New World pholcid spiders (Araneae: Pholcidae): a revision at generic level
Bernhard A. Huber
Abstract
New World pholcids are revised at the generic
level, with an emphasis on South America. A total of 47 extant genera occur
in the New World, 22 of which are newly described. A preliminary key to
the genera of the New World is presented. Redescriptions are given for
11 genera and for 59 species, and 106 species are newly described. Three
generic names and 14 specific names are newly synonymized (see below).
A numerical cladistic analysis is performed using a matrix of 61 taxa (48
of them New World pholcids) and 61 morphological characters. The main results
of the analysis are as follows: (1) Pholcids are strongly supported as
a monophyletic group. (2) Pholcids are separated into the following clades,
which are tentatively named to emphasize their character as a working hypothesis:
"ninetines," "pholcines" (Metagonia Simon and the Pholcus
group sensu Huber), "holocnemines" (Holocnemus group sensu Timm,
Artema
Walckenaer,
Physocyclus
Simon, and Priscula Simon), and the "New World clade". Their interrelationships
are not definitively resolved. (3) New World pholcids are an assemblage
of representatives of all major clades within the family, but most genera
are part of the New World clade, which is the only clade restricted to
the New World. (4) A hypothesis concerning the evolutionary transformation
of characters is given for 41 of the 54 traits scored that vary among pholcids.
The following names
are newly synonymized:
Anomalaia González-Sponga, 1998, with
Metagonia Simon, 1893; Blechroscelis Simon, 1893, with Priscula
Simon, 1893;
Myrmidonella Berland, 1919, with
Ninetis Simon,
1890; Blechroscelis coeruleus (Keyserling, 1891), with Coryssocnemis
[now
Mesabolivar]
togatus (Keyserling, 1891); Blechroscelis irroratus Mello-Leitão,
1947, Psilochorus browningi Roewer, 1951, and Blechroscelis virescens
Mello-Leitão, 1947, with
Blechroscelis
[now Mesabolivar]
aurantiacus (Mello-Leitão, 1930);
Blechroscelis viridis
Mello-Leitão, 1918, with Litoporus
[now
Mesabolivar]
brasiliensis (Moenkhaus, 1898); Hypsorinus conwayi Mello-Leitão,
1947, with Priscula binghamae (Chamberlin, 1916); Priscula ranchograndensis
González-Sponga, 1996, with
Priscula venezuelana Simon, 1893;
Litoporus
abrahami Mello-Leitão, 1947, with Coryssocnemis
[now
Litoporus]
uncatus (Simon, 1893); Litoporus coccineus Simon, 1893, Litoporus
imbecillus (Keyserling, 1891), and Litoporus fulvus Moenkhaus,
1898, with Litoporus
[now
Mesabolivar] luteus (Keyserling,
1891); Micromerys occidentalis (Mello-Leitão, 1929), with
Micropholcus
fauroti (Simon, 1887);
Pholcus dubiomaculatus Mello-Leitão,
1918, with Pholcus phalangioides (Fuesslin, 1775); Physocyclus
dubius Mello-Leitão, 1922, with Physocyclus globosus
(Taczanowski, 1874).