Sason (spider) explained

Sason is a genus of bark-dwelling brushed trapdoor spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1887.^[1] It is distributed from the Seychelles through India to northern Australia. The closest related genus seems to be the monotypic Paracenobiopelma.^[2]

Description

These are small, compact spiders, ranging from 5to long. They are strongly patterned and have stout legs, physically resembling those of the tree trapdoor spiders.^[2]

Distribution

Most species are endemic small areas, many of which are small islands that emerged from the ocean floor in recent geological times with no connection to the mainland. These were likely inhabited by pregnant females surviving in floating logs, while most of the other speciation is believed to have occurred due to fragmentation of the former supercontinent Gondwana.^[3]

Taxonomy

The genus was erected by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1883 for the type species Sarpedon robustum,^[4] but this name was already in use for a genus of false click beetles. In 1887, Eugène Simon renamed the genus to Sason, an abbreviation of the biblical judge Samson. The earlier name was based on Sarpedon, a legendary king at the siege of Troy, alluding to their "regal" appearance.^[2]

Species

it contains nine species:^[5]

• Sason andamanicum (Simon, 1888) – India (Andaman Is.)
• Sason colemani Raven, 1986 – Australia (Queensland)
• Sason hirsutum Schwendinger, 2003 – Indonesia
• Sason maculatum (Roewer, 1963) – Mariana Is., Caroline Is.
• Sason pectinatum Kulczyński, 1908 – New Guinea
• Sason rameshwaram Siliwal & Molur, 2009 – India
• Sason robustum (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1883) (type) – India, Sri Lanka, Seychelles
• Sason sechellanum Simon, 1898 – Seychelles
• Sason sundaicum Schwendinger, 2003 – Thailand, Malaysia

Notes and References

1. Simon. E.. 1887. Observation sur divers arachnides: synonymies et descriptions.. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France. 193–195. 7. 6.
2. Raven . R. . 1986 . A revision of the spider genus Sason Simon (Sasoninae, Barychelidae, Mygalomorphae) and its historical biogeography . The Journal of Arachnology . 14 . 47–70 . 2016-03-07.
3. Schwendinger . P.J. . 2003 . Two new species of the arboreal trapdoor spider genus Sason (Araneae: Barychelidae) from Southeast Asia . The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology . 51 . 2 . 197–207 . 2016-03-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110927002645/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/51/51rbz197-207.pdf . 2011-09-27.
4. Pickard-Cambridge. O.. 1883. On some new genera and species of spiders. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 51. 3. 354. 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1883.tb06654.x.
5. Gen. Sason Simon, 1887. World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. 2019-05-17. 2019. Natural History Museum Bern. 10.24436/2.