Filling the gaps: descriptions of unnamed species included in the latest molecular phylogeny of Pholcidae (Araneae)
Author
Huber, Bernhard A.
Author
Carvalho, Leonardo S.
text
Zootaxa
2019
2019-01-22
4546
1
1
96
journal article
27622
10.11646/zootaxa.4546.1.1
aa93de4b-c9ed-4b3e-a1c2-3f5d90faba57
1175-5326
2619020
D2C9F49A-9B76-40AE-9A60-CAE9B99BA547
Arenita
Huber & Carvalho
gen. n.
Type
species
.
Arenita fazendinha
sp. n.
Etymology
. The genus name is derived from the Latin
arena
= sand, and refers to the small size of the
type
species comparable to a grain of sand; gender feminine.
Diagnosis/Description
. See diagnosis and description of single known species below.
Notes
. The recent molecular phylogeny of
Pholcidae (
Eberle
et al.
2018
)
placed this genus/species as sister to an undescribed species from
Argentina
(“Gen.n. MACN270”), and both among ‘basal’
Modisiminae
. However, relationships among ‘basal’
Modisiminae
were poorly resolved, so the closest relatives of
Arenita
(beyond “Gen.n. MACN270”) remain unknown. The new species described below and “Gen.n. MACN270” are unusual among
Modisiminae
in lacking an apophysis on the male palpal coxa, in having the PME and ALE very close together, in lacking a thoracic furrow; and in having the plesiomorphic set of ALS spigots (i.e. with 7–8 spigots on each ALS, see below; this character was not studied in “Gen.n. MACN270”). The latter character is only shared by the mysterious genus
Priscula
Simon, 1893
(
Huber 2000
)
, whose position within
Modisiminae
is far from clear (Huber
et al.
2018). At the same time,
Arenita fazendinha
has several highly distinctive characters (see diagnosis below) that are not present in “Gen.n. MACN270”, justifying the creation of a new monotypic genus. The undescribed species “Gen.n. MACN270” will be treated in a separate paper together with further undescribed congeneric species present in Argentinean collections (M.A. Izquierdo, unpubl. data).