Berinda Roewer, 1928

Zamani, Alireza, Chatzaki, Maria, Esyunin, Sergei L. & Marusik, Yuri M., 2021, One new genus and nineteen new species of ground spiders (Araneae: Gnaphosidae) from Iran, with other taxonomic considerations, European Journal of Taxonomy 751 (1), pp. 68-114 : 70

Genus Berinda Roewer, 1928

Berinda Roewer, 1928: 106 .

Berinda – Murphy 2007: 37. — Panayiotou et al. 2010: 45 .

Type species

Berinda amabilis Roewer, 1928 .

Comments

This is a small genus with seven named species that are restricted to the Eastern Mediterranean from Greece to Anatolia. The new species collected in Iran represent the southeasternmost records of the genus. Compared to other gnaphosids, homology of the male palpal structures in this genus is unclear, as it is questionable whether the sclerotized hook-like structure (“posterior hook” sensu Panayiotou et al. 2010) that guides the tip of the embolus is a greatly modified median apophysis or not. Here, we treat the hook-like structure as a median apophysis.

While comparing our specimens to the species reported from Europe, we realized that Berinda idae Lissner, 2016 (described from Greece and later reported from Cyprus) is undoubtedly a junior synonym of Heser infumatus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872) (from Greece, Tanzania, Egypt and Israel; introduced to Japan). The copulatory organs are identical (cf. Lissner & Chatzaki 2016: figs 2–3 and Levy 1998: figs 112–115) and both have been recorded from Greek islands. The long filiform embolus, robust conductor and distinctive tibial apophysis conform to Berinda rather than Heser Tuneva, 2004 (see Panayiotou et al. 2010). Thus, a generic transfer is proposed, resulting in the new combination Berinda infumatus comb. nov. (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1872).