Description and ecology of a new species of sun spider (Arachnida: Solifugae) from the Brazilian Cerrado

Abstract

A new species of solifuge from São Paulo State, south-eastern Brazil, is described, together with its phenology, habitat use, activity pattern and the effect of fire on the population. Mummucia coaraciandu n. sp. differs from other Mummuciidae in cheliceral dentition and pleurite coloration. Over a one-year period, 649 individuals of M. coaraciandu were captured in 72 pitfall traps distributed in three Cerrado physiognomies: borders of gallery forest (N=53), campo sujo (N=561) and campo cerrado (N=35). The species is diurnal and showed two peaks of surface activity during the year: the highest peak occurred in the cold–dry season (June to July) and the smaller peak in the middle of the warm–wet season (December to February). The number of individuals per trap was negatively correlated with the mean monthly temperature, but showed no correlation with the monthly precipitation. The sex ratio was male-biased (7:1) and the number of males trapped was positively correlated with the number of reproductive females. More individuals were trapped in burned areas when compared with unburned areas 1 month after the fire. This difference between the two areas was not observed 1 month before and 3–4 months after the passage of the fire (when the vegetation had recovered). Mummucia coaraciandu is the second solifuge described from the Brazilian Cerrado and its ecology is very similar to that of Mummucia mauryi from Caatinga vegetation.

Keywords:

• Activity pattern
• campo cerrado
• campo sujo
• fire
• gallery forest
• habitat use
• phenology
• population ecology
• taxonomy

Acknowledgements

The authors thank L. A. Anjos, C. A. Brasileiro, V. C. Fox, M. C. Kiefer, R. J. Sawaya, F. Spina and several other friends for help in the fieldwork. R. J. Sawaya took the photographs of the live animals. A. J. Santos, A. S. Melo, R. J. Sawaya, F. Punzo and an anonymous reviewer provided helpful comments on an early draft of the manuscript. This is publication No. 13 of the project ‘Ecology of the Cerrados of Itirapina’. This work was supported by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico.

Notes

^*To whom correspondence is addressed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Glauco Machado*

*To whom correspondence is addressed.