Pimoa cthulhu
| Pimoa cthulhu | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Pimoidae |
| Genus: | Pimoa |
| Species: | P. cthulhu
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pimoa cthulhu Hormiga, 1994
| |
Pimoa cthulhu is a species of the spider family Pimoidae. It is one of twenty-one described species in the genus Pimoa.[1]
Etymology
Pimoa is derived from the
language of the Gosiute people in Utah and means "big legs".[2] Gustavo Hormiga, who named the species, derived the specific name from H. P. Lovecraft's fictional deity Cthulhu, which Hormiga writes is "akin to the powers of Chaos".[1]
Distribution
The range of Pimoa cthulhu is restricted to areas of
Mendocino and Sonoma counties in western California. Within that range the species is associated with redwood forestland habitats such as redwood stumps and logs.[1]
Type specimens
Four specimens of Pimoa cthulhu were collected and used in the 1994
type description authored by Gustavo Hormiga of the Department of Entomology at the National Museum of Natural History. Gustavo Hormiga chose a male specimen collected from the southern end of the Mendocino Woodlands State Park from a hollow redwood stump in September 1990 as holotype.[1] One of the two female paratypes was also from a hollow redwood stump in the Mendocino Woodlands. Both specimens were collected by Darrell Ubick of the California Academy of Sciences. Two more paratypes, another male and a second female, were collected from the camp in Mendocino Woodlands in February 1979 and February 1973 respectively by S. C. Williams. The holotype and three paratypes are currently housed in the collections of the California Academy of Sciences, while the fourth paratype is in Darrell Ubick's private collection.[1]
Description
Male Pimoa cthulhu are distinguishable from related species by the unique cluster of thick spines found on the cymbial projection. Female P. cthulhu are very similar to the related species setae instead.[1]