Ammotrecha stollii (Pocock 1895)

Cleobis stollii ►Pocock, 1895a: 97.
Ammotrecha stollii (Pocock): ►Kraepelin 1901: 115 (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Pocock, 1902c: 65, plate 12 figs 8, 8a-b (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Kraepelin, 1908a: 211 (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Banks, 1909b: 234 (as Ammotrecha stolli); Banks, 1913: 684 (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Roewer, 1932: fig. 132 (as Ammotrecha stolli); Kästner, 1933-1935: fig. 345 (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Roewer, 1934: 598, figs 337e, 338b (in part, see Ammotrecha picta Pocock) (as Ammotrecha stolli); Caporiacco, 1938: 254 (as Ammotrecha stolli); Kästner, 1940: fig. 80 (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Roewer 1941: 183 (as Ammotrecha stolli); Zilch, 1946: 151 (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Muma, 1951: 123-125, figs 272-276 (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Roewer, 1954a: 383 (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Roewer, 1954d: 63 (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Muma, 1970a: 45 (Table 13), 50 (as Ammotrecha stolli); Rowland and Reddell, 1976: 10 (as Ammotrecha stolli); Vázquez Rojas 1981: ?; ►Muma, 1986: 14-15, 21 (as Ammotrecha stolli); Muma, 1987: 15, 21 (as Ammotrecha stolli); Maes, Palacios Vargas and Jimenez, 1989: 6 (as Ammotrecha stolli); Armas, 1992: 132, fig. 5 (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Armas, 1993: 51-54, figs 14-16 (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Vázquez Rojas, 1995: 31 (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Armas, 1996: 32 (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Armas and Maes, 1996: 18 (as Ammotrecha stolli); Vázquez Rojas, 1996e: 76 (as Ammotrecha stolli); Armas, 2000d: 65-66, figs 9a-d (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Harvey 2003: 201. ►Armas, 2004: 60 (as Ammotrecha stolli); ►Brookhart and Brookhart, 2006: 323 (as Ammotrecha stolli).

Ammotrecha stollii (Pocock 1895), female, from Guatemala.  
Photo courtesey of Dr. Arthur Anker, University of Alberta.

HOLOTYPE: Guatemala: Retalhuleau (14°31'N 091°40'W) [Date?] (Stoll), 1 male (holotype). "Male and female types, No. 8605, from Guatemala in the British Museum (Natural History)."  "Female type from Retalhuleau, Guatemala (Roewer No. 8605) in BMNH."

Original description:
Pocock, 1895a: 97:

"(Preliminary diagnosis.) Colour. Head and mandibles entirely pale yellow; upper surface of the free thoracic segments and of the anterior seven abdominal segments pale yellow in the middle, infuscate at the sides; palp with tibia lightly infuscate above, protarsus with its proximal third pale, the rest of it infuscate, the two tints gradually blending; first and second legs slightly infuscate distally, third more strongly so, with a pale band round the distal end of the tibia and protarsus; fourth leg with femur, tibia, and tarsus deeply infuscate, especially the latter two segments, which, however, have their distal ends ringed with flavous; coxae, trochanters, and tarsi of all the legs pale."

SUBSEQUENT ACCOUNTS:
Kraepelin 1901:

Mdb. und Cephth. lehmgelb: Rückenplatten des Abd. iu der Mittellinie mit breitem hellen Streifen. zu beiden Seiteu desselben mit einer mehr oder minder deutlichcn (zuweilen völlig verschwindenden) Binde chokoladefarbener Flecken, die aber als violettrötliche Färbung jenseits der die Rückenplatten abgrenzenden Längsfurche auf die Seiten des Abd. übergeht; Bauchseite des Abd. gelb. Augenhügel mit weissem Medianstrich. vorn mit 2 längeren und mehreren kurzen Borsten; Augen scheinbar sehr genähert.  Mxpalp. beim alten ♀ fast ganz hell, sonst das Femur fast hell, die Tibia und der Metatarsus gebräunt, letzterer beim juv. im distalen Drittel oft scharf abgesetz braun. 1.-3. Bein meist gelb, leicht beraucht; 4. Bein in allen Gliedern wie bei der vorigen Art. - Flagellum des ♂ spelzenförmig gewölbt, eiförmig, seine Ränder weit klaffend, nicht bis auf einen feinen Längsspalt zusammenschliessend.  Metatarsus des Mxpalp. ventral beim ♂ und ♀ mit 5 langen, starken Dornen, die länger sind als die kürzeren Cylinderborsten; letztere beim ♂ und ♀ auf der ventralen Seite des Metatarsus der ganzen Länge nach zahlreich, beim ♂ auch auf der dorsalen Seite; Tibia ventral beim ♂ mit, beim ♀ ohne Cylinderborsten.  L. des Truncus 20 mm.

Pocock (1902):

"♀, Colour: head-plate pale yellow, ocular tubercle black with a median pale stripe; mandible yellow, with the fangs ferruginous; upperside of abdomen with a median yellow stripe, the sides of the tergal plates fuscous, the fuscous area on each side about as wide as the median stripe or rather narrower, on the posterior terga the median stripe gradually dies away; lateral integument of abdomen ashy or violet-grey above adjacent to the terga, the sides of the thoracic terga also infuscate; palpi mostly yellow, with distal end of femur and tibia lightly infuscate, the distal half of the tibia and the tarsus more deeply infuscate, first leg pale, second only lightly infuscate, third more strongly infuscate on femur, patella, and tibia, with an indistinct pale ring around the end of the patella; fourth leg with the femur, patella, and tibia strongly infuscate, with a distinct and broad yellow ring around the tip of the patella.  Width of head equal to length of patella of palp, slightly shorter than its tibia and tarsus and the patella of fourth leg.  Mandible  with upper fang armed distally with three large subequal teeth and a small one between the second and third set almost upon the base of the anterior side of the latter; lower fang with two larger subequal teeth and a small tooth between them nearer the base of the inner.  Palpi without spines on femur and patella;  tibia with five pairs of strong short spines beneath, and furnished with numerous cylindrical bristles.  Third and fourth pairs of legs with three anterior and one posterior distal spine beneath; tarsus with four pairs of spines beneath.
♂. Like the female in colour, but smaller, and with longer appendages.  Width of head much less than length of patella or tibia and tarsus of palp or than patella of fourth leg.  Upperside of the tibia and the lower side of the patella of the palp with cylinder bristles.  Flagellum elliptically elongate, its upper and lower edges widely separated.
Measurements in mm. - ♀, Total length of body 18; width of head 4.3; length of palp 15, its patella 5; tibia and tarsus 5.3; of fourth leg 16, its patella 5.  ♂, Total length 12; width of head 2.5; length of palp 14, of fourth leg 15."

Abb. l32. Ammotrecha stolli Poc. (8) Medialansicht der Chelicere.
(Im übrigen wie Abb. 126)(nach Präp.). [Redrawn from Roewer 1932].

Roewer 1934:

1895 beschreibt Pocock diese Art nur mit einigen Färbungsmerkmalen, ohne Mitteilung morphologischer Einzelheiten. Er hält sie für sehr ähnlich der Ammotrechona cubae (Lucas) (siehe S. 596 Nr. 1), von der sie aber schon durch die ventrale Bedornung des 2. und 3. Tarsus abweicht. 1902 erweitert Pocock seiue Diagnose von A. stolli und bildet auch die Bedornung des 4. Tarsus ab, die wir am Typus und weiteren Stückcn wie er vorfanden.  Das gleiche gilt für die A. picta (Pocock 1902 S. 65), die in keinerlei morphologischen Merkmalen von A. stolli abweicht und daher mit dieser artgleich zu setzen ist. trotz der geringfügigen, für die Solifugen ganz allgemein so variablen Fürbungsunterschiede, die Pocock hier allein zur Abtrennung von A. picta benutzt.

Abb. 337e. Rechte Chelicere mit Flagellum des ♂ in Medialansicht
von Ammotrecha stolli Poc.; Abb. 338b. Rechte Chelicere des ♀ in
Medialansicht von Ammotrecha stolli Poc.                                          
[Redrawn from Roewer 1934].

Muma 1951:

"MALES: Males of this species have not been seen. A translation of Roewer's redescription of the type and a copy of his drawing of the chelicerae are included for reference.
"Flagellum with dorsal and ventral edges but slightly turned under, medial surface consequently exposed to view, the elliptical anchoring ring lying in the middle of the posterior longitudinal third of the flagellum; dentition and flagellum [fig. 272 of the present paper]; palpi hairy, with short cylinder bristles ventrally on tibia and metatarsus, metatarsus with five pairs of rather long spines; second and third metatarsus dorsally with a longitudinal row of three spines and ventrally, as also the fourth metatarsus, with 1, 1, 2 spines; coloration of the mandibles and propeltidium rusty yellow, abdominal tergites with a broad blackish brown longitudinal band that has a narrower whitish mid-band, pleura, sternites, coxae and malleoli whitish yellow, palpi dark brown except on the basal half of the femora and tarsi, legs browned; body length 14-18 mm."
FEMALES: Total length, 16.0 to 22.0 mm. Chelicerae, 1.4 to 2.1 mm. wide and 4.4 to 6.4 mm. long. Propeltidium, 3.2 to 4.6 mm. wide and 2.5 to 3.6 mm. long. Coloration in alcohol somewhat faded but apparently as follows: chelicerae, propeltidium, coxae, and tarsi of walking legs and coxae of first legs and palpi light rusty yellow; abdomen and remaining segments of legs and palpi dusky purple; abdomen also with a broad dark band that contains a wide, light central stripe; dusky areas on legs darker on dorsal surface; eye tubercle dark; malleoli light. Dentition typical of the Ammotrechinae as shown in figures 273 and 274. Movable finger with principal and anterior teeth separated by one intermediate tooth, anterior tooth slightly smaller than principal tooth, and a distinct mesal tooth. Dental group of the movable finger occupies one-fourth of the length of the finger and lies approximately in the middle of the length of the finger. Fixed finger with large principal tooth, one intermediate tooth between principal and medial teeth, and medial and anterior teeth subequal in size. Fondal teeth occurring in two rows of four each, the ectal row graded in size III, I, IV, II, the mesal row I, III, IV, II. The peak of the dorsal carina of the fixed finger occurs directly over the first fondal tooth of the ectal row. Palpi clothed ventrally with long slender hairs, short, fine, cylinder bristles, and a series of five pairs of short stout spines on the metatarsus. There is no series of spines on the tibia, and there are fewer cylinder bristles. Chelicerae three times as long as wide. Propeltidium wider than long by a ratio of 1 to 1.3. Eyes slightly more than one diameter apart. Genital plate typical of family; it is wider than long by a ratio of 1 to 1.2."

Muma 1970a:

DIAGNOSIS: Males and females colored and marked as for Ammotrechclla stimpsoni (Putnam). Cheliceral and palpal characters also the same as for A. stimpsoni.  The tarsal spinelike setal formula agrees with that of Ammotrecha Banks, sensu stricto, of Roewer (1934).  The combined descriptions of Pocock (1902) and Roewer (1934) are adequate for identification except for the enigma of the tarsal setal formula.

Armas 1993:

Diagnosis. El color del cuerpo varía desde amarillo claro hasta castaño; tergitos con dos bandas laterales de color castaño oscuro, las cuales se fusionan en los tres últimos escleritos. Propeltidio sin espículas, cubierto por pelos acuminados de diferentes tamaños. Pedipalpos con abundantes espículas, excepto en el fémur; protarso con cinco pares de espinas ventrales. Dedo fijo del quelícero con cinco dientes basales internos y cuatro basales externos.
Descripción de un macho (Volcán Mombacho).
Colorido en alcohol. Propeltidio, parapeltidia, mesopeltidio, quelíceros y los dos tercios basales del fémur palpal, de color amarillo. Pedipalpos, excepto lo referido del fémur, y pata IV, excepto los tarsos, de castaño. Patas III, de castaño claro; I-II, de amarillo pálido y tergitos abdominales, de amarillo muy pálido con dos anchas bandas laterales de color castaño oscuro, excepto en el último tergito, que es totalmente castaño.
Propeltidio ligeramente más ancho que largo, cubierto por pelos acuminados de pequeño y mediano tamaño, entre los que sobresalen cuatro pelos de gran tamaño. Parapeltidia y mesopeltidio con numerosos pelos de mediano y gran tamaño. Lóbulos laterales separados del prosoma por un surco dorsal. Ojos separados por menos de un diámetro ocular (0,80).
Quelíceros cubiertos por abundantes pelos de gran tamaño y otros de mediano y pequeño tamaño. Dedo movible con la siguiente fórmula dentaria: 1A, 1I, 1P, 1BI; mucrón de base poco ancha, más bien largo y sin curvatura dorsal. Dedo fijo con una pequeña escotadura dorsal, casi a nivel del diente principal; carina dorsal vestigial; fórmula dentaria: 2A, 1I, 1P, 4BE, 5BI; de los dientes BE, el segundo es el más pequeño; de los dientes BI, los tres últimos (3, 4 y 5) comparten una base común donde 3 es el mayor y 5 el menor.
Pedipalpos: fémur cubierto por cerdas muy pequeñas, acuminadas; tibia, protarso y tarso con abundantes espículas y algunos pelos acuminados muy largos. Protarso con cinco pares de espinas ventrales.
Tergitos cubiertos por pelos de mediano y pequeño tamaño, entre los que sobresalen algunos de mayor talla; hacia los últimos tergitos los pelos se tornan largos y finos.
Patas. Protarsos II-III con 1.1.1 espinas dorsales y 1.1.2 ventrales. Dimensiones en la Tabla 2.
Hembra. Colorido similar al del macho. Pedipalpos más cortos y sin espículas. Quelíceros, prosoma y tergitos cubiertos por pelos mucho más finos que en el macho. Dedo fijo del quelícero con carena dorsal pequeña. Opérculo genital (Fig. 19), 1,8 veces más ancho que largo.

     Dimensions de Ammotrecha stolli (Pocock)
[Extracted from Table 2]

                                                                                Macho                             Hembra
                                                                            Mombacho                      Sn. J. del Sur

                                              Propeltidio, L             2.65                                     2.85
                                              Propeltidio, A            2.80                                     3.20
                                              Propeltidio, L/A        0.94                                     0.89

                                              Quelicero, L               3.80                                     4.25
                                              Quelicero, A              1.15                                     1.50
                                              Quelicero, H              1.20                                     1.50

                                              Pedipalpo, L             13.50                                    9.90
                                              Femur Pata I, L           2.95                                    1.90
                                              Femur Pata IV, L        5.00                                    3.50                    

                                              L Total                      12.20                                    9.10

Armas 1996:

El tipo de esta especie una hembra colectada en Retalhuleu, Guatemala, y sa haila depositado en el Museo Británico de Historia NaturaL Su distribución es la más amplia exhibida por un solpúgido centroemericano: desde Costa Rica hasta el sureste de los EE. UU. (Muma, 1970, 1986). Su patrón de colorido es muy parecido al de Ammotrechella stimpsoní (Putnam). Puede considerarse una especie bien conocida.

Armas 2004:

LOCALIDAD TIPO: Retalhuleau, Guatemala. DISTRIBUCIÓN: México, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica. TIPO: Hembra holotipo UBMNH, No.8650). NOTAS: Ambos sexos, numerosas recolectas. Este es el solífugo de más amplia distribución en Centroamérica.

DISTRIBUTION: Costa Rica; El Salvador; Grenada; Guatemala; Mexico; Nicaragua; U.S.A. (Louisiana, Texas).

PUBLISHED RECORDS:
Banks 1909b: Costa Rica: San Jose, 2nd May (Picado).
Roewer 1934: Guatemala (Retalhuleu), Nicaragua, Costa Rica (San Jose, Baranca, Bebedero, Mojica Guanacaste), Mexico (Alemanie Keda Oase, Teapa), Grenada (Friederichsthal) [incl. A. picta].
Roewer 1941:  Mexico: Flores, Ocotlan, 4 ♀; Costa Rica: San José, 1 ♂, 1 ♀ (Coll. Roewer, Nr. 5109/372).
Muma 1951:  United States: Louisiana: Lake Ponchartrain, one female (Marx). Texas: San Antonio, July 29, 1929, one female (M. Valeris).
Roewer 1954d:  El Salvador::  Dept. Santa Ana - Hacienda Los Planes in Gebirge von Metapan (1800 m), 1 pull., O. Schuster l. 1-22-1952, SMF 8006; Dept. San Salvador - Umgebung des Instituto Tropical in San Salvador (700 m) [120 ♂,♀. 1951, SMF 8007-8021; 31  ♂,♀. 1952, o. Schuster l., SMF 8022-8028]; Dept. San Vicente - O-Kegel des Vulkans San Vincente, Finca El Carmen (1300 m) [1 ♀, 8-10-1951, SMF 8029]; Dept. Morazán - Vulkan Cacaguatique, Finca San Pedro (1050 m) [2 pull. 13-9-1951, SMF 8030].
Muma 1986, 1987: Mexico:  Chiapas - San Cristobal de las Casas,  29 October 1971 (Dennis E. Breedlove), 1 female;  El  Salvador: Quezaltepeque, 5 July 1963 (M. Irwin and D. Q. Cavagnaro), 1 female.
Armas 1993: Un macho, volcán Mombacho, noviembre 15, 1989, J.-C. Gantier (SEA). Una hembra, San Juan del Sur, septiembre 15, 1987, J.-P. Desmedt (IES). Tres hembras, Cerro Telica, León, julio de 1990, B. Garcete (SEA).
Armas and Maes 1996: Un macho (lES), León, enero de 1994, J.M. Maes. Un macho (SEA), León, noviembre de 1990, B. Garcete. Un macho (SEA), León, octobre de 1990, B. Garcete. Dos machos (IES), Las Flores, Masaya, 15 de junio, 1994, J.M. Maes, "U.V. Iight". Un juvenil (SEA), Las Flores, Masaya, abril de 1993, C. Lecoq, 1. Cantamessa.

NOTES: Pocock (1895a) compared this species and Ammotrechula gervaisii (Pocock) [as C. Gervaisii Pocock]  to Ammotrechella cubae (Lucas) [as C. cubae Lucas], noting that both resemble Ammotrechella cubae, as described by Mons. Simon, "in the structure and dentition of their mandibles, spinulose armature of protarsus of palp, &c."  He noted that Ammotrecha stollii further resembles Ammotrechella cubae in having the upperside of the abdomen adorned with a median flavous band; but it appears to differ in having the first, second, third, and fourth legs infuscate, with a conspicuous flavous ring round the distal end of the tibia of the fourth.  He added, "According to Simon C. cubae has the first, second, and third legs pale, and the fourth reddish brown, with the base of the femur, extremity of the metatarsus, and the tarsus clear testaceous." Kraepelin (1901) reports the range of the species as Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.  Kraepelin (1908a) noted that the markings on the segments of the palps and legs are darker in the male than in the female.  Roewer (1934) reported the range of this species as Guatemala (Retalhuleu), Nicaragua, Costa Rica (San Jose, Baranca, Bebedero, Mojica Guanacaste), Mexico (Alemanie Keda Oase, Teapa). Grenada (Friedrichsthal), and regarded Ammotrecha picta Pocock as a synonym.   Roewer (1954a) reported receiving 1 ♂ and 2 ♀ from [El] Salvador and 1 ♀ from Costa Rica for identification. Muma (1970a) stated: "If tarsa1 setal formulae are valid, this species is a senior synonym of A. nigrescens; otherwise it is a junior synonym of A. stimpsoni." He included the species in a tabular presentation of some diagnostic characters of species of Ammotrechinae, citing it as having the following attributes: palpal tarsus and metatarsus dark, 5 pairs of spine-like setae on the pedipalp, and a slight indentation above the flagellar attachment on the fixed cheliceral finger of the male.  Vázquez (1981a) recorded the species from Michoacan, Guerrero, and Chiapas, Mexico.  Muma (1986, 1987) included the species in a list of families, genera, and species previously recorded from Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies.  Armas (1993) reported its range as including Central America (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala), North America (México, United States) and the Antilles (Granada), and noted that en el cerro Telica it occurs sympatrically with Ammotrechesta garcetei Armas.  Vázquez Rojas (1995) included the species in a checklist of arachnids occurring in Mexico.  Armas (2004) listed the species in a catalog of the solifuges of Central America and the Antilles, noting that it was found in México, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, and is the most widely distributed species in Central America. Brookhart and Brookhart (2006) included the species in their checklist of  North American solifugae.