[Brazil
- cover page] [Title Page] [List of Genera][Comparison of Drawings] [Regional Keys to Genera] [Geographical Distribution] [Color Photographs] [Scanning Microphotographs] See also Catalogue of Salticidae [ Title page] List of Genera - names beginning
with: A BC DEFG HIJKL MN OPQ RS TUVWXYZ References: Authors beginning with: A BC DEFG HIJKL MN OPQ RS TUVWXYZ [See also Catalogue of Salticidae]
Thierry
Gasnier* Jerzy Proszynski ** Gustavo Rodrigo Sanches Ruiz ***
Bruno Machado * Aline Cássia Kramer da Silva *
* Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Amazonas.
690Brazil.
** Muzeum i Instytut Zoologii PAN, ul. Wilcza 64, 00-679 Warszawa. Poland.
*** Instituto Butantã, de São Paulo. Brazil.
Foreword
One of
the most important challenges in contemporary biology is to document faunal
and floral diversity of endangered natural environments, before they will
disappear. Unfortunately scientific establishment is poorly prepared to execute
such task. There are organized actions to collect species from still existing
rich environments, but because lack of trained taxonomists, they end usually
in museum collections, to be forgotten and gradually decay. There are museum
collections of spiders already 100 years old, with specimens half macerated
and discolored, still not identified. But also identified collections, including
descriptive type specimens, are fading and decaying, even before they are
sufficiently analyzed,.
The problem lies in training of specialists in taxonomy for particular groups,
which takes not years but dozens of years, and shortage of financial support
for training, employment and research. So the number of taxonomists, which
was never adequate for the task, is decreasing rapidly, with no replacement
available.
Partial solution could be invention of easy methods of documenting diversity
of species by collections of photographs stored on computer disks and available
through Internet, illustrating spiders in a way, which would permit future
identification, classification and description. If successful, that could
allow study of fauna by relatively smaller number of specialists, even resident
far away; facilitate training of students, and spread knowledge of fauna.
Such documentation, after methods will be developed and tested,
and the experience gained, could be prepared routinely by field collectors,
even students participating in ecology field courses, students writing their
course diplomas and PhD theses.
So we are particularly grateful to Dr Thierry Gasnier,
his collaborators and students from Depto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do
Amazonas,
This presentation is at the moment in initial stages of preparation. The number
of species is small, a lot of species is not identified and/or named, and
those identified need checks and corrections, sexes are not
matched. The quality of photographs is being gradually improved, and replaced
by improved ones. However, we decided to show our program now, to illustrate
methods for those who can be interested in following the lead.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jerzy Prószynski.
Introdution
[A Virtual Interactive Museum of Jumping Spiders (Salticidae: Araneae) of Central Amazonia: application of a
new paradigm for collection of arthropods
by:
Thierry R. Gasnier * , Jerzy Proszynski **, Gustavo Rodrigo Sanches Ruiz ***, Bruno Machado *, Aline Cássia Kramer da Silva **
Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Amazonas;
** Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences. u. Wilcza 64, Warszawa, POLAND;
*** Instituto Butantã, de São Paulo]
Amazonia
is not an immense uniform forest area; distant places with the same kind of
ecosystem have significant differences in the composition of the fauna and
flora. Even in short excursions to the field, it is not surprising that a
few new species are found, specially in the case of arthropods. The study
of the distribution of species in Amazonia is important to comprehend the
ecological history of the region, processes that contributed to its high biodiversity,
to establish bases for politics of conservation and strategies for sustainable
development (Overal 2001) and for discovering bioindicators of environmental
quality (Parisi 1979, Stork & Eggleton 1992).
However, the identification of species is an arduous work in an region with
extremely high biodiversity. The taxonomists are few, overloaded, and generally
have to be specialized in few genera. The identification of the material of
a single field trip by a non specialist researcher is almost impossible in
the present situation in many group of arthropods. Identifications in genus
level are of limited value, and even genus may be difficult to be established
for some families. The efficiency of survey of species in this situation may
take a time too long for the necessity of data that we have now. All the work
of identification can not be left only to the hands of the overloaded taxonomists.
Some preliminary analysis done by non specialists are necessary to increase
the velocity of surveys.
The use of Internet for the publication online of guides for identifications
is growing very fast in the last years. For example, the National Institute
for Biodiversity in Costa Rica has a long term project to help researches
with the identification local species of arthropods, with keys already available
for Formicidae (Hymenoptera), Tettigoniidae (Orthoptera), Phoridae (Diptera),
Hispinae (Coleoptera), Amblypygi (Arachnida), Oribatida (Arachnida) and Odonata
(http://viceroy.eeb.uconn.edu/ ALAS/ALAS.html). There are many advantages
of online publications 1) Information become worldwide accessible almost for
free, very fast, and may include a large number of color photographs; 2) Information
may be changed to correct errors, or to correct names after revisions of genera,
or bad photos may be replaced by better photos; 3) The site may be interactive,
i. e. visitors of the site of the publication may inform the necessity of
the corrections; 4) Researchers may "visit" collections deposited
in museums or research institutions without the need of going there, and decreasing
the necessity to manipulate specimens when it is not necessary; 5) New species
and unidentified species may be presented to the scientific community as a
morphotype. There are also some disadvantages: 1) The guides are so accessible
that precipitate researchers may be tempted to consider them as a substitute
to the need to consult specialists. It has to be stressed that the identifications
in a guide should be considered preliminary, except if species types were
photographed, or under rules that may be established by the scientific community;
2) The virtual guide tend to be less permanent than a physical publication
deposited in libraries. However, there is nothing that prevent that a virtual
publication becomes latter a published paper, and there may be found other
forms to transform it in a more permanent publication; 3) A specimen published
in Internet could be described by anyone. It is not our propose to evaluate
if this would be or not an ethical procedure, but this could happen. Therefore,
those interested in describing a species should avoid presenting it in internet.
Arachnids in general, and spiders in particular were intensively studied in
Amazonia in term of surveys of species (Adis 2002, Brescovit et al. 2002;
Bonaldo et al. no prelo), and it is a promising group to be used as bioindicator
of environment quality and in studies of the ecological history of the region
based on the distribution of species (Overal 2001). Due to the extremely high
Amazon biodivertity, there is still a big deal of work to be done (Adis 2002).
Salticidae is possibly the family richest in species in Neotropical forests.
Among the spiders collected by Nentwig (1993) in Panama, 26,7% belonged to
this family, more than the double than the second richest family. This is
a megadiverse group, easy to be collected, but hard to be studied because
of the difficult identification. Even the identification of genera is extremely
complex because of the lack of keys for identification, and due to the incomplete
knowledge of the tropical jumping spiders.
However, some recent publications may reduce this limitation for the studies
with Salticidae. The taxonomic situation of the family evolved after the study
of the relationships among genera made by Maddison & Hedin (2003). Proszynsky
(2003, 2005) published the site where this text is written in Internet, with
designs from the papers with the description of many species of the family.
We pretend to furnish another contribution for those interested in working
with this family in central Amazonia. Although most identifications were done
by specialists that worked in the collection of INPA (Intituto Nacional de
Pesquisas da Amazônia), we emphasize that they should be considered
preliminary.
Methods
The material presented here includes photographs of different quality, some
from a preliminary phase when they were taken for our personal use and other
after we developed the technique and a pattern including more details and
angles. Therefore, the techniques and patterns that we present here are those
used mostly for a more advanced phase of our work. We
The photos were taken adjusting a digital camera with a small diameter of
(lente) (about xxx) to a dissecting microscope. This adjust is easy with many
different cameras to many different microscopes. (Explain with photos.)
We dropped alcohol gel in the middle of a small dry Petri Dish of glass, immersed
the specimen in it, and we positioned the spider in the exact position that
we wanted. Then, we completed the Petri dish with clean liquid alcohol 70%
(para evitar reflexos do gel). After some photos in each position (to choose
the better focus latter in the computer), it is possible to change the position
some times before the need to change the alcohol gel.
A complete photo set includes the following angles: dorsal, ventral, dorso-lateral,
frontal, epigynum and it’s preparation (dorsal and, if possible ventral),
many angles of the palp, with and without the …, and sometimes a detail
of the chelicerae.
The label of the photo had: 1) a changeable part, an abbreviation of the preliminary
identification, which was important to organize the specimens in the genera
and species, and 2) a fix part, to allow us to find the photos of the specimen
after eventual changes or (melhoras) in the identification.
Example:
SAL_Acr_min#+%tged01_01 is:
SAL= Salticidae
Acr= Acragas
min= mineaceus
#= ? (doubt); (##= ?? serious doubt)
+= male (- = female)
%= separator
tg= abbeviation of a register book deposited in INPAs collection
e= 5th letter of the alphabet= 2005
d= 4th letter of the alphabet= April
01= 1st specimen taken in April 2005
_01= 1st photo of this specimen
All spiders here have labels with a fix part in the end. The fix part pattern
with only 6 characters for a specimen was adopted only for a few of the last
photos, when we realized that short labels reflecting the sequence of photos
are much more practical. However, we present it as a suggestion for future
works. Information on place of collection, or who collected may be in a file
and in a register book deposited in a collection. They should not be part
of a label.
Acknowledgements
Hubert Höfer collected and organized most Salticidae in INPA´s
collections. Heiko, made most
of the identifications in INPA´s collection. Without their work we would
not be able to start ours. Felippe Rego teached us how to use alcohol gel
to make easier to position the spiders for the photos. Antonio Brescovit…
We dedicate this photographic registration to the memory of … for her
vast work on Salticidae of South America.
As fotografias serão feitas por câmaras digitais com diâmetro
da lente compatível com microscópios (técnica comum dominada
pela equipe) e iluminação com lâmpadas frias (<65oC)
de 20W (equivalente a 120-150W). O posicionamento de aranhas pequenas e de
estruturas será feita em álcool gel, submerso em álcool
líquido para evitar reflexos em placas de Petri, ou coberto com lamínula
quando usadas lâminas escavadas, pelo mesmo motivo. Quando necessário,
será feita a diafanização de estruturas com ácido
lático e a expanção dos palpos com hidróxido de
potássio (KOH 10%) (Brescovit et al. 2002). Os especialistas convidados
participarão de forma mais intensiva durante as visitas, mas acompanharão
o trabalho ao longo do projeto.
Thierry R. Gasnier
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