Nemaspela, Silhavy, 1966

Martens, Jochen, Maghradze, Eter & Barjadze, Shalva, 2021, Two new species of the genus Nemaspela Šilhavý from caves in Georgia (Opiliones Nemastomatidae), Zootaxa 4951 (3), pp. 541-558 : 543

Key to the currently known Nemaspela species in the Caucasus area

(based on male specimens)

1 Dorsal apophysis on distal end of 1 st cheliceral article present.................................................. 2

- Dorsal apophysis on distal end of 1 st cheliceral article absent................................................... 7

2 Dorsal apophysis on top of 1 st cheliceral article short, just an inconspicuous, short, pointed distad-directed lobe; found in several caves in the Sochi area, Russia and Abkhazia, West Georgia............ N. abchasica ( Ljovuschkin & Starobogatov, 1963)

- Dorsal apophysis on top of 1 st cheliceral article longer, distinctly elevated, not only a short lobe....................... 3

3 Dorsal apophysis on top of 1 st cheliceral article longer than the entire 2 nd cheliceral article; found in several caves in Nalchik area, Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia...................................................... N. kovali Chemeris, 2009

- Dorsal apophysis on top of 1 st cheliceral article shorter than the entire 2 nd cheliceral article........................... 4

4 Dorsal apophysis on top of 1 st cheliceral article globular and knob-like, found in one cave in Abkhazia, Georgia......................................................................................... N. gagrica Tchemeris, 2013

- Dorsal apophysis on top of 1 st cheliceral article distinctly elongated, longer than broad.............................. 5

5 Dorsal apophysis on top of 1 st cheliceral article slender, sickle-shaped, pointed, with distal-directed concavity, longer than breadth of article at its position; found in one cave in Abkhazia, West Georgia.............. N. birsteini Ljovuschkin, 1972

- Dorsal apophysis on top of 1 st cheliceral article not sickle-shaped, shorter or conspicuously longer than breadth of article at its position............................................................................................. 6

6 Dorsal apophysis on top of 1 st cheliceral article distinctly bent forward, shorter than breadth of article at its position; found in one cave in Imereti region, West Georgia................................................. N. prometheus sp. nov.

- Dorsal apophysis on top of 1 st cheliceral article not distinctly bent forward, longer than breadth of article at its position, apophysis distally widened and two-lobed; found in caves in Sochi area, Russia.... N. sokolovi ( Ljovuschkin & Starobogatov, 1963)

7 Femur of pedipalp S-shaped; found in one cave in Kvemo-Svaneti Region, West Georgia....................................................................................................... N. femorecurvata Martens, 2006

- Femur of pedipalp not S-shaped but stretched out; found in one cave in Imereti region, West Georgia..... N. melouri sp. nov.