taxonID	type	description	language	source
9B6B1022FFD79146FF0CD203FAE2F895.taxon	materials_examined	Type species: Pilia saltabunda Simon, 1902 (by original designation).	en	Caleb, John T. D., Padiyar, Ajith, Abhijith, A. P. C., Pai, Jithesh (2025): Rediscovery of the enigmatic genus Pilia Simon, 1902 (Araneae: Salticidae) with the description of a new species from India. Zootaxa 5716 (2): 279-288, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7
9B6B1022FFD79146FF0CD203FAE2F895.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. Pilia is most similar to Bristowia Reimoser, 1934 in having long and robust first pair of legs, tibia I with dense fringe of long, thick hairs ventrally. But it differs from Bristowia by: Carapace with a bunch of thick hairs just inward of each PLE (absent in Bristowia) (Simon 1903; Reimoser 1934; Metzner 2025). Leg I with strongly incrassate femur and tibia (normal but elongated in Bristowia). The male palps have a simple bulb without any projection or bulge (posterior portion of bulb broad and bulged in Bristowia); retrolateral shoulder of tegulum high either above embolic base or slightly lower (significantly lower in Bristowia); distal projection of embolar tegular branch small and insignificant (prominent, projecting beyond retrolateral lobe of tegulum in Bristowia) (see fig. 1 a in Deeleman-Reinhold et al. 2024 for terminology); epigyne simple with a pair of circular windows; copulatory duct long with an anterior loop (copulatory ducts bent without any loop in Bristowia); spermathecae elongated, tubular (globular without any other modification in Bristowia) (Szűts 2004; Kanesharatnam & Benjamin 2016).	en	Caleb, John T. D., Padiyar, Ajith, Abhijith, A. P. C., Pai, Jithesh (2025): Rediscovery of the enigmatic genus Pilia Simon, 1902 (Araneae: Salticidae) with the description of a new species from India. Zootaxa 5716 (2): 279-288, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7
9B6B1022FFD49142FF0CD7AEFB30F8AF.taxon	description	Figs 1 – 30 Types. Holotype: ♂ (ZSI-SRC-I / SP 50), INDIA: Karnataka, Chickmagaluru, Madugundi (13 ° 07 ' 58.6 " N, 75 ° 26 ' 56.6 " E), 785 m a. s. l., 23 Feb 2023, coll. Ajith Padiyar. Paratype 1 ♀ (ZSI-SRC-I / SP 51) same details as holotype.	en	Caleb, John T. D., Padiyar, Ajith, Abhijith, A. P. C., Pai, Jithesh (2025): Rediscovery of the enigmatic genus Pilia Simon, 1902 (Araneae: Salticidae) with the description of a new species from India. Zootaxa 5716 (2): 279-288, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7
9B6B1022FFD49142FF0CD7AEFB30F8AF.taxon	materials_examined	Additional material examined. 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀ with same details as holotype.	en	Caleb, John T. D., Padiyar, Ajith, Abhijith, A. P. C., Pai, Jithesh (2025): Rediscovery of the enigmatic genus Pilia Simon, 1902 (Araneae: Salticidae) with the description of a new species from India. Zootaxa 5716 (2): 279-288, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7
9B6B1022FFD49142FF0CD7AEFB30F8AF.taxon	etymology	Etymology. The specific epithet malenadu is treated as a noun in apposition and refers to the Malenadu region of Karnataka, India. Derived from Kannada — mala (hill) and nadu (land) — the name means “ land of hills. ” This biodiverse, forested area forms part of the Western Ghats. It is named in reference to its distinctive geographic and ecological origin.	en	Caleb, John T. D., Padiyar, Ajith, Abhijith, A. P. C., Pai, Jithesh (2025): Rediscovery of the enigmatic genus Pilia Simon, 1902 (Araneae: Salticidae) with the description of a new species from India. Zootaxa 5716 (2): 279-288, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7
9B6B1022FFD49142FF0CD7AEFB30F8AF.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. The male of the new species can be distinguished by the relatively longer and bent embolus with broad base arising from 11 o’clock position and directed toward 1 o’clock position (relatively smaller, almost straight with narrow embolic base and directed apically toward 12 o’clock position in P. escheri and P. saltabunda); embolus arises slightly below the retrolateral shoulder of the tegulum (embolic base above retrolateral shoulder of tegulum in P. escheri); distal portion of tegulum at embolic base rounded (narrow in P. escheri); RTA as long as width of palpal tibia, directed ventrally narrow and thorn-like in retrolateral view (RTA shorter than tibial width, directed ventrally along base of the bulb in P. escheri; broad and beak-like in P. saltabunda) (cf. Figs 16 – 17, 20, 21 with figs 13 – 15 in Prószyński (1983: 75) and illustrations in Prószyński (1987: 77 )). The female can be recognized by the epigyne with circular lateral windows; copulatory ducts with one anterior loop leading to a posterior pyriform chamber and then to the elongated, U-shaped spermathecae (Figs 18 – 19, 22 – 23).	en	Caleb, John T. D., Padiyar, Ajith, Abhijith, A. P. C., Pai, Jithesh (2025): Rediscovery of the enigmatic genus Pilia Simon, 1902 (Araneae: Salticidae) with the description of a new species from India. Zootaxa 5716 (2): 279-288, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7
9B6B1022FFD49142FF0CD7AEFB30F8AF.taxon	description	Description. Holotype male: total length 3.42; carapace 1.61 long, 1.58 wide; abdomen 1.81 long, 1.70 wide. Carapace brown, almost square, clothed with pale hairs; bunch of stiff dense hairs present along inner sides of each PLE (Figs 1 – 3, 7); thoracic slope steep (Figs 2, 9). Eyes surrounded by black regions; anterior eyes surrounded by white orbital setae (Figs 3, 8). Eye measurements: AME 0.42, ALE 0.26, PME 0.05, PLE 0.23; AER 1.50; PER 1.34; EFL 0.92. Clypeus height 0.06. Chelicera 0.39 long. Clypeus brown (Figs 3, 8). Chelicerae brown with one promarginal and one bicuspid retromarginal teeth. Sternum oval, brown; labium and maxillae brown. Abdomen oval, pointed posteriorly; brown with small white anterior patch of hairs, pair of white patches further medially, chevronshaped brown markings present along posterior half of mid-dorsal region (Figs 1, 7); lateral sides with yellow and brown streaks and a few white hairs (Figs 2, 9); venter yellow-brown. Spinnerets yellow-brown (Fig. 9). Leg I brown, robust with long coxae, trochanters, and patellae; enlarged tibiae with dense ventral fringe of hairs; femora enlarged, clothed with dense hairs dorsally and retrolaterally; legs II to IV with brown femora; patellae to metatarsi yellow with brown annulations at joints (Figs 1 – 2, 7 – 10). Palp and leg measurements: palp 1.44 (0.54, 0.17, 0.15, 0.58); leg I 4.89 (1.46, 1.02, 1.20, 0.89, 0.32); II 2.96 (0.92, 0.49, 0.54, 0.69, 0.32); III 2.76 (0.89, 0.44, 0.43, 0.70, 0.30); IV 3.03 (0.99, 0.48, 0.58, 0.69, 0.29). Leg formula 1423. Palp yellow-brown, femora, patellae and basal portion of tibia brown, clothed with pale hairs; apical 1 / 3 rd of cymbium bright yellow (Figs 3, 8); RTA long, thorn-like, with broad base, tapering toward tip, directed ventrad; bulbus rounded; embolus like mouse tail, arising between 11 to 12 o’clock position, tip directed at 1 o’clock position (Figs 15 – 17, 20 – 21). Female (paratype). Total length 3.61; carapace 1.46 long, 1.43 wide; abdomen 2.15 long, 2.13 wide. Eye measurements: AME 0.41, ALE 0.26, PME 0.06, PLE 0.22; AER 1.42; PER 1.34; EFL 0.87. Clypeus height 0.06. Chelicera 0.39 long. Palp and leg measurements: palp 1.25 (0.49, 0.23, 0.18, 0.35); leg I 3.71 (1.09, 0.77, 0.87, 0.67, 0.31); II 2.66 (0.82, 0.51, 0.49, 0.54, 0.30); III 2.69 (0.86, 0.47, 0.44, 0.63, 0.29); IV 3.23 (1.03, 0.47, 0.60, 0.77, 0.36). Leg formula 1432. Coloration pattern similar to male but differs in the following: abdomen rounded, and relatively lighter than male. Palps with bright yellow tibiae and tarsi. Femora I less hirsute than male (Figs 4 – 6, 11 – 14). Epigyne and internal structures as in Figs 18 – 19, 22 – 23.	en	Caleb, John T. D., Padiyar, Ajith, Abhijith, A. P. C., Pai, Jithesh (2025): Rediscovery of the enigmatic genus Pilia Simon, 1902 (Araneae: Salticidae) with the description of a new species from India. Zootaxa 5716 (2): 279-288, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7
9B6B1022FFD49142FF0CD7AEFB30F8AF.taxon	distribution	Distribution. Known only from the type locality (Karnataka, India) (Fig. 31). Natural history. Between January 2024 and March 2025, a total of 24 individuals of Pilia malenadu sp. nov. were observed, comprising 17 males, 3 females, and 4 juveniles. All sightings occurred during daylight hours (10: 00 – 17: 00 hrs). Notably, individuals were exclusively found on two plant species, Memecylon umbellatum and Memecylon malabaricum, typically concealed between their leaves, suggesting strong microhabitat preference and a shy disposition. Female guarding egg sac with hatchlings was also recorded (Figs 24, 25). A significant observation was made on 14 March 2025 in the Kudremukh region, where a male Pilia malenadu was found parasitized by the larva of an unidentified parasitoid wasp (Fig. 28), nestled between the leaves of M. malabaricum. This represents the first documented case of parasitoidism in this species and highlights a potentially novel hymenoptera-salticidae host-parasite interaction within the region’s tropical forest ecosystem.	en	Caleb, John T. D., Padiyar, Ajith, Abhijith, A. P. C., Pai, Jithesh (2025): Rediscovery of the enigmatic genus Pilia Simon, 1902 (Araneae: Salticidae) with the description of a new species from India. Zootaxa 5716 (2): 279-288, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7
9B6B1022FFD19140FF0CD7AEFB16FD54.taxon	discussion	Comments. The species was originally described by Szombathy in 1915 and placed in the genus Pilia. Szombathy (1915) does not provide any supporting illustration in his original work, in contrast to most other species dealt with in his work wherein he provides illustrations of the general morphology and the copulatory organs. Sixty-eight years later, Prószyński (1983) redescribed the species and provided a detailed illustration of the male pedipalp based on the type material kept at the Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest. He noted uncertainty regarding its true congeneric status and mentioned that P. albicoma appears to share closer affinities with Stertinius nobilis and Ligurra latidens. However, recently Prószyński (2016) transferred the species to the genus Simaetha based on the similarity of the palpal morphology, but that has not yet been officially accepted. The palpal confirmation with oval tegulum; subtegulum protruding prolaterally from beneath tegular margin; straight and conical embolus resembles Simaetha thoracica Thorell, 1881 the type species of the genus (cf figs 11, 12 in Prószyński 1983 with fig. 2 A in Żabka 1994). We therefore, agree with Prószyński and formally transfer the species to Simaetha.	en	Caleb, John T. D., Padiyar, Ajith, Abhijith, A. P. C., Pai, Jithesh (2025): Rediscovery of the enigmatic genus Pilia Simon, 1902 (Araneae: Salticidae) with the description of a new species from India. Zootaxa 5716 (2): 279-288, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5716.2.7
