Elusive introduced and synanthropic spiders (Araneae: Cithaeronidae, Gnaphosidae): new records from Mexico, Honduras, and Brazil

Abstract

In examining synanthropic spiders from Mexico, Honduras, and Brazil, several specimens of Zimiris doriae Simon, 1882 (Gnaphosidae) and one female of Cithaeron praedonius O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872 (Cithaeronidae) were identified; neither of which species is native in America. The genus Zimiris Simon, 1882 includes only two species: the widespread Z. doriae and Z. diffusa Platnick & Penney, 2004. The former is introduced in at least eight countries, while the latter is introduced in Saint Helena (World Spider Catalog 2021). The genus Cithaeron O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872 comprises seven species distributed naturally and predominantly in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia (World Spider Catalog 2021). Two species, C. praedonius O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872 and C. reimoseri Platnick, 1991, are introduced in many countries (Platnick 1991, Carvalho et al. 2007). Despite being accidentally introduced around the world, Z. doriae and C. praedonius have few documented records in America (Almeida-Silva & Brescovit 2008, Ruiz & Bonaldo 2013, Edwards 2017). Here, a new country record of the family Cithaeronidae in Mexico is given. In addition, we provide a new country record of the genus Zimiris (Gnaphosidae) in Honduras and new localities for Mexico and Brazil. All adult specimens were identified using the descriptions and illustrations of Platnick & Penney (2004), Jäger (2005), and Almeida-Silva & Brescovit (2008) for Z. doriae; Platnick (1991), Ruiz & Bonaldo (2013) and Edwards (2017) for C. praedonius. All specimens examined are deposited in the following institutions: Colección de Arácnidos e Insectos (CARCIB), Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste S.C., Baja California Sur, Mexico; Colección de Arácnidos del Sureste de México (ECOTAAR), El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Chiapas, Mexico; Museo de Zoología, Escuela de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras (UNAH), Coleção de História Natural da Universidade Federal do Piauí, Floriano, Piauí, Brazil (CHNUFPI), and Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil (UFMG). Photographs of habitus and genitalia were taken using an Amscope MU500 camera coupled with a Zeiss Primo Star microscope at ECOSUR, following the procedures of Alvarez-Padilla (2012). Known distributions and new records are given in descending order from north to south.