Genus Melychiopharis Simon, 1895

Melychiopharis Simon, 1895: 907 .

Melychiopharis: Levi 2002: 562 (transferred to Theridiidae); Santos et al. 2005: 59 (transferred to Araneidae); Brescovit et al. 2011: 61.

Type species: Melychiopharis cynips Simon, 1895 from Brazil, by monotypy.

Diagnosis. Members of Melychiopharis are easily distinguished from all members of any other genera of Araneidae (except Testudinaria Taczanowski, 1879 and Heterognatha Guérin, 1839) by the following characteristics: absence of flagelliform gland spigot of the PLS in females (Fig. 5H); male palp without radix (Figs 3A, 7A, 10A); carapace with deep setal pit dorsally and laterally (Figs 4A, 6A, 8A), labium fused with sternum, metatarsi III and IV with two trichobothria and absence of sustentaculum (Fig. 5A, B). From Testudinaria and Heterognatha by their sternum encompassing coxae (Figs 4C, 5C); while carapace is as long as wide (longer than wide in Melychiopharis) and sternum do not surround coxae in Testudinaria and Heterognatha (see Dupérré & Tapia 2023: figs 1b, 4b; Levi 2005: figs 6, 9). Furthermore, males are distinguished by their palpal median apophysis rugged (Figs 3A, 7A, 10A); smooth in the latter (see Dupérré & Tapia 2023: figs 3d, 4e; Levi 2005: fig. 11). Females are differentiated by the presence of an epigastric scutum (Figs 2B, 9D), absent in the latter (see Dupérré & Tapia 2023: fig. 8b).

Description. Total length, male (1.90‒2.59), female (2.50‒2.83). Carapace: pear-shaped, elongated; fovea absent, cephalic grove absent; covered with deep setal pits (Figs 1A, 4A); sternum surrounding coxae (Fig. 4C); labium fused to sternum (Fig. 5C). Eyes: eight eyes of equal size (Fig. 2B, 4B). Opisthosoma: dorsally covered either by a single, large scutum, or by several paired and unpaired scuta different in males and females (Figs 1A, 6A, 8A); ventrally with large epigastric scutum surrounding the epigyne, book lungs and lateral side extending postepigastric, venter with median scutum, spinneret scutum that can be fused and set of small scuta (Fig. 2B), pattern formed by ventral scuta differ in males and females; colulus small, triangular. Legs: formula 1423; relatively long and thin, spineless or with few spines, lacking annulations, metatarsi I‒II with one trichobothria, metatarsi III‒IV with two trichobothria, three claws, sustentaculum on leg IV absent (Fig. 5A, B). Genitalia: Male palp with relatively long femur, ca 4x longer than wide; patella short, as long as wide; tibia slightly longer than wide; cymbium about 1.7x longer than wide, and as long as femur+patella, wide proximally and tapering toward tip, with moderate to deep dorsal excavation (Figs 1F, 6E, 8E); paracymbium small, lacking setae; bulb without radix, median apophysis (ma) with rugose anterior part, in some species with long posterior extension (Fig. 3A); conductor (c) small, smaller than median apophysis, membranous; embolus with large base, roundly bent, its tip resting on conductor. Female epigyne well sclerotized, epigynal plate arount 2x wider than long with bell-shaped median depression (Fig. 3C); internal genitalia with rounded to oval spermathecae (Figs 3D, 10D).

Composition. Melychiopharis bibendum Brescovit, Santos & Leite, 2011, M. cynips Simon, 1895, M. davincii Dupérré & Tapia sp. nov., M. komischtier Dupérré & Tapia sp. nov. and, M. peruviana Eskov & Marusik sp. nov.

Remarks. Not much is known about the biology of these spiders, specimens are scarce, less than 10 specimens have been collected so far and no in situ observation has been achieved. Most specimens were collected by beating vegetation and fogging (Santos et al. 2005) or visual search, but no web where ever observed (Brescovit et al. 2011).

Distribution. Ecuador, Brazil and Peru.