Abstract
ABSTRACTTrechona diamantina sp. nov. is described from quartzite caves in Diamantina, central Minas Gerais State, Brazil. This represents the largest cavernicolous mygalomorph population ever recorded. The new species is the first Trechona recorded from a xeric habitat, namely the Rocky Fields on the Diamantina Plateau. T. diamantina sp. nov. is closely related to T. uniformis, both species possessing elongated male and female copulatory organs and both constructing distinct funnel-webs and sheet-webs in quartzite formations. T. diamantina sp. nov. is distinct in possessing less elongated embolus and receptacula seminis. A key for all valid species of the genus is given.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:EB9E66B3-4701-470C-A80D-873E25F52042
Highlights
Koch 1850 includes medium to large mygalomorph spiders of the family Dipluridae, which are endemic to the Atlantic Forest in Brazil (Pedroso et al 2008)
The Diamantina Plateau is located in the Espinhaço Mountain Range, a 1200-km-long series of highlands running in a north-south direction (Saadi 1995) that separates three major biomes in Brazil: Atlantic Forest, Cerrado and Caatinga
The webs of Trechona diamantina sp. nov. show a distinct architecture when compared to congeners from typical mesic Atlantic Forest habitats; they are composed of a tubular retreat and a capture sheet-web
Summary
Setae of the first kind are long and robust, ranging from 15 to 20 mm, with a modified apex, usually club-shaped, and arranged in a wide row. Guadanucci et al (2014) reported a troglophile population of an undescribed species of the genus Trechona in a quartzite cave in Diamantina, central Minas Gerais State, Brazil, which is the largest cavernicolous mygalomorph population ever recorded. The Diamantina Plateau is located in the Espinhaço Mountain Range, a 1200-km-long series of highlands running in a north-south direction (Saadi 1995) that separates three major biomes in Brazil: Atlantic Forest, Cerrado and Caatinga. During a recent survey carried out on the Diamantina Plateau (Minas Gerais, Brazil) by one of the authors (RFF), a few specimens, including an adult male, of the abovementioned undescribed Trechona species were collected from several caves, providing both sexes for the description of the species
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