Metleucauge kompirensis

Metleucauge kompirensis
female from Japan
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Tetragnathidae
Genus: Metleucauge
Species:
M. kompirensis
Binomial name
Metleucauge kompirensis
(Bösenberg & Strand, 1906)
Synonyms
  • Meta kompirensis Bösenberg & Strand, 1906
  • Meta vena Dönitz & Strand, in Bösenberg & Strand, 1906

Metleucauge kompirensis is a species of spider in the family Tetragnathidae.[1] It is found across East Asia, including Russia (Far East), China, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.[1]

Etymology

The specific epithet kompirensis refers to the location "Saga, Kompira" in Japan, near Nagasaki. Bösenberg & Strand (1906) repeatedly mentions this location for specimens collected by Dönitz.

Taxonomy

The species was originally described as Meta kompirensis by Wilhelm Bösenberg and Embrik Strand in 1906.[2] At the same time, the synonym Meta vena was described by Dönitz & Strand.[2] In 1955, Yaginuma synonymized Meta vena with Meta kompirensis.[3] The species was transferred to the genus Metleucauge by Herbert Walter Levi in 1980.[4]

Distribution

M. kompirensis has been recorded from the Russian Far East, various provinces in China (including Hunan, Zhejiang, Fujian, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan), Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.[1][5]

Description

Original drawing from 1906 paper

Females are larger than males, with total body length ranging from 10.7–15.6 mm compared to males at 5.7–7.8 mm. The cephalothorax in females measures 4.2 × 3.4 mm, while in males it is 2.6 × 2.1 mm. The opisthosoma is 6.5 × 4.3 mm in females and 3.1 × 2.0 mm in males.[5]

The species can be distinguished from the closely related Metleucauge yunohamensis by several characteristics: the "V"-shaped marking on the carapace is uniform without light-colored spots, the anterior portion of the abdominal folium is distinct and darker, the middle bulge of the epigyne is sub-spherical, the spermathecae are relatively larger, and in males the tibia is slightly longer than the cymbium, though their length ratio does not exceed 1.5.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Metleucauge kompirensis (Bösenberg & Strand, 1906)". World Spider Catalog. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  2. ^ a b Bösenberg, W.; Strand, E. (1906). "Japanische Spinnen". Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft. 30: 93–422.
  3. ^ Yaginuma, T. (1955). "Revision of scientific names of Japanese spiders". Atypus. 8: 13–16.
  4. ^ Levi, H.W. (1980). "The orb-weaver genus Mecynogea, the subfamily Metinae and the genera Pachygnatha, Glenognatha and Azilia of the subfamily Tetragnathinae north of Mexico (Araneae: Araneidae)". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 149: 1–74.
  5. ^ a b c Yin, C.M.; Peng, X.J.; Yan, H.M.; Bao, Y.H.; Xu, X.; Tang, G.; Zhou, Q.S.; Liu, P. (2012). Fauna Hunan: Araneae in Hunan, China. Changsha: Hunan Science and Technology Press. pp. 444, f. 200a-g.