Magulla Simon 1892
Creators: name: Indicatti, Rafael P.
name: Lucas, Sylvia M.
name: Guadanucci, José P. L.
name: Yamamoto, Flávio U.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2008
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Theraphosidae
Magulla

description: Magulla Simon 1892
Magulla Simon 1892a: 276; 1892b: 133–135, 137; 1903: 920, 922, 927; Mello-Leitão 1923: 132, 135, 387; Bücherl 1949: 261 –264; Gerschman de Pikelin & Schiapelli 1973: 75, figs 14–15.
Diagnosis: Males of Magulla differ from those of Plesiopelma Pocock 1901 by the absence of a small subapical tooth on the embolus, and a retrolateral basal nodule on metatarsus I; from Homoeomma Ausserer 1871 by the absence of a digitiform apophysis on the bulb (see Gerschman de Pikelin & Schiapelli 1973, figs 27– 29); from Tmesiphantes Simon, 1892 by the apex of the embolus less dilated (see Yamamoto et al. 2007, figs 1–3). Females differ from those of Plesiopelma, Tmesiphantes and Homoeomma by the shortened metatarsi and tarsi I–II (Figs 5H–I, 7G), carapace slightly raised between thoracic fovea and cephalic region (Fig. 5G) and spermathecae formed by two receptacles bearing a long neck and slightly dilated apex, which presents a ventral loop, in lateral view (Fig. 4 A–E).
Type species: Magulla obesa Simon 1892, by monotypy.
Description: Chelicerae without rastellum. Clypeus narrow. Overall shape of eye group rectangular. Eye tubercle elevated, wider than long. Anterior eye row procurved, posterior slightly recurved. Bulge on carapace slightly higher than eye tubercle on females (Fig. 5G) and males, uniformly covered with long white wavy hairs, no setae or thorns. Males with rounded carapace (Figs 5A, 7A, 7K) and females with oval carapace (Figs 5D, 7D), both with short and procurved thoracic fovea. Intercheliceral tumescence absent. One row of teeth on cheliceral promargin furrow. Labium wider than long, with 0–17 conspicuous blunt cuspules on the subapical margin. Endites with distinct anterior lobe, with 65–130 blunt cuspules on internal basal angle. Sternum rounded in males (Figs 5C, 7C) and oval in females (Figs 5F, 7F), sternal profile in transverse section is slightly domed, six sternal sigilla, median and posterior away from margin by ca. one length, oval-elongated in M. obesa and oval-rounded in M. brescoviti n. sp. and M. buecherli n. sp. Spines. Males: none on palp. Legs: I and II: metatarsus v1 ap (absent in M. brescoviti n. sp.); III: metatarsus v3 ap; IV: metatarsus v4 ap (v3 ap in M. buecherli n. sp.); females: legs: II: metatarsus v1 ap; III: metatarsus v3 ap. Urticating hairs: type III (Fig. 7J in M. obesa), (Fig. 7I in M. brescoviti n. sp. and M. buecherli n. sp.) and IV (Fig. 7H in all species); type III occur in two different anterior patches, above single median type IV patch on central abdomen dorsum (Figs 1, 5B, 7B, 7E, L). Stridulatory apparatus absent. Trichobothria (Fig. 3D–F): tarsi I–IV (males and females): two trichobothrial types slightly disordered on two dorsal rows, separated by narrow band of 2–5 setae; filiforms only on anterior 5/7 (n=10–18 on each row) and clavates only on anterior 2/3 (n=5–10 on each row); filiform of three different sizes: long (half length of tarsi in M. obesa and M. buecherli n. sp. and 2/ 3 in M. brescoviti n. sp.), median (2/3 of length of long filiform) and shorter (1/4 of length of long filiform); long filiforms only on basal half, median and shorter filiforms for length; all intermixed with clavates of three different sizes: long = shorter length of filiform, median = 2/3 of length of longer clavate and shorter = 2/5 of length of longer clavate. On metatarsi and tibia only filiform trichobothria. Metatarsi: one filiform row on anterior 3/4 slightly disordered and slightly curved retrolaterally on metatarsi I–IV in males (n= 14–18 in M. obesa and M. buecherli n. sp. and 12–15 in M. brescoviti n. sp.) and females on III–IV in M. obesa (n=17–18) and IV in M. brescoviti n. sp. (n=18). Tibia I–IV: two asymmetric filiform rows not separated by setae on 3/5 of central area (n=6–9 on males and 7–10 on females). All tarsi without pseudosegmentation. Tarsal organ low domed with shallow concentric ridges (Fig. 3D). Males, scopula: tarsi I divided only at 3/5 apical end by longitudinal setae band, II–IV divided for length by wide longitudinal band of 3–6 setae, wider at apical portion; division on tarsi III–IV very wide, scopula restricted to both lateral sides. Scopula on metatarsi I–III for apical 1/5 (except in M. buecherli n. sp. only apical 1/6 scopulate). Females, scopula: tarsi I–IV divided for length by wide longitudinal setae band: I 4–7, II 7–10, III–IV 10–15 setae, wider at apical portion. Female palpal claw without teeth, scopula height the same as claw size. STC of all tarsi with one row with few small teeth, males with 1–2 and females with 2–3 teeth (except the tarsi III–IV of female of M. brescoviti n. sp. which are bare). Third claw absent on all tarsi. Claw tufts well-developed on all tarsi, scopula height same as claw size. Four spinnerets: PLS three-segmented with digitiform apical segment; posterior median spinnerets entire. Tibial apical apophysis formed by two branches, prolateral very short with basal ventral spine, and ventroprolateral slightly curved bearing a spine at apical extremity (Figs 2 D–E, I–J, N–O, 3C). Metatarsus I bends to retrolateral side of ventroprolateral tibial apophysis (Fig. 2 D, I, N). Cymbial lobes of different sizes: retrolateral twice size of prolateral. Palpal bulb piriform with long embolus (Fig. 2 A–C, F–H, K–M), bearing two prolateral weak keels (Fig. 2 A, F, 3 A–B) or well-developed (Fig. 2K).
Included species: Magulla obesa Simon 1892, Ischnocolus janeirus Keyserling 1891, M. brescoviti n. sp., M. buecherli n. sp.
Distribution and habitat: Known from Southeastern and Southern Brazil (Fig. 8). Spiders of this genus can be found under rocks and fallen trunks in high altitudes of the Atlantic forest (900–2000m), as well as in lowlands (0–900m) in the countryside and coastal region of the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul (Fig. 8).
Remarks: Raven (1985) examined the holotype of M. obesa but only congeners of Cyclosternum and on that basis considered Magulla a junior synonym of Cyclosternum. He stated the only difference he could find between the taxa was the distribution of scopula on metatarsi IV. In fact, this character is not reliable to distinguish either genus. However, the type material examination of Cyclosternum schmardae Ausserer 1871 (NMW 110) and of M. obesa led us to revalidate the genus Magulla, based upon the presence of type III and IV urticating hairs in Magulla, in contrast to Cyclosternum that has type I and III; males of Cyclosternum have the palpal bulb with a short embolus and tibial apophysis with strongly fused branches (see Gerschman de Pikelin & Schiapelli 1973, figs 68–70, 72), in contrast, Magulla has a long embolus and the branches of the tibial apophysis are not fused (Fig. 2 E, J, O); females of Magulla differ from those of Cyclosternum by the shortened metatarsi and tarsi I–II; carapace slightly raised behind eye tubercle and spermathecae formed by two receptacles bearing a long neck and slightly dilated apex, which presents a ventral loop, in lateral view (Fig. 4 A–E).
description: Published as part of Indicatti, Rafael P., Lucas, Sylvia M., Guadanucci, José P. L. & Yamamoto, Flávio U., 2008, Revalidation and revision of the genus Magulla Simon 1892 (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae), pp. 21-36 in Zootaxa 1814 on pages 22-24, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.182866