Metleucauge kompirensis

Metleucauge kompirensis
female from Japan
Scientific 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

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.