................................................. 8
– Straight mesal arm (Fig. 6A) ............................................................................................................ 6
6. Mesal arm with sharp apex (Fig. 6A) ............................... T. picurrucha Rodrigues & Estol sp. nov.
– Mesal arm with blunt apex ...................................... T. araucana Marusik, Eskov & Ramirez, 2022
7. Long terminal claw, exceeding half of the paracymbium and mesal arm not coiled (Fig. 2A) .......... ....................................................................................................... T. bella Marques & Buckup, 1993
– Short terminal claw, not exceeding half of the paracymbium and mesal claw coiled inwards (Fig. 2J) ..................................................................................... T. guaiba Marques & Buckup, 1993
8. Stem of conductor developed (Fig. 5C, D) .................................. T. crica Marques & Buckup, 1993
– Stem of conductor not developed (see Levi 1957: figs 7–8) ........................ T. archboldi Levi, 1957
9. Epigynum with arched copulatory opening (Figs 1G, 2C) ............................................................. 10
– Epigynum smaller and straighten copulatory opening (Fig. 6C) .................................................... 12
10. Receptacles ½ distant from each other (Fig. 2F) ............................................................................ 14
– Receptacles ⅓ closer to each other ..................................................................................................11
11. Fertilization ducts close together (Figs 2F, 3C–D) ...................... T. crica Marques & Buckup, 1993
– Fertilization ducts far from each other ..................... T. araucana Marusik, Eskov & Ramirez, 2022
12. Abdomen with white pigment (Fig. 8J) .......................................................................................... 13
– Abdomen yellowish without white pigment (Fig. 9A–C) ............ T. bella Marques & Buckup, 1993
13. Light eyes (almost transparent) with AME darker, rounder receptacles (see Levi, 1957, Figs 11 – 12) ................................................................................................................. T. archboldi Levi, 1957
– Light brown eyes with AME darker, oval receptacles (Figs 8J–L, 4C–D, 2L) .................................. ................................................................................................... T. guaiba Marques & Buckup, 1993
14. Copulatory ducts long with more than three turns surrounding receptacle (Figs 2F, 6C, F–G) ..... 15
– Copulatory ducts with three turns surrounding receptacle (Fig. 2I) ................................................... ..................................................................................................... T. minor Marques & Buckup, 1993
15. Small copulatory opening (Fig. 6C) ............................................................................................... 16
– Large copulatory opening (Fig. 8F) ......................................... T. miuda Rodrigues & Estol sp. nov.
16. Round receptacles with a loop at the tip ........................... T. picurrucha Rodrigues & Estol sp. nov.
– Funnel-shaped receptacles distant between each other ....... T. miudinha Rodrigues & Estol sp. nov.
description: Published as part of Estol, Narelle, Valiati, Victor Hugo, Brescovit, Antonio D. & Rodrigues, Everton Nei Lopes, 2024, On the Neotropical species of the spider genus Tekellina Levi, 1957 (Arachnida: Araneae: Synotaxidae), pp. 154-178 in European Journal of Taxonomy 943 on pages 157-158, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.943.2593, http://zenodo.org/record/12707422