THE SPIDER GENUS BILLIMA SIMON* 
By Herbert W. Levi 
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University 
Simon (1908) described the species Billima attrita which he 
placed in the subfamily Theridiosomatinae. Recently I noticed that 
Bonnet (1959, p. 5042) placed the genus in the subfamily Argio- 
pinae. As I just revised the American species of the subfamily, an 
examination of the type specimen appeared in order. 
I would like to thank Prof. M. Vachon and M. Hubert for the 
loan of the specimen from the Museum National d’Histoire Na- 
turelle, Paris. 
Billima attrita is a theridiid. It does not belong in the family 
Araneidae (= Argiopidae) or to the Theridiosomatidae as it lacks 
a colulus, has only one tooth on the chelicerae, and the labium is not 
rebordered. All members of both the Araneidae and Theridiosomatidae 
have a large colulus, and usually have numerous teeth on the cheli- 
cerae and a rebordered labium. Billima attrita belongs to the genus 
Theridion (Levi and Levi, 1962). A description is presented here 
and the species is illustrated for the first time. 
Theridion Walckenaer 
Theridion Walckenaer, 1805. Type species designated by Int. Comm. Zool. 
Nomencl. Opinion 517, 1958 : Aranea picta Walckenaer 1802. 
Theridion is listed in the Official List of Generic Names in Zoology. 
Billima Simon, 1908. Type species by monotypy B. attrita. new synonymy. 
Theridion attrita (Simon) 
Figs. 1-4 
Billima attrita Simon, 1908, p. 430. Female lectotype here designated and 
juv. male paralectotype from “Stat. 109 Subiaco N.” [Perth, West. 
Australia] in the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, ex- 
amined. — Bonnet, 1955, p. 887. Not Theridion attritum Nicolet 1849 
( z=zAnelosimus attritus) . 
Description. Carapace yellowish with black line all around. Ster- 
num yellow-orange with gray pigment. Legs yellow with darker 
marks on venter. Dorsum of abdomen whitish with a median darker 
longitudinal band, irregular in outline and bordered on each side 
by a white band ( Fig. 1 ) ; venter black with a white transverse 
pigment band (Fig. 2). Eyes subequal in size. Anterior median 
eyes slightly more than one diameter apart, their radius from laterals. 
* Manuscript received by the editor November 6, 1967 
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