Atemnus Canestrini, 1884

Hu, Jun-fang & Zhang, Feng, 2012, Notes on two species of the genus Atemnus Canestrini (Pseudoscorpiones: Atemnidae) from China, Journal of Threatened Taxa 4 (11), pp. 3059-3066 : 3060

Genus Atemnus Canestrini, 1884

For synonymies see Harvey (2011).

Type species: Atemnus politus (Simon, 1878) .

Diagnosis: See ( Beier 1932a,b; Murthy & Ananthakrishnan 1977).

Remarks: Atemnus , the type genus of Atemnidae , is similar to Anatemnus in having a similar pedipalpal patella, but can be distinguished by the trichobothrial pattern on the fixed finger: the distance between est and esb is the same as that between ist and isb in Atemnus , but longer in Anatemnus . The definition of atemnid genera has long been based on external characters only. Klausen (2005) studied the male genitalia of 44 Atemninae and Miratemninae species and concluded that the present generic delimitation was not reliable. As a result, the male genital structures are also explored, in addition to the external characters. The major differences between the two genera Atemnus and Anatemnus can also be found in the male genital organ (Klausen 2005, p.658, figs 9, 23–25).