Scytodes armata

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Scytodes armata
File:Scytodes armata 424581974.jpg
S. armata from Costa Rica
Scientific classification Error creating thumbnail:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Scytodidae
Genus: Scytodes
Species:
S. armata
Binomial name
Scytodes armata
Brescovit & Rheims, 2001
Synonyms
  • Scytodes championi Valerio, 1981 (misidentification)

Scytodes armata is a species of spitting spider in the family Scytodidae. It is endemic to Costa Rica.[1]

Taxonomy

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The species was first described by Antonio Domingos Brescovit and Cristina Anne Rheims in 2001.[2] Prior to its formal description, specimens of S. armata had been misidentified as Scytodes championi by Valerio in 1981.[3]

The specific name armata refers to the strong ventral spines along the male's first and second pairs of legs.[2]

Distribution

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S. armata is known from several localities in Costa Rica, including La Selva in Heredia Province, Cahuita in Limón Province, and Monteverde in Puntarenas Province.[2]

Description

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File:Scytodes armata 457141524.jpg
S. armata in web

Scytodes armata is a medium-sized spider with males reaching a total length of 4.38–5.50 mm and females 6.25–6.75 mm.[2]

Males have a yellow carapace with brown patterns and cream-colored abdomen with dark brown transverse stripes. The legs are yellow with brown longitudinal markings along the underside of the femora.[2]

The species can be distinguished from related spiders by several characteristics. Males have a distinctive double row of spines along the underside of both the first and second pairs of legs, and a tubular projection on the male reproductive structure (pedipalp). Females have rounded, mushroom-like reproductive structures and a straight posterior margin on the epigyne.[2]

References

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