A new monotypic genus of cobweb spiders from the Russian Far East (Araneae, Theridiidae)

By

Marusik, Yuri M.
Eskov, Kirill

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1195

Pages

219--238

Subjects

Anelosimus clade , Aranei , distal theridiids , Kunashir Island , Kuril Islands , new species

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1195.118632

 

Abstract

A new theridiid spider, Knoflachia kurilensisgen. et sp. nov., is described from the Kuril Islands (Kunashir). The new genus belongs to the ‘Anelosimus clade (clade 24)’ of Agnarsson (2004). A pair of raised, fused setal sockets on the cheliceral promargin adjacent to the fang base was found to be another synapomorphy of all the ‘distal theridiids’ (the ‘elongated central claw clade (clade 33)’: argyrodins, ‘Anelosimus clade’ and theridiins). Knoflachia kurilensissp. nov. demonstrates a male polymorphism similar to some Anelosimus Simon, 1891 species (e.g., A. studiosus (Hentz, 1850)).