Taxonomia e História Natural de Paratropis Simon, 1889 (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Paratropididae) em Região Neotropical

Abstract

Paratropididae Simon, 1889 is one of the most enigmatic mygalomorph families, due to its body encrusted with soil particles, are small to medium-sized (6.0–18.5 mm). Paratropididae Simon, 1889 comprises 19 species distributed in four genera: Anisaspis Simon, 1892; Anisaspoides F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1896; Paratropis Simon, 1889 and Stormtropis Perafán, Galvis & Pérez-Miles, 2019. These spiders can be found in tropical forests and montane forests, in caves, near rivers, in microhabitats such as under logs and fallen rocks, leaf litter, moss, and ravine. Most species are distributed in South America, mainly in Colombia and Brazil, also in Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela. A single species is known from Mexico and another from San Vicente in the Caribbean. The taxonomy of Paratropididae remains confused and is exemplified by two of the three new species described here. Paratropis celiae sp. n. and Paratropis megaloricula sp. n. have features shared with the recently erected genus Stormtropis, such as the presence of a subapical triangular tooth on the embolus, absence of spines on the legs in males, slender embolus with (P. celiae sp. n.) or without (P. megaloricula sp. n.) a curvature; both from Manaus, state of Amazonas, Brazil; and Paratropis vulcanix sp. n. the only species that has inferior tarsal claw (ITC) in all legs, described for the Department Tolima-Calda Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia. An updated geographic distribution map for the entire genus is presented. Scanning electron microscopy photographs (SEM) complement the morphological data and contribute to the knowledge of the family. I provide new historic records of collected spiders, morphological diversity and evaluate their behavior in their natural habitat and in captivity. These results corroborate and complement trends in previous studies that allowed a more complete interpretation of the ecology of this genus and its abundance in the Neotropical region.