Description of the female of the orb-weaver spider Testudinaria gravatai (Araneae: Araneidae)

Augusto Teixeira, RenatoAntonio Lise, Arno

Testudinaria Taczanowski, 1879 includes nine valid species; only four of these species have both sexes described. In this paper we describe the female of T. gravatai Levi, 2005, which can be recognized specially by the abdominal pattern of spots. Testudinaria gravatai Levi, 2005 is similar to T. quadripunctata Taczanowski, 1879, but can be distinguished from that species by the presence of a single median excavation on the upper margin of the epigynal atrium; by copulatory duct almost straight in the basal portion and narrower in the distal portion. We have based our description on a single available female, collected in Criciúma, Santa Catarina, Brazil, a new locality record for the species.

1. Neotropical region
2. taxonomy
3. new record