Myrmecicultor
Myrmecicultor is genus of araneomorph spiders. As of November 2020, it has only one species Myrmecicultor chihuahuensis, and is the only genus in the family Myrmecicultoridae.[1][2] It is native to the Chihuahuan Desert, from the Big Bend region of Texas to Coahuila and Aguascalientes in Mexico. Collected specimens were associated with three species of harvester ants, Pogonomyrmex rugosus, Novomessor albisetosis, and Novomessor cockerelli, being found in pitfall traps when the ants were most active.[2]
| Myrmecicultor | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Myrmecicultoridae Ramírez, Grismado & Ubick, 2019[1] |
| Genus: | Myrmecicultor Ramírez, Grismado & Ubick, 2019[1] |
| Species: | M. chihuahuensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Myrmecicultor chihuahuensis Ramírez, Grismado & Ubick, 2019[1] | |
Taxonomy
The genus Myrmecicultor was erected in 2019 for the new species Myrmecicultor chihuahuensis. The species is described as ecribellate (i.e. lacking a cribellum) and entelegyne, with two tarsal claws without claw tufts. The males have a retrolateral tibial apophysis on the pedipalp. Some morphological characters suggest the genus may be related to the Zodariidae or Prodidominae; however molecular phylogenetic analysis implied that the genus forms a separate lineage within the Entelegynae. Accordingly, it was placed in a new family.[2]
References
- "Gen. Myrmecicultor Ramírez, Grismado & Ubick, 2019", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2020-11-01
- Ramírez, M.J.; Grismado, C.J.; Ubick, D.; Ovtcharenko, V.I.; Cushing, P.E.; Platnick, N.I.; Wheeler, W.C.; Prendini, L.; Crowley, L.M. & Horner, N.V. (2019), "Myrmecicultoridae, a new family of myrmecophilic spiders from the Chihuahuan Desert (Araneae, Entelegynae)", American Museum Novitates, 3930: 1–24, doi:10.1206/3930.1