Yunohamella Yoshida, 2007

Genus Yunohamella Yoshida, 2007 View in CoL

[Japanese name: Yunohama-himegumo-zoku; Korean name: Tam-ra-kko-ma-geo-mi-sok]

Type species. Theridium yunohamense Bösenberg & Strand, 1906

Diagnosis. Yunohamella species resemble those of Takayus Yoshida, 2001 , both with a large tegulum that covers most of the palp in retrolateral view, relatively small and globular theridiid tegular apophysis, and no distinct groove or boundary between the surfaces of the conductor and tegulum ( Yunohamella : Figs 2 View FIGURE 2 , 4A–F View FIGURE 4 ; Yoshida 2003, figs 235, 238, 242; Takayus : Yoshida 2003, figs 225, 229, 232). However, Yunohamella can be distinguished from Takayus by the following characteristics: generally dark and cryptic body coloration ( Fig. 1B–I View FIGURE 1 ; Yoshida 2003, figs 572, 573) (vs bright yellowish to orangish in Takayus ) ( Yoshida 2003, figs 569–571); wavy cardiac pattern on the dorsum of the abdomen ( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 ; Yoshida 2003, figs 572, 573) (vs feather-like flecks in Takayus ) ( Yoshida 2003, figs 569–571); females with highly variable epigynal morphology among species, with the type species Y. yunohamensis bearing a large angular scape, while others lack a scape or possess a pair of semicircular epigynal processes ( Figs 3 View FIGURE 3 , 4G, I View FIGURE 4 ; Yoshida 2003, figs 233, 236, 239) (vs relatively uniform epigynal morphology in Takayus , with a small triangular scape on the posterior margin of the epigynal plate) ( Yoshida 2003, figs 222, 227); males with palps bearing a thinner and more slender embolus ( Figs 2B, E View FIGURE 2 , 3B, E View FIGURE 3 ; Yoshida 2003, figs 235, 238, 241) (vs thicker embolus in Takayus ) ( Yoshida 2003, figs 224, 229, 232); and a relatively slender conductor with shape varying among species, branching, twisted or spatulate ( Figs 2 View FIGURE 2 , 4A–F View FIGURE 4 ; Yoshida 2003, figs 235, 238, 241) (vs conductor relatively broad, short, and blunt in Takayus ) ( Yoshida 2003, figs 224, 229, 232).

Additionally, both genera differ in microhabitat preference: Takayus spiders typically build tangle webs under leaves or among branches of shrubs, whereas Yunohamella species inhabit shaded, moist, and cryptic environments such as rocky precipices along streams and waterfalls or the surfaces of tree trunks ( Yoshida 2007).