Life history of the spider Selenops occultus Mello‐Leitão (Araneae, Selenopidae) from Brazil with notes on the natural history of the genus

Abstract

Selenopids are extremely fast‐moving, dorsoventrally flattened spiders and are among the most secretive of animals. However, they can be locally abundant, providing an opportunity to examine their life and natural histories. Here we report life history data from Selenops occultus which were studied and collected monthly for over a year at an experimental farm of São Paulo State University in Botucatu, Brazil. We compare these data with what we have found in other Selenops species in the Caribbean region. Overall, S. occultus showed considerable seasonality. Males were most common in January and March, whereas females were more common in June and November. Significant differences between the numbers of males collected during the wet and dry seasons indicate that mating may be limited to the wet season. The Caribbean species share similar natural histories to S. occultus, such as little conflict in small areas and overlapping generations throughout the year.

Keywords:

• São Paulo
• Caribbean
• islands
• seasonality

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the following people for helping us obtain permits or collect spiders for this study: Facundo Franken, Gijs Van Hoorn, Carmabi Institute, Matt Cottam, Mark da Silva, Kelvin Guererro, Renata Platenberg, Arlington James, Steven Toussaint, Inilek Wilmot, Alberto Puente‐Rolon, G.B. Edwards, Donna Hamilton,Germain George, Guy Mathurin, Tracey Challenger, Caroline Chaboo, Nicole VanderSal, Greg Pereira, Jim Johnson, Brian Riggs, Andy Caballero, Beverly Mae Nisbeth, Jan den Dulk, Arturo Herrera, Luke Mahler and Eladio Fernandez. We would also like to thank Adriano Kury, José Corronca for the identification of S. occultus, Nicole VanderSal for statistical advice, Joe Spagna and two anonymous reviewers for helpful suggestions. This project was funded by the Walker Fund and Keene Forest Entomology Fund, UC Berkeley; the Harriet Exline Frizzell Memorial Fund, CAS; the American Museum of Natural History Theodore Roosevelt Fund; and Sigma Xi.