- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The long-awaited scientific article on the new trapdoor genus (and species) that UC Davis Professor Jason Bond discovered on a sandy beach at Moss Landing State Park, Monterey County, is now online.
In fact, it's the cover story in the journal Insect Systematics and Diversity. Bond's image of the spider graces the cover.
And it's apparently the first spider research paper published in the journal.
The title: "Phylogeny, Evolution, and Biogeography of the North American Trapdoor Spider Family Euctenizidae (Araneae: Mygalomorphae) and the Discovery of a New ‘Endangered Living Fossil' Along California's Central Coast."
Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in Insect Systematics, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, discovered the female spider in 1997, and figured at the time it might be a new genus. But despite repeated trips to the site, he could not find a male for 22 years. The male proved elusive until pitfall trap sampling in the fall of 2019.
It is rare to find a genus in the field, the professor said. The usual place is in museum collection.
Name That Species
Bond named the genus Cryptocteniza and then launched a "Name-That-Spider" contest that drew some 200 entries from all over the world. Entomologist Kirsten Pearsons, a UC Davis alumnus who holds a doctorate in entomology from Pennsylvania State University, submitted the winning species name, “kawtak,” the Mutsun tribe name for "seashore." The Native American tribe settled in that area.
The journal article details the spider's phylogeny, evolution,biogeography and discovery. Co-authors are Chris Hamilton, assistant professor in the Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, University of Idaho, Mosco of the University of Idaho, Moscow; two Bond lab members, doctoral student Rebecca Godwin and project scientist James Starrett; and Joel Ledford, an assistant professor of teaching in the Department of Plant Biology, College of Biological Sciences.
Trapdoor spiders are so named because they construct their burrows with a corklike or wafer trap door made of soil, vegetation and silk.
Of the genus name, Cryptocteniza, Bond says that the adjective “hidden or secret” is prefixed to Cteniza, the Greek feminine noun “comb.” The latter refers to the comb-like rastellum (row of stiff spines on the chelicera) common in taxa and formerly assigned to the spider family Ctenizidae (e.g., Eucteniza). The prefix refers to both the diminutive form of the rastellum and the seemingly “hidden in plain sight” nature of the genus, he says. Bond credited Vera Opatova, a postdoctoral fellow in his lab, with helping to formulate the genus name.
Good Day Sacramento Segment
The newly discovered spider has not only drawn widespread interest in the scientific world, but in the news media. A Sacramento television program, Good Day Sacramento, today featured the UC Davis professor, the spider, and the naming contest in an informative and entertaining segment. Host Cody Stark suggested that the next spider ought to be named "Cody" and spelled it out: "C-O-D-Y."
/span>- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you gift this to a family, friend or yourself, no one can ever take it away. It can't be stolen, damaged or lost. You'll never wear it out. It will never go out of fashion. It will always be considered special, creative, generous and thoughtful.
Downright thoughtful.
I mean, how many people get to name a new species of weevil?
In this case, it's naming rights for a cute little polka-dotted black and white weevil. For a donation of $2500 to the Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis, it's yours.
To name, that is.
Bohart Museum Society member Henry Hespenheide, professor emeritus from UCLA, collected the weevil a couple of years ago in Panama, said Bohart Museum director Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis.
This species is from genus Macrocopturus. Its relatives are distributed widely in the Western Hemisphere from Florida and the West Indies to South America, and currently include more than a hundred known species. Most Macrocopcurus are probably wood-borers as larvae, and the Florida species is a pest of mahogany, Kimsey says. Although most species are colored to blend in with the bark on tree trunks, this species is unusual and striking in having the bright spots of red scales.
Genus: Dipara species #1
Family Pteromalidae
Origin: Democratic Republic of Congo
Describer Steve Heydon
This delicate black jewel is tiger-striped with white bands and dotted with purplish metallic patches. This species is relatively common in the gallery forests along the river courses of west central DRC, but it can be collected only by means of yellow pan traps deployed on the forest floor. Similar species exist throughout the world, but mysteriously, no one has a good idea what they feed on.
Genus Callocleonymus species #1
Family Pteromalidae
Origin: Mississippi
Describer: Steve Heydon
This new species will be the first representative of the genus to be found in North America. This species is so rare, it is known from only a handful of specimens. It is native to the bottomland hardwood forests of the Gulf Coast.
Genus: Hedychridium species #1
Family: Chrysididae
Origin: Thailand
Describer: Lynn Kimsey
Members of the genus Hedychridium are among the most brilliantly colored of the chrysidids, with bright metallic blues, greens and even reds. This new species has all of that brilliance in blues and greens. These wasps are nest parasites of predatory, solitary wasps. They are like small jewels flitting about on the ground.
Genus: Psilochalcis species #1
Family: Chrysididae
Origin: Southern California
Describer: Steve Heydon
This new species of Psilochalcis is from the Algodones sand dune system of southern California. These tough little wasps survive in an area where daytime temperatures soar above 110˚ regularly, and the temperature near the sand exceeds 160˚ F. The females lay their eggs in the pupal stage of their hosts, probably small some small moth found feeding on the desert bushes.
Genus: Agapophytus nov. sp1
Family: Therevidae
Describer: Shaun Winterton
Genus: Agapophytus nov. sp2
Family: Therevidae
Describer: Shaun Winterton
Genus: Lagenosoma species 1
Family: Therevidae
Describer: Shaun Winterton
Genus: Undescribed genus and species
Family: Therevidae
Describer: Shaun Winterton
For more information on the Biolegacy Program, contact Lynn Kimsey at lskimsey@ucdavis.edu or call the main Bohart lineat (530) 752-0492.