Herbert W. Levi.
American Spider Genera Theridula and Paratheridula (Araneae: Theridiidae).
Psyche 73(2):123-130, 1966.

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AMERICAN SPIDER GENERA TIIERIDULA AND
PARATHERID ULA (ARANEAE : THERIDIIDAE)
BY HERBERT W. LEVI
Museum of Comparative Zoology
Since my revision (1954) of the genus Tfceridula in North Amer- ica, no additional species have been found. In the meanwhile, how- ever, I have been able to examine the types of South American species (except that of Theridula polita, which appears to be lost). Addi- tional records of Pctratheridula perniciosa have been obtained since I described the genus ( 1957), but no additional species. That Para- theridula perniciosa is a pantropical species is suggested not only by its wide distribution in the Americas, but also by the absence of elated species. Its small size, inconspicuous appearance, and the fact that its epigynum is always covered by a secretion (which has to be removed to examine it), suggest that it may have been overlooked in collections.
I would like to thank Dr. G. Owen Evans and his staff at the British Museum (Natural History) for making the Keyserling types available for study. A National Science Foundation grant (G-4317) permitted initial examination of theridiid types in European museums. The further researches were supported in part by Public Health Service Research Grant AI-01944 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
MISPLACED SPECIES : Theridula polita Mello-LeitZo, 1947, Pap& Avulsos, Dept. Zoo}., Szo Paulo, 8( 11) : 127, fig. I, $. Female holotype from Santa Cruz, Est. Parana, Brazil, apparently lost, is probably a Dipoena judging by coloration, shape, and proportions of the species. The black stripe on the legs and the illustration of the epigynum suggest that it is D. militaris Chickering. The holotype of Theridula polita is not in the Mello-LeitZo collection in Rio de Janeiro nor in Siio Paulo. Some Mello-Leitzo types are alleged to be in the Museum Paranaense, but according to Mr. P. de Biasi it is not there either. The illustration of MelIo-Leitzo has been copied (Fig. 6).
Theridula Emerton
Thmdula Emerton, 1882, Trans. Connecticut Acad. Sci. 625. Type species Theridion sphaerula Hentz, 1850 [=T. opulenta (Walckenaer)], how- ever Emerton misidentified the specimens which he examined; they belong to T. emerioni.
'Manuscript reciwed by the editor May 11, 1966



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24 Psyche [June
Map 1. Distribution of Theridula emertoni Levi and Theridula opulenta (Walckenaer) .
Carapace as in Theridion., not modified. Chelicerae with two teeth on anterior margin, none posterior.
First leg longest with patella
and tibia 1.2 to I .5 times carapace length. Abdomen wider than long in females, and lacking a colulus. Male palpus very simple, without conductor, median apophysis or radix.
Haematodocha fastens both
ends of tegulum to cymbium.
Key to Theridula species in the Americas References to "figures" in lower case signify illustrations in Levi 1954, to "Figures" in upper case signify the ones in this paper. I a. Females. ................................................................. - ...................... .2 ib. Males ............................................................................................ 9 ........
2a. Epigynum with two distinct circular opening,^ (Figs. 2, 5) ...................................................................................................... 3
2b. Epigynum with humps or otherwise no distinct opening visible ..................................................................................................... 5
3a. Connecting duct with one loop (fig. 19) ................ gonygaster ................................
3b. Connecting ducts not looped (Figs. I, 4) 4 4a. Openings connected by a posterior lip (Fig. 2). ... multigattata ................
4b. Openings on a hump not connected by a lip (Fig. 5) ..................................................................................... nigerrima



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19661
5a*
5b.
6a.
6b.
7a.
7b.
8a.
8b.
9a.
9b.
I oa.
iob.
11a.
Iib.
I 2a.
I 2b.
I 3a.
13b.
I 4a.
14b.
Levi - ThendztZa and Paratheridula
125
............................................................. Canada, United States.. .6
.............................................................................. Latin America 7
Epigynum with a dark anterior semicircle (fig. 3). ................... emertoni
....................................................................................... Epigynum with a dark posterior transverse area (fig. I I ) ........ ......................................................................................... opulenta Epigynum with two projecting bars (fig. 8) .................... casas Epigynum with humps ................................................................. 8 Abdomen brown, usually with a black dorsal spot ............ faceta Abdomen black with white spots .................................... pueblo. ..............................
Palpal embolus as long as tegulum is high.. I o
..........................
Palpal embolus shorter than tegulum high.. I I
................................
Embolus tightly coiled (Fig. 3) nigerrinza ................................
Embolus loosely coiled (fig. 18)
gonygaster
........................................................... Canada, United States.. 12
............................................................................. Latin America 13
Palpal embolus straight with a notch on tip (fig. 9) .................... ...................................................................................... opulenta ............................
Palpal embolus undulating (fig. I )
emertoni
................................
Embolus as wide as long (fig. 23)
puebia
Embolus longer than wide ........................................................ I4 ............................................ Total length 1.4 to 1.9 mm
facets
................................................ Total length about 2.5 mm
casm
Map 2.
Distribution of Ther'idula faceta (0. P. - Cambridge) and Theri- dula gonygaster (Simon).




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Psyche
Theridula emertoni Levi
Map I
Additional record. Ncwf oundland. Junction Pond, Notre Dame Camp, 13 July 1961, $ (C. P. Alexander). Theridula opuienta ( Walckenaer )
Map I
Additional record. United States. Oregon: Crater Lake Natl. Park, 15 June 1947, $ (B. Malkin and S. Sargent). Theridula faceta (0. P. - Cambridge)
Map 2
Additional record. Mexico. Tabasco: 3.2 km NE of Comalcalo. Additional records. Panama.
Canal Zone: Madden Dam, 8 Aug.
1939 (A. M. Chickering) ; Barro Colorado Island, several records (A. M. Chickering) . Boquete, several records (A. M. Chickering) . Figs. 1, 2. Theridda mdtiguttata Keyserling. 1. Female genitalia, dor- sal view. 2. Epigynum.
Figs. 3-5. T. nigerrima (Petrunkevitch). 3. Left palpus. 4. Female geni- talia, dorsal view. 5. Epigynum.
Fig. 6. T. polita Mello-Leitao, epigynum after Mello-Leitao.



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Levi - Theridula and Paratheridula
TheriduZu gonygaster ( Simon)
Map 2
Theridium gonygaster Simon, 1873, Mem. Soc. Roy. Sci. Liege, (2)5:109. Male lectotype designated by Levi, 1954, in the Museum National d'His- toire Naturelle, Paris.
Theridula gonygaster, - Levi, 1954, Trans. Amer. Microscop. SOC., 73 :340, figs. 18-22, ? 5.
Distribution. Worldwide tropical. In America from Arizona, southern Florida, eastern Mexico, West Indies to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Additional records. United States. Arizona: Cochise Co. Cave Creek Canyon. Columbia. F'aZZe: Buenaventura, 4 Nov. 1950 (E. I. Schlinger, E. S. Ross). Ecuador. Guayas: Milagro (H. E., D. L. Frizzell) ; Guayaquil (Landes, H. E., D. L. Frizzell). El Oro: 5 km above Pasaje (R. Walls). Peru. Piura: Sulana, banana grove (H. E., D. L. Frizzell) ; Higuer6n Las Lomas (H. E., D. L. Friz- zell). Lima: San Antonio (E. I. Schlinger, E. S. Ross). Theridida nigerrima (Petrunkevitch)
Figures 3-5, Map 3
Dipoena nigra Keyserling, 1886, Die Spinnen Amerikas, Theridiidae, 2 (2) : 43, pi. 12, fig. 158, 9 5. Female lectotype here designated from Pumamarca [?Pumamanta, Junin], Peru, in the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw; examined. Name preoccupied by D, nigra Emerton, 1882.
Di$oc?ia nigerrima Petrunkevitch, 1911, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 29: 174. New name for D. nigra Keyserling, preoccupied. Diagnosis. The openings of the epigynum are on the anterior edge of a sclerotized plate (Fig. 5)) quite different from T. gonygaster which lacks this late. The connecting canals seem straight and short (Fig. 4). The shape of the narrow pointed embolus (Fig. 3) separates 1. nigerrima from T. gonygaster. Records. Ecuador. h a y : Cuenca, 3 Apr. 1942, 9 (H. E., D. L. Frizzell). Peru. Cuzco: Machu Picchu, 3000 m elev., 6 Mar. 1947i 2 CT (J. C. Pallister).
TheriduZa ~ndtiguttata Keyserling
Figures I, 2. Map 3
Theridula multiguttata Keyserling, 1886, Die Spinnen Amerikas, Theridiidae, 2: 258, pi. 21, fig. 306, 9. Female holotype from Blumenau, [Santa Catarina], Brazil, in the British Museum (Natural History) ; examined. The shorter straight connecting ducts (Fig. 4) separate this species from T. gonygaster.




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128 Psyche [June
Map 3.
Distribution of Theridula puebla Levi,
T. casas Levi, T. niger-
rima (Petrunkevitch), and T. multiguttata Keyserling. Record. Brazil. Pmnambnco: Recife (in the Senckenberg Museum).
Paratheridula Levi
Paratheridula Levi, 1957, Trans. Amer. Microscop. Soc., 76 :105. Type species by original designation, Mysmena quadrimaculata Banks [=Paratheridula perniciosa (Keyserling) 1. Carapace as in Theridion, not modified. Chelicerae with two teeth on anterior margin, a small tooth on posterior of female. First leg longest, patella and tibia 1.3 to 1.4 times carapace length. Abdomen subspherical and without colulus. Male palpus very simple without conductor, median apophpis or radix, and having only a basal hema- todocha.
The single species known is widely distributed; it is suspected that it is introduced.
Paratheridula perniciosa (Keyserling)
Map 4
Thendium prniciosum Keyserling, 1886, Die Spinnen Amerikas, Theridiidae, 2(2) : 233, pi. 20, fig. 288,
?. Female type from Blumenau, [Est. Santa Catarina], Brazil, in the British Museum (Natural History) ; examined.



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Levi - Theridula and Paratheridula
I
Map 4. Distribution of Paratheridula perniciosa (Keyserling).



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1 30 Psyche [June
Mysmena quadrimaculata Banks, 1896, Trans. Amer. Entomol. Soc,, 23: 66. Female holotype from Punta Gorda, Florida, in the Museum of Com- parative Zoology.
Faratheriduta quadrimaculata, - Levi, 1957, Trans. Amer. Microscop. Soc., 74: 106, figs. 1-6, map.
Distribution. Gulf states, Mexico, Central America, West Indies, South America to Chile, possibly pantropical. Additional records. Mexico. Sun Luis Potosi: Valles, July 1956 (W. J. Gertsch, V. Roth). Cuba. Villas: Soledad. Bahama Island. New Providence (J. Greenway). Ecuador. Napo-Pastaza: Rio Topo, June 1943 (H. E., D. L. Frizzell). Peru. Junin: San Ram&, 800 m (H. W. Levi). Brazil. Pernambuco: Recife. Chile. Osorno: Valley Forest, 18 km W of Purranque, Jan. 1951 (E. S. Ross, A. E. Schlinger) ; 10 km E of Puyehue, Jan. 1951 (E. S. Ross, A. E. Schlinger) .
LEVI, H. W.
1954. The spider genus Theridula in North and Central America and the West Indies. Trans. Amer. Microscop. Soc. 73: 331-343. 1957. The North American spider genera Paratheridula, Tekellina, Pholcomma, and Archerim. Ibid. 76: 105-115.



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