Pandava Lehtinen 1967
Creators: name: Almeida-Silva, Lina M.
name: Griswold, Charles E.
name: Brescovit, Antonio D.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Titanoecidae
Pandava

description: Pandava Lehtinen, 1967
Pandava Lehtinen, 1967: 255, figs. 425–426, 440. Type-species by monotypy and original designation: Amaurobius laminatus Thorell, 1878: 168; Lehtinen, 1967: 255; Platnick, 2010.
Diagnosis. Males of Pandava differ from Anuvinda, Goeldia, Nurscia and Titanoeca by the reduced tegular process near the base of the embolus (Figs. 16–17); by the thumb-shaped median apophysis (Fig. 17), which is absent in P. shiva sp. nov. (Fig. 72) and divided in all other Titanoecidae (Griswold et al. 2005: 275, figs. 174B, 174C; Almeida-Silva et al. 2009a: 365, figs. 2, 3; Almeida-Silva et al. 2009b: 63, figs. 1, 2, 4). Females differ from other Titanoecidae by the anteriorly positioned epigynal rims (Figs. 21, 36, 48, 50, 56, 73, 88, 90, 99, 101, 103), which sometimes cover the copulatory openings; epigynum round and elevated in the median region; spermathecae elongated and varying in number: more than six in P. laminata (Figs. 22–25, 37), P. ganesha sp. nov. (Fig. 104) and P. sarasvati sp. nov. (Figs. 89, 91–93); three or four in Pandava ganga sp. nov. (Fig. 100) and P. kama sp. nov. (Fig. 102), or reduced to a single lobe in P. shiva sp. nov. (Figs. 74–77) and P. hunanensis (Figs. 48–52, 57).
Description. Total length (males and females): 4.00–8.60. Carapace: cephalic area high and thoracic fovea reduced (Figs. 38, 39, 46). Eyes round, AME smaller than ALE, PME and PLE (Figs. 40, 47). Cheliceral fang 1/3 the length of the paturon. Chilum entire, reduced, smaller than outer border of the median eyes and without setae (Fig. 1). Endites oblong, with regular serrula (Fig. 2), labium square (Fig. 45). Cheliceral promargin with three teeth, retromargin with two (Fig. 97) and retrolateral face with stridulatory setae (Figs. 3, 98). Anterior border of sternum straight, laterally round and posteriorly acute, projecting between coxae IV (Fig. 45). Leg formula variable but always with leg III shortest. One spine distally positioned on prolateral surface of femur I and II, except in P. s h i v a sp. nov. and P. hunanensis. Distribution and presence of other spines variable. Male tibial crack, when present, positioned after the first spine of tibiae I and II as described by Griswold (1993: 2, figs. 3–4) in Zoropsidae and Zorocratidae (Griswold et al. 2005: 242, fig. 141F), and by Almeida-Silva et al. (2009b) for Anuvinda. Prolateral surface of the palpal femur with stridulatory files (Figs. 4–5, 19–20). Tarsal claw with 10 to 14 narrow denticles (Figs. 6, 94). Tarsal organ of the male palp on the prolateral distal part of the cymbium, with transverse ridges (Fig. 7). Tarsal organ of legs and female palp capsulate, with small, round opening (Fig. 8). One single metatarsal trichobothrium with transverse ridges on basal hood (Fig. 9), trichobothria absent from tarsi. All leg claws with multiple teeth including three to four denticles on the third claw (Figs. 10, 95–96). Calamistrum uniseriate and extending the entire length of metatarsus IV (Figs. 11–12). Distally curved setae present on femur, tibia and metatarsus of some males (Figs. 13–14) as in Anuvinda (Almeida-Silva et. al. 2009b: 64, figs. 8–9) and also in females of Pandava ganga sp. nov. Abdomen oval. Cribellum divided, as broad as spinneret area (Figs. 27–28, 78, 80). Two major ampullate gland spigots (Figs. 29, 81) and 21 to 38 piriform gland spigots (Figs. 29, 79, 81) on the ALS, MAP recessed into PI spinning field; PMS with one mAP, six to 12 aciniform and two to three cylindrical gland spigots, paracribellar spigots absent (Figs. 30, 82); PLS with four paracribellar, one to two cylindrical and 13 to 14 aciniform gland spigots (Figs. 31–32, 83).
Palpal tibial apophysis with RLT ear-shaped; MLT divided, with an indistinct base; PLT divided as in Pandava laminata and P. sarasvati sp. nov. (Figs. 15, 33, 35, 84, 87), or entire and enlarged as in P. hunanensis and P. s h i v a sp. nov. (Figs. 41, 43, 53, 55, 58–60, 70, 72). Prolateral face of femur with stridulatory files made up of small, round protuberances and with few setae (Figs. 4–5, 19–20, 66–69). Cymbium with prolateral furrow as an inverted “L” (Figs. 15–16, 33, 35, 41, 43, 55, 70, 72, 84, 87). Median apophysis entire (Figs. 15, 17, 18, 33–35, 42, 44, 53–55, 84–87) or absent (Figs. 61–63). Tegular process reduced (Figs. 16–17, 35, 44, 55, 72, 87). Spermatic duct bent once as an “S” (Figs. 35, 44, 55, 72). Pars pendula very reduced. Tegular furrow typical of Titanoecidae (Figs. 17, 34, 54, 62–63, 71, 86), serving as a resting place for the embolus. Embolus filiform (Figs. 16–17, 34, 42, 44, 54–55, 71–72, 86).
Epigynum with copulatory openings and rim anteriorly positioned (Figs. 21, 36, 48–50, 56, 73, 88, 90, 99, 101, 103). Copulatory ducts with pores (Figs. 24–25, 75– 76, 93). Fertilization duct filiform, may be partially covered by cuticle obscuring its connection with the spermathecae, e.g., Fig. 74. Spermathecae elongated with lobes forming a bunch (Figs. 22–25, 37, 89, 91–93) except in P. s h i v a sp. nov. and P. hunanensis, whose spermatheca is limited to a single lobe (Figs. 49, 51–52, 57, 74–77). Spermathecae with two kinds of pores: one enlarged, with the edges covered by a folded tissue, here called giant pore (Figs. 22–25, 91–93), which is located in the intersection among spermathecae and copulatory ducts; the other kind is a “primary pore” according to Bennett (1992: 6 and 17, fig. 32) which in Pandava is commonly located near the giant pore (Figs. 75–77), except in P. s h i v a sp. nov. The primary pore is also found in other spiders (Bennett, 1992: 17, fig. 32; Wang, 2002: 16, fig. 41).
Remarks. The homology of the Pandava giant pore with the so-called “dictynoid” pore described by Bennett (1992) is uncertain. The “dictynoid” pore has been described as a single, porous plate in the bottom of a shallow, circular concavity (Bennett, 1992, figs. 2, 6) or recessed into a deep hole (Bennett, 1992, figs. 7, 9, 28). The giant pore of Pandava is oblong and does not have an obvious flat poreplate. Notably, the “dictynoid” pore has not been described from Dictyna. Understanding the homology among such giant pores must await optimization of this character on a comprehensive phylogeny of the relevant taxa.
Geographical distribution. Asia: China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand; Pacific: Marquesas Islands, New Guinea. Introduced in Germany. New records from Africa: Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar.
Composition. Seven species: Pandava laminata (Thorell, 1878); P. hunanensis Yin & Bao, 2001; P. shiva sp. nov., P. sarasvati sp. nov., P. ganga sp. nov., P. kama sp. nov., P. ganesha sp. nov.
description: Published as part of Almeida-Silva, Lina M., Griswold, Charles E. & Brescovit, Antonio D., 2010, Revision of the Asian spider genus Pandava Lehtinen (Araneae: Titanoecidae): description of five new species and first record of Titanoecidae from Africa, pp. 30-56 in Zootaxa 2630 on pages 32-33, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.276087