Taxonomic revision of the new spider genus Hortophora, the Australasian Garden Orb-weavers (Araneae, Araneidae)

Framenau, Volker Wilhelm; Baptista, Renner Luiz Cerqueira.; Oliveira, Francisca S&#226;mia M.; Castanheira, Pedro De Souza

doi:10.3897/evolsyst.5.72474

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Article: Taxonomic revision of the new spider genus Hortophora, the Australasian Garden Orb-weavers (Araneae, Araneidae)

Title

Taxonomic revision of the new spider genus Hortophora, the Australasian Garden Orb-weavers (Araneae, Araneidae)

By

Framenau, Volker Wilhelm
Baptista, Renner Luiz Cerqueira.
Oliveira, Francisca Sâmia M.
Castanheira, Pedro De Souza

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2021-11-2

Original Publication

Evolutionary systematics

Volume

Series / Issue

Issue: 2

Pages

275--334

Subjects

Australia , Backobourkiines , new genus , systematics , taxonomy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Hamburg Centrum für Naturkunde (CeNak) 2017-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.5.72474

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License Type URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Rights: https://biodiversitylibrary.org/permissions
Copyright Status: In copyright. Digitized with the permission of the rights holder.
Rights Holder: Copyright held by individual article author(s).

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expand Abstract

The new genus Hortophora in the orb-weaving spider family Araneidae Clerck, 1757 is established to include 13 species from the Australasian-Pacific region, with ten species known from Australia (five of which new to science): Hortophora biapicata (L. Koch, 1871), comb. nov. (type species) (= Araneus biapicatifera Strand, 1907, syn. nov.; = Epeira frosti Hogg, 1896, syn. nov.); H. cucullussp. nov.; H. lodicula (Keyserling, 1887), comb. nov. (= Epeira scutigerens Hogg, 1900, syn. nov.); H. megacanthasp. nov.; H. porongurupsp. nov.; H. tatianeaesp. nov.; H. transmarina (Keyserling, 1865), comb. nov.) (also known from Papua New Guinea); H. urbana (Keyserling, 1887), comb. nov.; H. walesiana (Karsch, 1878), comb. nov. (= Epeira rhombocephalaThorell 1881, syn. nov.; = Epeira lutulenta Keyserling, 1886, syn. nov.); and H. yesabahsp. nov. The following species of Hortophoragen. nov. are recognised from the Pacific region but not revised in detail due to a lack of material, specifically mature males: Hortophora capitalis (L. Koch, 1871), comb. nov. (removed from synonymy with H. transmarinacomb. nov.) from Fiji, New Caledonia and Vanuatu; H. flavicoma (Simon, 1880), comb. nov. from New Caledonia (incl. Loyalty Islands) and H. viridis (Keyserling, 1865), comb. nov. (removed from synonymy with H. transmarinacomb. nov.) from Samoa. Epeira thyridota Thorell, 1870 is here removed from synonymy with H. transmarinacomb. nov. and transferred to Backobourkia Framenau, Dupérré, Blackledge &amp; Vink, 2010, B. thyridota (Thorell, 1870), comb. nov.Hortophoragen. nov. includes medium-sized to large, nocturnal orb-weaving spiders typically with subtriangular to ovoid abdomen bearing humeral humps. The tibiae of the second leg in males is usually enlarged with numerous strong spines and an apico-ventral megaspur carrying a large spine in some species. Male pedipalps generally have an elongated, transverse median apophysis ending in a bifid tip in most species, a sinuous to straight embolus and a bubble-shaped terminal apophysis. The female epigyne scape is highly elongated and does not have a terminal pocket. Genital mutilation, i.e. breaking off the epigyne scape during copulation, is common in some species. Hortophoragen. nov. include the most frequently collected nocturnal orb-weaving spiders in Australia.