Primeiro registro sinantrópico de Loxosceles laeta (Nicolet, 1849) (Araneae, Sicariidae) no Município do Rio de Janeiro, Estado do Rio de Janeiro / First synanthropic record of Loxosceles laeta (Nicolet, 1849) (Araneae, Sicariidae) in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro

Loxosceles laeta é a espécie de aranha-marrom de maior importância médica, causando acidentes de maior gravidade, além de apresentar hábito sinantrópico. No presente trabalho, é apresentado o primeiro registro sinantrópico de Loxosceles laeta no Município do Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil, a partir de encontro e coleta ocasional de espécimes, no período de agosto de 2005 a junho de 2009. A espécie foi registrada em um prédio do Museu Nacional/UFRJ, localizado no parque da Quinta da Boa Vista, área urbana na Zona Norte da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro. O foco foi considerado localizado e restrito. Loxosceles laeta é adaptável às condições climáticas da região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro, o que torna possível o estabelecimento de novos focos da espécie e a ocorrência de loxoscelismo na região.

Loxosceles laeta is the species of brown spider of greatest medical importance. It causes accidents of great severity and presents synanthropic habits. In this paper, the first synanthropic record of Loxosceles laeta in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil, is presented. This came from occasional encounters and sampling of specimens between August 2005 and June 2009. The species was recorded in a building of the Museu Nacional/UFRJ, located in the Quinta da Boa Vista park, in the urban area of the northern zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The focus was considered to be localized and restricted. Loxosceles laeta is adaptable to the climatic conditions of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, which makes possible for new foci of the species to become established, with occurrences of loxoscelism in the region.

Lyriform slit sense organs on the pedipalps and spinnerets of spiders.

Lyriform slits sense organs (LSSO) are a precise assembly of stress detecting cuticular slit sensilla found on the appendages of arachnids. While these structures on the legs of the wandering spider Cupennius salei are well studied in terms of morphology, function and contribution to behaviour, their distribution on pedipalps and spinnerets of spiders is not well explored. A study was therefore carried out to observe the distribution of LSSO on pedipalps and spinnerets of some spider species. Haplogyne spiders belonging to family Pholcidae have a simple complement of LSSOs represented by one or two LSSOs on their femur. The entelegyne spiders possess a complex assembly of LSSOs on the distal segments of their pedipalps. Various types of LSSOs are found on the pedipalps indicating a capacity for analysis of complex cuticular stress. It is suggested that the complexity of LSSOs on pedipalps of entel-egyne spiders relates to courtship and spermatophore transfer and may help in reproductive isolation. Lack of LSSOs on the distal segments of pedipalps leads us to infer that unlike legs, pedipalps are less likely to receive vibratory input through their distal segments. Spinnerets have a relatively simple complement of LSSOs. One LSSO is found only on anterior spinnerets and it is a common feature observed among spiders, irrespective of the variations in web building behaviour. The orb-weaving araneid Argiope pulchella, however, has two LSSOs on the anterior spinneret. As non-web builders and orb weavers do not differ markedly in terms of LSSOs on the spinnerets and LSSOs are simple in nature (type A), it is likely that spinning and weaving are not largely regulated by sensory input from LSSOs on the spinnerets.

Comunidade de aranhas orbitelas (Araneae, Arachnida) na região da Reserva Florestal do Morro Grande, Cotia, São Paulo, Brasil / Orb-weavers spiders (Arachnida-Araneae) community in the Reserva Florestal do Morro Grande region, Cotia, São Paulo State, Brazil

Foi realizado um levantamento da fauna de aranhas orbitelas da Reserva Florestal do Morro Grande e região (Cotia e Ibiúna-SP). Foram amostradas 16 áreas, oito na reserva e oito em fragmentos florestais. Quatro das áreas da reserva possuíam uma vegetação madura, enquanto as outras apresentavam vegetação secundária, assim como os fragmentos. As amostragens foram realizadas em dezembro de 2002 e março de 2003, e o método empregado foi a coleta manual noturna. Obteve-se um total de 384 amostras, correspondendo a 24 por área. Foram obtidas 12.683 aranhas orbitelas, 3.148 das quais adultas (24,8 por cento) e 9.535 jovens (75,2 por cento). As adultas foram distribuídas em 121 espécies, pertencentes a sete famílias. Trata-se da maior riqueza já observada para a guilda em áreas de Mata Atlântica. Cada período de coleta apresentou 27 espécies exclusivas, e 67 estiveram presentes em ambos. A família mais rica foi Araneidae (76 spp), seguida por Tetragnathidae (26 spp), Theridiosomatidae (nove spp), Uloboridae (seis spp), Anapidae (duas spp), Mysmenidae (uma sp) e Symphytognathidae (uma sp). A distribuição das espécies pelas famílias parece refletir a riqueza desses grupos no Brasil e no mundo, com exceção de Theridiosomatidae, que teve um número de espécies maior do que o esperado. A abundância relativa dessas famílias apresentou padrão semelhante ao da riqueza. A espécie dominante foi Micrathena nigrichelis, com 320 indivíduos, seguida por Micrathena guanabara (306 indivíduos), Mangora sp.2 (258 indivíduos) e Wagneriana janeiro (171 indivíduos). A comunidade apresentou uma baixa dominância (H'=3,11) e alta equitabilidade (E=0,835), estando de acordo com o esperado para ambientes tropicais. Foram empregados sete estimadores de riqueza não paramétricos, e as estimativas variaram entre 130,9 (Bootstrap) e 155,9 (Jackknife 2) espécies. No entanto, apesar do grande esforço amostral (intensidade de coleta de 26:1), nenhum dos estimadores atingiu a asíntota...

An inventory of the orb-weaver spiders guild was carried out at the Reserva Florestal do Morro Grande and nearby regions (Cotia and Ibiúna-SP). Sixteen areas were sampled, eight belonging to the Reserve, and eight to forest fragments. Four areas of the Reserve presented a mature vegetation, while the remaining four, as well as the forest fragment areas, presented secondary vegetation. Sampling was carried out in December 2002 and March 2003, and the method employed was the nocturnal manual searching. Twenty four samples were obtained from each area, totalling 384 samples. A total of 12,683 spiders were collected, 3,148 adults (24.8 percent), and 9,535 immatures (75,2 percent). Adult spiders were sorted to 121 species, belonging to seven families. This is the largest richness ever recorded for an Atlantic Forest area. Both sampling periods had 67 species in common and 27 exclusive species. The most species rich family was Araneidae (76 spp), followed by Tetragnathidae (26 spp), Theridiosomatidae (nine spp), Uloboridae (six spp), Anapidae (two spp), Mysmenidae (one sp) and, Symphytognathidae (one sp). The distribution of the species among the families agrees with their richness in Brazil and worldwide, except Theridiosomatidae witch seems to be overepresented. Their relative abundance showed a similar pattern. The dominant species was Micrathena nigrichelis, with 320 specimens, followed by Micrathena guanabara (306 individuals), Mangora sp.2 (258 individuals) and, Wagneriana janeiro (171 individuals). The community presented a low dominance (H'=3.11) and a high evenness (E=0.835), as expected in a tropical environment. Seven non-parametric richness estimators were used, and their estimates ranged from 130.9 (Bootstrap) to 155.9 (Jackknife 2) species. Nevertheless, none of them reached the asymptote, since the number of rare species (singletons, doubletons, uniques and duplicates) remained stable. The distribution of the species among the...

Loxosceles laeta: identificación y una mirada bajo microscopía de barrido / Loxosceles laeta: a looking over scanning microscope

Loxosceles laeta es una araña de importancia en Chile por su alta morbiletalidad en humanos. La gran mayoría de los pacientes con mordedura por esta araña consultan en servicios de atención primaria y de urgencia. Es relevante conocer su morfología para identificarla en forma precoz y tener una conducta médica adecuada a seguir. Se ilustra su morfología con fotos de microscopía de barrido destacando sus aspectos más fundamentales entre ellos sus seis ojos dispuestos en forma triangular

Natural history of Ctenus medius Keyserling, 1891 (Araneae, Ctenidae) I: observations on habitats and the development of chromatic patterns

Ctenus medius Keyserling, 1891 is a common species in several spots of Mata Atlântica, however there is a great lack of studies in all aspects of its natural history. This work aims to elucidate aspects of ecotope preference compared to large spiders, and to provide data on the development of chromatic patterns during its life cycle. The observations on the behavior of C. medius were done in the campus of Centro Universitário de Barra Mansa (UBM) by means of observations and nocturnal collections using cap lamps. For observations on the development of chromatic patterns, spiderlings raised in laboratory, hatched from an oviposition of a female from campus of UBM, and others spiderlings collected in field were used. The field observations indicate that: C. medius seems to prefer ecotopes characterized by dense shrub vegetation or herbal undergrowth; Lycosa erythrognatha and L. nordeskioldii seems to prefer open sites; Phoneutria nigriventer seems to prefer shrub vegetation and anthropogenic ecotopes as rubbish hills; Ancylometes sp. seems to prefer ecotopes near streams. Concerning chromatic patterns, it was observed that males and females show well distinct patterns during the last two instars, allowing distinction by sex without the use of a microscope. Through chromatic patterns it was also possible to draw a distinction between C. medius and C. ornatus longer that 3 mm cephalothorax width. 69 specimens of C. medius (males and females) collected in the campus of UBM did not show a striking polymorphism in chromatic pattern, but one among 7 adult females collected in National Park of Itatiaia, showed a distinct chromatic pattern