Otacilia Thorell
Creators: name: Deeleman-Reinhold, Christa
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2001
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Phrurolithidae
Otacilia

description: Genus Otacilia Thorell <i>Otacilia</i> Thorell, 1897: 243. Type species: <i>O. armatissima</i> Thorell, 1897, &amp;female;, Burma. <i>Palaetyra</i> Simon, 1898, syn. n. Type species: <i>P.</i> luzonica Simon, 1898, &amp;male;, Luzon. Otacila <i>armatissima</i> Thorell, 1897, &amp;female;, Myanmar (Burma), was originally described in Clubioninae; <i>Palaetyra</i> luzonica (Simon), &amp;male;, Philippines, was placed, along with <i>Otacilia,</i> in the Phrurolithinae by Simon. <i>Otacilia</i> and <i>Palaetyra</i> were treated in the Phrurolithinae by Roewer (1954). Brignoli (1983) placed them in the Gnaphosidae, Micariinae; they were moved back to Liocranidae, Phrurolithinae by Platnick, 1989. <i>Described species</i>.— <i>Otacilia armatissima</i> Thorell, 1897, &amp;female;, Myanmar (Burma); <i>O. zebra</i> sp. n., &amp;male; &amp;female;, N. Thailand, this volume; <i>O. onoi</i> sp. n., &amp;male; &amp;female;, C Thailand, this volume; <i>O. sinifera</i> sp. <i>n</i>., &amp;male; &amp;female;, C Thailand, this volume; <i>O. parva</i> sp. <i>n</i>., <i>&amp;male;</i> &amp;female;, W Sumatra, this volume; <i>O. ornata</i> sp. <i>n</i>., &amp;male; &amp;female;, Borneo, Kinabalu National Park, this volume; <i>O. ambon</i> sp. n., <i>&amp;male;</i> &amp;female;, Ambon, this volume. New species are described in geographic order. <i>Species of</i> Otacilia <i>described in other genera</i>.— <i>Palaetyra</i> luzonica Simon (monotypic) is here synonymized with <i>Otacilia.</i> Phrurolithus luna, Kamura, 1994, and Phrurolithus <i>lynx,</i> Kamura, 1994 from SW Japan are here moved to <i>Otacilia.</i> <i>Unidentified specimens</i> (map 34): Loc. 1: N Thailand, Doi Angkhang 1800 m, 1 &amp;female;, (MHNG), dark, leg I enlarged and darkened. Loc. 2: N Thailand, Doi Angkhang 1650 m, 1 &amp;female;, (MHNG), large, with very broad epi­ gyne near epigastric fold. Loc. 3: N Thailand, Doi Angkhang, 1 &amp;female;. (MHNG), black with white chevrons. Loc. 4: N Thailand, Doi Suthep 1180 m, 1 &amp;male; 1 &amp;female; (MHNG), dark, tibial apophysis curved. Loc. 5: N Thailand, Doi Suthep 1180 m, 1 &amp;male; (MHNG). Loc. 6: N Thailand, Nan Province, Doi Phu Kha National Park, 1700 m, 1 &amp;female; (MHNG), small, epigynal openings in anterior fold. Loc. 7: prope <i>onoi,</i> C Thailand, Phra Khanong (CAS), 1 &amp;male; with 7 specimens of <i>O.</i> <i>onoi,</i> see note under <i>onoi.</i> Loc. 8: Viet Nam, Hanoi-Lang Son, 1 &amp;male; (NMNHS), scutum entire. Loc. 9: Hong Kong, 3 &amp;female;. Loc. 10: prope <i>armatissima</i> China, Yunnan, Menzi Prov., cave Longa Dao Pao Dong, 1 &amp;female; (NMNHS). Loc. 11: Malay Peninsula, Genting Highlands, 1 &amp;female;. Loc. 12: Philippines, Mindanao, Eagle reserve, <i>&amp;male;</i> &amp;female;, PME much reduced, male tibial apophysis and embolus much lengthened. Loc. 13: prope <i>armatissima</i> N Thailand, Doi Chiang Dao, &amp;female; (MHNG). Loc. 14: Thailand, Doi Tung 1160 m, 1 &amp;male;, (MHNG), on limestone, large, pale, long leg I, broad convex tibial apophysis. Loc. 15: Viet Nam, Prov. Quang Ninh, Dao Mec Vey, litter, 1 &amp;female;, Beron (NMNHS). Loc. 16: Viet Nam, Quang Nam-Da Nang province, Ba Na Forest Reserve, VN9503, 2 &amp;male;, 1 without palps, between 15°57'N and 16°03'N, 107°57'E and 108°03'E, I9. vii-16.ix.1995, lowland rainforest (ZMK), related to <i>O. ornata,</i> with 2 rows of long setae on venter and large voluminous convex male tibial apophysis. <i>Diagnosis.</i> — A speciose genus of small, ground-dwelling phrurolithines which share the modified palpal femur in males and the frontal spines on the chelicera with the Palaearctic genus Phrurolithus. It is separated from that and from other SE Asian genera by the narrow flat head that widens abruptly to the thorax (figs 642, 649, 665, 675), with posterior eye row barely wider than anterior eye row, and PME often oval or reduced. The lateral anterior and posterior eyes often are juxtaposed to the median eyes. The chelicerae usually bear two frontal spines in excess to the teeth on the pro- and retrolateral margins. The anterior tibiae and metatarsi bear a series of very strong paired spines ventrally, the posterior legs are spineless. The male palpal tibia has a large and crescent retrolateral apophysis, sometimes with a dorsal branch or a separate dorsal apophysis; the sperm duct in distal part of tegulum is circular, the embolus is spine-, thread- or ribbon-shaped, and located apically. The epigyne and vulva are shaped in a variety of ways, the insemination ducts are usually short or even absent, the bursae in typical species are membraneous and much enlarged. <i>Description.</i> — Small to medium (1.7-4.5 mm) spiders, orange-yellow to brown, often with pattern; carapace low, with smooth surface, wide and rounded behind, thoracic groove well developed. AER straight or recurved, not procurved when seen in front, PER recurved, AME size variable, PME often reduced and close to laterals, well removed from each other. Clypeus 1 d AME or less. Chilum obsolete. Chelicerae in typical species each with 2 frontal spines and with 3 promarginal and 2 retromarginal teeth, close together. Labium a little wider than long. A somewhat raised retrocoxal window present on coxa I. Femora usually with 1 short dorsal spine, femur I and II with 3 to 6 strong pl spines, tibiae with 6 to 11 and metatarsi with 3 to 4 pairs of spines, tibial spines very strong, on tubercles, other legs and segments spineless. Abdomen in males often with partly or entirely coriaceous or sclerotized dorsal scutum, and coriaceous epigastric scutum, females sometimes with small dorsal scutum, lacking epigastric scutum; epigyne in round coriaceous plate. A field of setae is often found ventrally in front of spinnerets; males sometimes ornated with ventral bushes of long hair. Spinnerets fig. 661, (male) and fig. 662 (female): PMS in males small, cylindrical, without visible spigots, in females greatly enlarged, laterally compressed, with appr. 15 pairs of atypical cylindrical gland spigots in a row. PLS in both sexes with distal segment bearing two spigots near base similar to those in female PMS and with one spigot with very long base situated on the tip (minor ampullate gland spigots), as in Plynnon. Male palpal femur with various kinds of modifications, tibial apophysis sometimes strongly developed, embolus spine-, thread- or ribbonshaped, sperm duct circular, limited to distal portion of tegulum; tegulum sometimes with apical tegular apophysis. Conductor and median apophysis absent. Vulva: opening often surrounded by sclerotized structures (figs 664, 669) or just a shallow depression, probably providing support to the male palp; a thin insemination duct leads to sclerotized spermathecae and anterior bursae, the latter are obsolete in <i>O. pcirva.</i> <i>Old material studied</i>.— Otacilia <i>armatissima</i> Thorell, &amp;female; Burma (MCSNG); <i>Palaetyra</i> luzonica Simon, &amp;male; Luzon, Simon Collection (MNHNP 13697). <i>Habitat.</i> — All specimens were collected by sifting leaf litter, in a variety of forests. They were found in rainforest (Sumatra. Borneo), mountains (Thailand), evergreen forest (Thailand) and secondary forest and bush (Moluccas). <i>Distribution.</i> — Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Viet Nam, China, Japan, Sumatra, Borneo, Moluccas, Philippines. All species are known from small distribution ranges. <i>Remarks on synonymy.</i> — Simon (HNA: 212) differentiates <i>Otacilia</i> and <i>Palaetyra</i> by the strong reduction of the PME in <i>Palaetyra</i> and the absence of cheliceral frontal spines. The type of <i>Palaetyra</i> luzonica studied (Paris 13697) however exhibits distinct cheliceral spines. Within this large genus, various degrees of PME reduction occur apparently at random; species with and without frontal spines also exist, and the two characters seem to vary independently of each other. I consider therefore <i>Palaetyra</i> junior synonym of <i>Otacilia.</i>
description: Published as part of <i>Deeleman-Reinhold, Christa, 2001, Forest Spiders of South East Asia With a revision of the sac and ground spiders (Araneae: Clubionidae, Corinnidae, Liocranidae, Gnaphosidae, Prodidomidae and Trochanteriidae)., pp. 400-505 in Forest Spiders of South East Asia With a revision of the sac and ground spiders- Family Liocranidae, Leiden, Netherlands :Brill Leiden; Boston; Köln</i> on pages 409-411, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.814704