Taphiassa Simon 1880
Creators: name: Rix, Michael
name: Harvey, Mark
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Micropholcommatidae
Taphiassa

description: Genus <i>Taphiassa</i> Simon, 1880 <i>Taphiassa</i> Simon, 1880: 172. Type species by monotypy <i>Taphiassa impressa</i> Simon, 1880. Roewer, 1942: 414. Bonnet, 1959: 4238. Transferred from Theridiidae to Symphytognathidae by Levi &amp; Levi, 1962: 29. Transferred from Symphytognathidae to Mysmenidae by Forster &amp; Platnick, 1977: 2. Brignoli, 1980: 730 (also transferred ‘ <i>Taphiassa</i> ’ <i>punctigera</i> Simon, 1895 to Theridiidae <i>incertae sedis</i>). Brignoli, 1983: 379. Platnick, 2009. <i>Parapua</i> Forster, 1959: 301. Type species by original designation <i>Parapua punctata</i> Forster, 1959. Brignoli, 1983: 374. Platnick, 2009. <b>syn. n.</b> (but see also Brignoli, 1980: 731). <b>Affinities.</b> The genus <i>Taphiassa</i> appears to be the sister-lineage to <i>Olgania</i> from Tasmania (Fig. 4). <b>Diagnosis.</b> Species of <i>Taphiassa</i> can be distinguished from species of <i>Olgania</i> by the presence of a normal, plate-like anterior sclerite (Fig. 165C), the presence of an enlarged subtegulum (Fig. 174A), and the presence of a seta projecting from the proximal toothed mound of the cheliceral promargin (Figs 159B, 172F). Other diagnostic characters include the presence of eight eyes (Fig. 152A), and the absence of bulging anterior projections on the male chelicerae (Fig. 157E). <b>Description.</b> Very small, entelegyne Araneoidea: total length 1.00 to 2.20. <i>Cephalothorax</i>: Carapace with glandular depressions above maxillae (Figs 170E, 170G– H); cuticle of carapace and sternum heavily punctate, covered with glandular pits (Figs 152A–C); margins fused to sternum via pleural sclerites. Eight eyes present on anterior margin of pars cephalica (Fig. 152A); eyes usually subequal, AME greater than three-quarters diameter of ALE (Fig. 152C). Chelicerae without bulging anterior projections in males; promargin with one sessile tooth and separate proximal, toothed mound near tip of fang bearing prolateral seta (Figs 159A–B); fused setal sockets, peg teeth and ectal stridulatory ridges absent. <i>Legs and female pedipalp</i>: Legs three-clawed (Figs 160E–F), covered with smooth or serrate hair-like setae; superior claws of legs I–II often strongly pectinate (Figs 173D– E); superior claws of legs III–IV usually asymmetric (Fig. 173F). Trichobothria present on legs; tibiae each with three (legs I–III) or four (legs III–IV) trichobothria; metatarsi each with (legs I–IV) (Fig. 160C) or sometimes without (leg IV) single trichobothrium. Female pedipalp entire (Fig. 159C), reduced or vestigial (Fig. 170F); claw absent (Fig. 159D). <i>Abdomen</i>: Abdomen globose; anterior sclerite present around epigastric region and petiole; dorsal scute absent on males and females (Figs 155A–B); posterior sclerotic ring surrounding spinnerets and colulus. Six spinnerets situated posterior to fleshy colulus (Figs 162, 175); PMS with single medial AC gland spigot and posterior seta; PLS with reduced triad consisting of FL gland spigot and single AG gland spigot. Anterior tracheal system well-developed, with multiple radiating tracheae (Figs 169E–F); posterior tracheal spiracle vestigial (Figs 152F, 154D). <i>Genitalia</i>: Male pedipalp (Figs 161, 174) relatively small; patella with retrolaterallydirected, hooked ligulate retrolateral apophysis and strongly recurved distal apophysis; subtegulum enlarged, bulging posteriorly; tegulum smooth, with curved evaginated tegular ridge; embolus exposed, long (length&gt; 5× width), curving distally. Female genitalia (Figs 154A–C, 169) with pair of separate, globular anterior spermathecae; insemination ducts simple, straight; fertilisation ducts simple, curved. <b>Distribution.</b> Eastern and south-western mainland Australia, Tasmania, Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia and New Zealand (Fig. 217). <b>Composition.</b> Two described species, <i>Taphiassa impressa</i> Simon, 1880 and <i>T. punctata</i> (Forster, 1959) and the four new species <i>T. castanea</i>, <i>T. globosa</i>, <i>T. magna</i> and <i>T. robertsi</i>. Undescribed species are also known from New Caledonia and eastern Australia. Note that the species <i>Taphiassa punctigera</i> Simon, 1895 is a Theridiidae <i>incertae sedis</i> (Brignoli 1980; Platnick 2009), not conspecific or congeneric with <i>T. impressa</i>. <b>Nomenclatural remarks.</b> The genus <i>Taphiassa</i> was originally described by Simon (1880) for the species <i>T. impressa</i>, from Nouméa, New Caledonia. No illustrations were provided with the original description, and the species had never been adequately illustrated (Brignoli 1980). Levi and Levi (1962) transferred <i>T. impressa</i> from the Theridiidae to the Symphytognathidae, while Forster and Platnick (1977) transferred it from the Symphytognathidae to the Mysmenidae. It was Brignoli (1980) who, with remarkable insight aided only be Simon’s original Latin description, first noted the similarity of <i>T. impressa</i> to <i>Parapua</i>, and the analysis of Rix et al. (2008) also inferred a close sister-group relationship between <i>Taphiassa</i> and <i>Parapua</i>. <i>Taphiassa</i> is hereby transferred from the Mysmenidae to the Micropholcommatidae, and <i>Taphiassa</i> is formally recognised as a senior generic synonym of <i>Parapua</i>. <b>Taxonomic remarks.</b> Species of <i>Taphiassa</i> can be arbitrarily divided into two groups based upon somatic features – the ‘ <i>Taphiassa</i> group’ and the ‘ <i>Parapua</i> group’. Species in the ‘ <i>Parapua</i> group’ (including <i>T. punctata</i>, <i>T. castanea</i> and similar species) are generally smaller, darker coloured, with relatively shorter legs and smaller female pedipalps than species in the ‘ <i>Taphiassa</i> group’, which are often relatively large with strongly patterned abdomens. A spectrum of intermediate morphologies exists, however, and the division seems merely phenetic. Many additional species of <i>Taphiassa</i> are known from Australia and New Caledonia (e.g. see Platnick 1993 under “ <i>Parapua</i> ”), and the genus has clearly radiated in New Caledonia, with at least five undescribed species represented in museum collections (M. Rix, unpubl. data).
description: Published as part of <i>Rix, Michael &amp; Harvey, Mark, 2010, The spider family Micropholcommatidae (Arachnida: Araneae: Araneoidea): a relimitation and revision at the generic level, pp. 1-321 in ZooKeys 36 (36)</i> on pages 80-82, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.36.306, http://zenodo.org/record/576620
description: {"references": ["Simon E (1880). Materiaux pour servir a une faune arachnologique de la Nouvelle-Caledonie. Annales de la Societe Entomologique de Belgique 23: 164 - 175.", "Roewer CF (1942) Katalog der Araneae von 1758 bis 1940. 1. Band (Mesothelae, Orthognatha, Lapidognatha: Dysderaeformia, Scytodiformia, Pholciformia, Zodariiformia, Hersiliaeformia, Argyopiformia). Paul Budy, Berlin, 1040 pp.", "Bonnet P (1959) Bibliographia Araneorum, Tome II (5 me partie: T- Z). Douladoure, Toulouse, 4231 - 5058.", "Levi HW, Levi LR (1962) The genera of the spider family Theridiidae. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College 127: 1 - 71.", "Forster RR, Platnick NI (1977) A review of the spider family Symphytognathidae (Arachnida, Araneae). American Museum Novitates 2619: 1 - 29.", "Brignoli PM (1980) On few Mysmenidae from the Oriental and Australian regions (Araneae). Revue Suisse de Zoologie 87: 727 - 738.", "Simon E (1895) Etudes arachnologiques. 26 e Memoire. XLI. Descriptions d'especes et de genres nouveaux de l'ordre des Araneae. Annales de la Societe Entomologique de Belgique 64: 131 - 160.", "Brignoli PM (1983) A Catalogue of the Araneae Described Between 1940 and 1981. Manchester University Press, Manchester, 755 pp.", "Platnick NI (2009) The World Spider Catalog, Version 10.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York. http: // research. amnh. org / entomology / spiders / catalog / [accessed 20. X. 2009]", "Forster RR (1959) The spiders of the family Symphytognathidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand 86: 269 - 329.", "Rix MG, Harvey MS, Roberts JD (2008) Molecular phylogenetics of the spider family Micropholcommatidae (Arachnida: Araneae) using nuclear rRNA genes (18 S and 28 S). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 46: 1031 - 1048.", "Platnick NI (1993) The araneomorph spider fauna of New Caledonia. Biodiversity Letters 1: 102 - 106."]}