Opopaea Simon, 1892

Suzuki, Yuya, Hidaka, Ryota & Tatsuta, Haruki, 2023, Revision of goblin spiders (Araneae: Oonopidae) in the Nansei Islands, Southwest Japan, with description of a new species, Zootaxa 5323 (2), pp. 216-242 : 224

Genus Opopaea Simon, 1892

Remarks. Opopaea is one of the most diverse genera in the family Oonopidae ; the genus currently comprises 187 species distributed in tropical regions ( World Spider Catalog 2023). The genus was initially established based on the type species O. deserticola from Saint Vincent Island. Opopaea spiders are typically small to medium-sized (body length:1.0– 2.4 mm) and can be found in a variety of habitats, including litter layers, dead wood, and forests ( Andriamalala & Hormiga 2013). Members of this genus are characterized by several unique features: entirely sclerotized male palps with enlarged patella originating sub-basally from the palpal femur, lateral striations on the carapace, and the dorsum and venter of the abdomen completely covered with scutum ( Andriamalala & Hormiga 2013).