Zelotes scrutatus (O. Pickard-Cambridge 1872 )

Sankaran, Pradeep M., Caleb, John T. D. & Sebastian, Pothalil A., 2021, On the taxonomic validity of Indian ground spiders: IV. Genera Apodrassodes Vellard, 1924, Herpyllus Hentz, 1832 and Sergiolus Simon, 1892 (Araneae: Gnaphosidae), Journal of Natural History 54 (43 - 44), pp. 2839-2857 : 2846

Zelotes scrutatus (O. Pickard-Cambridge 1872)

Drassus scrutatus O. Pickard-Cambridge 1872: 239 , plate 15, fig. 16a (♂ ♀) (for a complete list of references, see World Spider Catalog 2020).

Herpyllus bicolor Tikader, 1982: 458 , figs 368–371 (♀) (erroneous transfer of Melicymnis bicolor Simon, 1885 , based on misidentified specimen, apparently not the type of M. bicolor ).

Remarks

Tikader (1982) illustrated a Herpyllus species , ‘ Herpyllus bicolor ’, erected by transferring the type species of Melicymnis Simon, 1885 (currently considered as nomen dubium) ( World Spider Catalog 2020) without any explanation assuming that the specimen he studied was that of the type. The type species of Melicymnis , Melicymnis bicolor Simon, 1885 is, in fact, a juvenile specimen and has a different somatic morphology in comparison with that of ‘ H. bicolor ’ (compare Murphy 2007, fig. 594 with Tikader 1982, fig. 368), indicating that Tikader’s illustrations are based on a misidentified specimen. The illustrations clearly indicate that it is Z. scrutatus as it has a narrow continuous anterior epigynal margin, epigyne with longitudinal dropletlike median depression, long highly coiled internal ducts and globular spermathecae ( Tikader 1982, figs 369–370). There is a possibility that Tikader (1982) might have chosen, by misidentification, the specimen of Z. scrutatus found in the same vial along with the juvenile type of M. bicolor received from MNHN and described and illustrated it as ‘ H. bicolor ’. Therefore, the specimen identified as ‘ H. bicolor ’ is actually misidentified and does not pertain to that of M. bicolor .