A new species of Castianeira Keyserling (Araneae, Corinnidae) from Buenos Aires, Argentina

Abstract

A new species of the spider genus Castianeira (Araneae: Corinnidae) from Argentina, C. coquito, is described on the basis of male and female specimens collected in northeastern Buenos Aires Province and the Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. This new species is characterized by its diminutive size and by the very globose copulatory bulb with a thick neck. It is the sixth species of the genus reported for the country.

Una nueva especie del género Castianeira (Araneae: Corinnidae) de Argentina, C. coquito, se describe en base a especímenes machos y hembras colectados en el noreste de la provincia de Buenos Aires y en la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Esta nueva especie se caracteriza por su diminuto tamaño y por el bulbo copulador muy globoso con un cuello grueso. Es la sexta especie del género reportada para el país.

Keywords:

• ant-mimicry spider
• Buenos Aires
• Castianeirinae
• taxonomy

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the anonymous referees and the editors for comments on the manuscript. The fieldwork was possible after obtaining permits from the authorities (and their Institutions) of Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, and Administración de Parques Nacionales of Argentina (APN). We thank all our co-collectors for their help and assistance in the field, and especially Osvaldo di Iorio and Belén Fuentes (Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires) for donating to the MACN-Ar collection the material that they collected in Otamendi. This work was supported by CONICET and FONCyT PICT-2011–1007 to Martín J. Ramírez (MACN).