Type Material

 

            Holotype: “Female holotype of Eremoperna mormona from Utah, SMF/RII/3446. No specific locality or collector indicated. Male holotype of E. mimbrenus from Signal Peak (328559N, 1088109W), Grant County, New Mexico, 17 June 1976 and female allotype from same locality collected on 1 July 1976. Both collected by Martin Muma (FSCA)” (Brookhart & Cushing, 2004, p. 300-301).

 

            Measurements: “Male measurements (5): Total length 15.0.–23.0, palpus length 10.0–22.0, first leg length 9.0–14.5, fourth leg length 14.5–23.0, chelicera length 3.5–5.4, chelicera width 1.6–2.6, propeltidium length 1.6–2.8, propeltidium width 2.00–3.85. Ratios: A/CP 6.08–7.59, CL/CW 1.94–2.20, PL/PW 0.70–0.80, FL/FW 0.50–0.67, FW/FFW 1.25–1.88, CW/FFW 4.60–6.20” (Brookhart & Cushing, 2004, p. 302).

“Female allotype: Total length 19.0, chelicera length 5.1, chelicera width 2.2, propeltidium length 2.3, propeltidium width 3.9, palpus length 12.5, first leg length 11.0, fourth leg length 18.5. Ratios: A/CP 5.75, CL/CW 2.31, PL/PW 5.90, GOL/GOW 0.54. Female measurements (3): Total length 18.5–21.0, chelicera length 4.40–5.02, chelicera width 2.0–2.1, propeltidium length 2.1–3.0, propeltidium width 3.4–3.6, palpus length 11.5–12.0, first leg length 10.5–12.0, fourth leg length 18.0–22.0. Ratios: A/CP 5.34–6.16, CL/CW 2.20–2.40, PL/PW 0.58–0.94, GOL/GOW 0.54–0.63” (Brookhart & Cushing, 2004, p. 302).

 

            Palpal Description: “801 papillae on palpal scopula” (Brookhart & Cushing, 2004, p. 301).

 

            Ctenidia Description: “ctendia 4 flat, sword like, extending slightly more than half the length of succeeding sternite (Fig. 37)” (Brookhart & Cushing, 2004, p. 301).

            

            Operculum Description: “Genital operculum similar to E. zinni and E. socal, new species as in fig. 68, pg. 59, Muma 1951 with short arms, medial surface gently curved ending in a point as in E. zinni and E. similis, short curved wing (Fig. 57)” (Brookhart & Cushing, 2004, p. 302).

            

            Chelicerae Description: “FF regularly curved; MF with large PT and AT, no cleft under AT, posterior IT in the notch of PT, MST tiny to absent. Fondal notch wider than long (Fig. 29)” (Brookhart & Cushing, 2004, p. 301).

 

Diagnosis: “This species appears closely related to E. similis Muma but can be distinguished from it by its darker color, shape of fondal notch, presence of papillae, and thickness and length of ctenidia” (Brookhart & Cushing, 2004, p. 301).

 

Other Information: “This species was erroneously described as E. geniculatus by Muma 1951, but after examining the holotype in Paris he identified it as Roewer’s species from Utah. Muma (pers. comm.) stated that the ‘‘type’’ of E. mormonus in the collection of MNHN is not Koch’s type but may be a lectotype set up by Roewer and therefore invalid. No other locality data were given but it must have been somewhere in southwest Utah based on the presence of other species in that area. We found E. mormonus in northern Arizona around the Grand Canyon, SW Colorado and western New Mexico on mesas with sage, piñon pine-juniper and alpine meadows. The Arizona specimens are darker in overall coloration. We here synonymize E. mimbrenus with E. mormonus. Eremobates mimbrenus was described by Muma (1989), and the description that Muma gave is correct except that in his drawing of the right male chelicera, the IT is shown on the PT yet on the type specimen itself, the IT is separate (Muma 1989, fig. 12). In the same vial is a male and female, collected by Muma that appear to be E. mormonus as well as two other vials from the area with two males and a female which also key out to E. mormonus. Muma’s (1989) description of the female allotype of E. mimbrenous was based on a female with three intermediate teeth on the movable finger collected in a pitfall trap in SW New Mexico. A female in the same vial does not have this character and could be recognized as E. mormonus based on genital opercula and chelicera structure. The male in the same vial is also recognized as E. mormonus. Until more specimens are collected from this area we have synonymized E. mormonus and E. membrenus” (Brookhart & Cushing, 2004, p. 302).