Species Halitherses grimaldii (?) Giribet & Dunlop, 2005

(Fig. 6)

Material. MB.A.4458 (ex coll. Jörg Wunderlich, F2723).

Locality and horizon. Burmese amber, Hukawng Valley, Kachin State, Myanmar; mid-Cretaceous.

Description. Body oval and dorsally completely ornamented, L 1.38. Prosoma dominated by an extremely large, strongly ornamented and bilobed ocularium, L 0.34, W 0.62 (Fig. 6A). Eye lenses also very large (eye lens diameter 0.22). Dorsal segments fused into scutum parvum with free metapeltidium. Chelicerae moderately sized, distal segment with a dorsal, claw-like and curved apophysis proximally (apophysis L 0.09) (Fig. 6B–D). Distal segment additionally covered with a few small setae. Cheliceral fingers bearing small spines or thicker setae distally. Cheliceral basal segment L?, distal segment L 0.23, finger L 0.19. Pedipalps long and slender. Pedipalp tarsus and tibia covered with numerous clavate glandular setae. Pedipalp tarsus lacks terminal claw (Fig. 6B, D). Pedipalp length: tr 0.26, fe 1.16, pa 0.52, ti 0.50, ta 0.42, total (tr–ta) 2.86. Legs extremely long and slender. Leg femur sparsely covered with small spines (Fig. 6A). Coxa strongly ornamented (Fig. 6C). Tarsus I–IV subdivided, ending in a single claw. Leg length: Leg I cx 0.55, tr 0.18, fe?, pa?, ti?, mt?, ta?; Leg II cx 0.66, tr?, fe?, pa?, ti?, mt?, ta?; Leg III cx 0.74, tr 0.18, fe 6.33, pa 0.92, ti 4.83, mt?, ta?, total (cx–ti) 13; Leg IV cx 0.82, tr 0.23, fe 7.50, pa 0.83, ti?, mt?, ta?, total (cx–pa) 9.38.

Genital operculum subcircular and ornamented, L 0.24, W 0.21. Ventral area between leg coxae I highly setose.

Remarks. MB.A.4458 (Fig. 6) can easily be identified as a member of the extinct genus Halitherses Giribet & Dunlop, 2005, due to the presence of extremely large eyes dominating the prosoma (Fig. 6A), slender legs and pedipalps, an ornamented carapace, and the absence of a pedipalp claw (Fig. 6B, D). The specimen described herein is the smallest representative of the genus discovered so far and could, therefore, represent a juvenile. Nevertheless, for the first time a claw-like and curved apophysis can be observed proximally on the second cheliceral segment (Fig. 6B–D) and is a significant observation as potential evidence for secondary sexual dimorphism (see Discussion).