''Bannana'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of goblin spiders (family Oonopidae) native to

Xishuangbanna Xishuangbanna, sometimes shortened to Banna, is one of the eight autonomous prefectures of Yunnan Province. The autonomous prefecture for Dai people is in the extreme south of Yunnan province, China, bordering both Myanmar and Laos. Xishuangbanna ...

prefecture, Yunnan Province, China, where it lives in the leaf-litter of tropical rainforest. There are two known species: ''Bannana crassispina'' and ''B. parvula'', both described in 2015. Individuals are pale yellow and unpatterned, and range from around 1.0 to 1.8 mm in body length, with females being slightly larger than males. The eyes are reduced or entirely absent. Known only from a nature reserve in Xishuangbanna, ''Bannana'' belongs to a group of Asian goblin spiders known as the "''Dysderoides'' complex", that ranges from China to Pakistan and south to Indonesia.

Description

Species of ''Bannana'' are generally similar in overall appearance, although ''B. parvula'' is smaller. The body color is yellow, without pattern. Eyes are absent or highly reduced, visible only as remnants in ''B. crassispina''. The

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

prosoma The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

is broadly oval when viewed from above, and the abdomen or

opisthosoma The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma ( cephalothorax). It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata (arachnids, horseshoe crabs and others). Although it is similar in most respects ...

is somewhat oval-shaped, and rounded at the rear. A strongly hardened plate (scutum) covers the upper abdominal surface. ''B. crassipina'' males are around 1.5 mm in body length (tip of the cephalothorax to end of the abdomen), while females are slightly larger at 1.8 mm. ''B. parvula'' are smaller, with males and females measuring around 1.0 and 1.1 mm, respectively. In addition to size, male ''B. crassispina '' can be distinguished from male ''B. parvula'' by the presence of two large bristles (setae) on the palpal tibiae (the penultimate segments of the

pedipalp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the secondary pair of forward appendages among Chelicerata, chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to ...

s) and two rows of setae on the sternum (the ventral portion of the cephalothorax). Females can be distinguished by a relatively smaller abdominal scutum in ''B. crassispina''.

Distribution and habitat

''Bannana'' spiders are known from Menglun Nature Reserve, in Xishuangbanna's

Mengla County Mengla County (; Tai Lue: , ''Mueang La''; , ; ) is a county under the jurisdiction of the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, in far southern Yunnan province, China. ''Meng'' is a variation of ''Mueang''. Name "Mongla", "Mengla" and "Meun ...

, where they are found in

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...

of tropical rainforest at elevations around above sea level. Specimens have been collected by pitfall trapping and by manually sorting through litter.

Etymology

The

genus name Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial spec ...

''Bannana'' is derived from the last few letters of the word "Xishuangbanna". The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''crassispina'' is derived from Latin ''crassus'' ("thick") and ''spinus'' ("bristle"), referring to two thick bristles on the tibiae of male

s, while the specific name ''parvula'', from Latin ''parvus'' ("small"), refers to the smaller size of this species. Both species, as well as the genus, were named in 2015 by Chinese biologists Yanfeng Tong and Shuqiang Li.

Classification

''Bannana'' spiders are in the family

Oonopidae Oonopidae, also known as goblin spiders, is a family (biology), family of spiders consisting of over 1,600 described species in about 113 genus, genera worldwide, with total species diversity estimated at 2000 to 2500 species. The type genus of th ...

, a large family of spiders with over 1,500 species worldwide. Within the Oonopidae, ''Bannana'' is placed in a lineage called the "''Dysderoides'' complex", which also contains the genera '' Dysderoides'', '' Himalayana'', and '' Trilacuna'', and spans a large part of Asia from Pakistan to China and south to Sumatra. The "''Dysderoides'' complex" is united by shared similarities of the mouth parts and male reproductive structures. Morphologically, ''Bannana'' is very similar to ''Dysderoides'', which also has reduced eyes.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q19818448 Oonopidae Spiders of China Endemic fauna of Yunnan Oonopidae genera Taxa described in 2015