20th International Congress of Arachnology

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DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE REPORTS | No. 3, July 2, 2016
However, since environment status decline and biodiversity
loss increasingly, and “taxonomic scientist extinction”,
cooperation among the amateurs, scientist and govern-
ment become critical to contribute for scientific research
on arachnology of taxonomy, species diversity, evolution
and population tendency monitoring indeed.
Keywords: citizen science, monitoring, species diversity
Poster presentation
On the Neohahnia ernsti(Simon, 1897)
(Araneae: Hahniidae): redescription and
new records
Nancy F. Lo-Man-Hung1, David F. Candiani2, Alexandre
B. Bonaldo3
1Independent researcher, Avenida do Contorno, 2250,
apto 208, Floresta, 30110-012, Belo Horizonte, Minas
Gerais, Brasil; 2Carste Ciência e Meio Ambiente, Rua
Aquiles Lobo, 297, Floresta, 30150-160, Belo Hori-
zonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil; 3Museu Paraense Emílio
Goeldi, Coordenação de Zoologia, Laboratório de
Aracnologia, Avenida Perimetral 1901, 66077-530,
Terra Firme, Belém, Pará, Brasil
Simon described Neohahnia ernsti based on males and
females from the West Indies. Afterwards, Petrunkevitch
examined specimens from Puerto Rico. Neohahnia ernsti
was originally assigned to Hahnia and transferred to
Neohahnia by Lehtinen, who provided figures from male
and female genitalia. Here, we redescribe and illustrate
N. ernsti. The male palp retrolateral view and female
epigynum ventral view are illustrated for the first time,
SEM images were taken as complement to species descrip-
tion and new distribution records are provided. Males of N.
ernsti resemble males of N. chibcha, for combination
of the following characters: shape of cymbium rounded,
the embolus curves clockwise direction around the bulbus
in a complete circle and lying on a furrow on the tegulum,
without median apophysis and the shape of retrolateral
tibial apophysis long and curved but differs from males of
N. chibcha, by embolous curves in little V-shape in cymbial
furrow, RTA is thin semicircular and is directed against
patellar apophysis which is also curved but with 1–3 hooks,
whereas in N. chibcha the embolus curves in S-shaped to
the furrow at base of cymbium and RTA is directed towards
the patellar apophysis which has a curved tip. Females of
N. ernsti resembles females of N. chibcha for the simple
epigynum, but in N. chibcha copulatory openings are
rectangular, ducts are highly coiled, with loop laterally in
irregular loops trajectory terminating in connecting with
lateral surface of posterior spermathecae, fertilization tubes
are small and lateral, whereas in N. ernsti the paired open-
ings (or “pockets”) are very conspicuous, with copulatory
ducts almost globular and small central fertilization tubes.
Keywords: dwarf sheet spiders; Neotropics, Hahniinae,
taxonomy
Oral presentation
Variation in morphology and organiza-
tion of the secondary eye optic neuropils
across the order of Araneae
Skye Long1, Elizabeth Jakob 2
1The Center for Insect Science, University of Arizona
Tucson, Rm 422 Gould-Simpson, Tucson, AZ 85721,
USA; 2Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences,
University of Massachusetts Amherst, 135 Hicks Way,
Tobin Hall, Fl 01, Rm 0011, Amherst, MA 010, USA
Although the relationship between behavior and the brain
is well studied in insects, the brains of only a few of the
some 40,000 spider species have been described and com-
parative studies of spider brain morphology are limited
in scope. The current project uses a novel histological
technique that allows for the rapid processing and imaging
of whole spider cephalothoraxes. This approach improves
our ability to accurately measure brain regions and places
the brain within the context of other tissues, giving a more
holistic view of spider neuromorphology. Nineteen species
sampled from across the Araneae show striking variation
in general brain morphology and the size of different brain
regions. In particular, the organization and morphology of
the visual processing pathway of the secondary eyes show
four distinct conditions. These conditions vary both in the
number of pre-protocerebral optic neuropils and in the
connectivity pathways between the secondary eye retinas
20th International Congress of Arachnology