Charinidae Quintero, 1986

Miranda, Gustavo Silva de, Giupponi, Alessandro P. L., Prendini, Lorenzo & Scharff, Nikolaj, 2021, Systematic revision of the pantropical whip spider family Charinidae Quintero, 1986 (Arachnida, Amblypygi), European Journal of Taxonomy 772, pp. 1-409 : 7-8

Family Charinidae Quintero, 1986

Charinidae Quintero, 1986: 204 , 205.

Charinidae – Weygoldt 1996a: 200. — Armas & Pérez 2001: 62. — Harvey 2003: 3. — Armas 2006b: 225; 2014: 31.

Type genus

Charinus Simon, 1892 , by original designation.

Included taxa

Charinus Simon, 1892 , Sarax Simon, 1892 and Weygoldtia Miranda, Giupponi, Prendini & Scharff, 2018.

Diagnosis

Charinidae may be separated from other families of Amblypygi by the following combination of characters: pedipalp trochanter with two ventral spines (dorsal spine absent); pedipalp tibia with two dorsal spines and one ventral spine; ventral spine on pedipalp tibia situated distally; pedipalp tarsus with one to three dorsal spines; anteroventral apophysis of pedipalp trochanter setiform not spiniform; basal segment of chelicera with four teeth, proximal tooth bicuspid; pedipalp tarsus and claw articulated; distitibia IV with bc and bf series with same trichobothrial counts, from four to nine; tarsus of walking leg with arolium.

Distribution

Charinids occur on all tropical continents and the eastern Mediterranean. Despite the wide distribution of the family, most of the species are narrowly distributed, often known from one location only. The family has been reported from the following countries and territories: Australia, Belize, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, French Guiana, Ghana, Greece, Guadeloupe, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Martinique, New Caledonia, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Saint-Barthélemy, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Surinam, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, US Virgin Islands, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen.

Remarks

The family name Charinidae has been widely used for Amblypygi since first proposed by Quintero (1986) (Appendix, Table 1 ). However, Pyron et al. (2014) pointed out that Charinidae is a homonym, as the snake family Charinidae Gray, 1849 has nomenclatural priority (Appendix, Table 2 ), and argued that the whip spider family Charinidae should be suppressed and replaced with the name Charinusiidae.

Quintero & Shear (2016) submitted a case to the ICZN, demonstrating that Charinidae had been used only nine times for snakes since formalized by Cope (1886a, 1886b), whereas Charinidae had been used more than ninety times for whip spiders since 1986. Quintero & Shear (2016) suggested the family name should be prioritized for whip spiders rather than for snakes, citing article 23.9 in the Code, the so-called precedence act. As the case is yet to be considered by the ICZN, the opinion of Quintero & Shear (2016) is followed in the present contribution: Charinidae Quintero, 1986 is considered a nomen protectum and a valid name whereas Charinidae Gray, 1849 is considered a nomen oblitum and consequently an invalid name ( Quintero & Shear 2016).

Key to identification of the genera of Charinidae Quintero, 1986

1. Leg IV distitibia with seven to nine trichobothria in frontal and caudal series; carapace with straight carina anterior to lateral eyes ( Fig. 151A )........................................................................................... ................................................................. Weygoldtia Miranda, Giupponi, Prendini & Scharff, 2018

– Leg IV distitibia with four to six trichobothria in the frontal and caudal series; carapace without straight carina anterior to lateral eyes ( Figs 20 , 35A , 105C )............................................................. 2

2. Opisthosoma without ventral sac cover; seta associated with lateral ocular triad situated posteriorly ( Fig. 37A–B )................................................................................................... Charinus Simon, 1892

– Opisthosoma with (Southeast Asian species) or without (African, Indian and Middle Eastern species) ventral sac and ventral sac cover; seta associated with lateral ocular triad situated laterally ................................................................................................................. Sarax Simon, 1892

Figures

Fig. 151. Weygoldtia consonensis sp. nov. (AMNH), general morphology, ♀. A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Sternum, ventral view. C. Frontal process. D. Pedipalp, dorsal view. F. Pedipalp, ventral view. Scale bars: A–B, E–F = 1 mm; C–D = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 20. Charinus cubensis (Quintero, 1983) (USNM 784407), general morphology, ♀. A. Carapace, dorsal view. B. Sternum, ventral view. C. Frontal process. D. Pedipalp tarsus, frontal view. E. Pedipalp, dorsal view. F. Pedipalp, ventral view. Scale bars: A, E–F = 1 mm; B = 0.1 mm; C–D = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 35. Charinus guayaquil sp. nov. (MNRJ 9302), general morphology, ♀. A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Sternum, ventral view. C. Frontal process. D. Pedipalp tarsus, frontal view. E. Pedipalp, dorsal view. F. Pedipalp, ventral view. Scale bars: A–B, E–F = 1 mm; C–D = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 105. Sarax bilua sp. nov. (AMCC [LP 5564]), general morphology, ♀. A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Sternum, ventral view. C. Frontal process. D. Pedipalp tarsus, frontal view. E. Pedipalp, dorsal view. F. Pedipalp, ventral view. Scale bars: A, E–F = 1 mm; B–D = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 37. Charinus insularis Banks 1902 (RBINS), carapace and female gonopod. A. Carapace, anterior part illustrating granular macrosculpture. B. Lateral ocular triad, setal socket and carapace macrosculpture. C. Fovea and granules. D. Frontal process. E. Female gonopod, dorsal view. F. Female gonopod, sinistral side.