Genus Hersilia Audouin, 1826

Hersilia Audouin, 1826: 317; Lucas, 1869: 1; Simon, 1893: 440; Smithers, 1945: 1; Benoit 1967: 1; Baehr & Baehr, 1987: 351; Baehr & Baehr, 1993: 3; Levy, 2003: 1; Rheims & Brescovit, 2004: 1; Foord & Dippenaar-Schoeman, 2006: 8.

Type species. Hersilia caudata Audouin, 1826, by original designation.

Diagnosis. Members of the genus Hersilia resemble the genus Murricia Simon by the following combination of characters: metatarsi of legs I, II, and IV with bi-articulations; chelicerae with three large promarginal and six-10 minute retromarginal teeth; four pairs of dorsal muscular sigillae on the abdomen; eyes heterogeneous, with ALE pearly white and AER and PER strongly recurved; and MOQ rectangular, as broad anteriorly as posteriorly. Species of Hersilia can be distinguished from similar species of Murricia, by the leg I, which is usually longer than leg II, by the embolus which does not complete a full revolution, and by the internal genitalia of the female, which have short and simple insemination ducts, accessory glands and spermathecae present on either side of the epigynum (Baehr and Baehr 1993; Foord 2008).

Distribution. The genus Hersilia occurs in the Afrotropical, Oriental and Australian Regions (Baehr and Baehr 1993; Rheims and Brescovit 2004; Foord 2008).