A species richness hotspot of ant-mimicking (or myrmecomorphic) spiders of the subfamily Castianeirinae Reiskind, 1969, is reported from the premontane Chiquitano forest at the Bolivian orocline. In a transect of 350 m in a forest fragment of ~10 ha, 148 individuals of five genera and 10 species were collected, including the first country records for the genera Mazax O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1898, Myrmecotypus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1894, and Sphecotypus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1895. The observations from this study represent an increase of the known fauna of Bolivian Castianeirinae from two to five genera and from three to at least 12 species. The generic and species richness is comparable with the fauna of mega-diverse moist forests in other Neotropical countries and may result from overlapping distributional ranges of faunal elements from several ecoregions. The discovery of this hotspot in an easily accessible and small area provides an excellent opportunity to gain further insight into the factors determining the evolutionary ecology and ant mimicry in Castianeirinae communities.
How to translate text using browser tools
23 March 2017
A Species Richness Hotspot of Ant-Mimicking Sac Spiders (Araneae: Corinnidae: Castianeirinae) at the Bolivian Orocline, With New Country Records for Three Genera and Nine Species
Robert Perger,
Yanis N. Perger
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
It is not available for individual sale.
This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
It is not available for individual sale.
ant-mimicry
biodiversity
Bolivia
hotspot
South America