Two sympatric species of Antrodiaetus from southwestern North Carolina (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Antrodiaetidae)

Abstract

Two sympatric species of Antrodiaetus (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Antrodiaetidae) are recorded from southwestern North Carolina: A. unicolor (Hentz 1841) and A. microunicolor new species. A neotype for A. unicolor is designated from DeSoto State Park in Alabama and a description is provided. A new species of Antrodiaetus is described from the Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research station in southwestern North Carolina. This new species is sympatric (putatively syntopic) with the closely related A. unicolor and can be differentiated from that species on the basis of size, setal characters, coloration, selected morphometric ratios, and non-overlapping breeding seasons. A brief account on the natural history for both species at Coweeta is presented. Copyright © 2005 Magnolia Press.