On the desmitracheate “micronetine” genus Nippononeta Eskov, 1992 (Araneae, Linyphiidae)

By

Yan, Ming
Liang, Xiaokai
Tu, Lihong

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2015

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

484

Pages

95-109

Subjects

“micronetine” , desmitracheate , genital morphology , scaped epigynum , taxonomy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.484.8663

 

Abstract

The desmitracheate system in a “micronetine” genus Nippononeta Eskov, 1992 is recognized for the first time in the present study. This makes the subfamilial placement of this genus problematic. A morphological study was conducted for N. kurilensis Eskov, 1992 (the type species of Nippononeta) and N. coreana (Paik, 1991). Characters of genitalia and tracheal system, as well as some somatic characters were studied in detail by using scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), and compared with those of Agyneta. Updated descriptions of the genus Nippononeta and its two species are presented. Putative synapomorphies for Nippononeta and Agyneta are provided, as well as some putative synapomorphies shared by the two genera. The results imply that both scaped epigynum and desmitracheate tracheal system are probably homoplastic. The placement of Nippononeta and Agyneta within Linyphiidae need to be resolved in future studies.