Anelosimus dianiphus (Rainbow, 1916) Rainbow, 1916

W. Framenau, Volker, 2019, Generic and family transfers, and numina dubia for orb-weaving spiders (Araneae, Araneidae) in the Australasian, Oriental and Pacific regions, Evolutionary Systematics 3 (1), pp. 1-27 : 13

Anelosimus dianiphus (Rainbow, 1916) comb. n.

Araneus dianiphus Rainbow, 1916a: 106-107, plate 22, figs 22-25, Bonnet 1955: 497.

Aranea dianipha Rainbow: Roewer 1942: 827.

Type material.

Syntypes of Araneus dianiphus Rainbow, 1916: female, Gordonvale [17°05'S, 145°46'E, Queensland, AUSTRALIA], 29 May 1913; "sweeping, forest, top of coastal range, 1,500ft." ( Rainbow 1916a, p. 107) (AM KS6515) (examined). Male, same collection data (depository unknown).

Remarks.

The examination of the syntype female of A. dianiphus showed this species to belong to the family Theridiidae . Consultation with specialists working on Australian Theridiidae suggested a placement in Anelosimus based on somatic and genitalic characters (I. Agnarsson, H. Smith personal communication). Therefore, I propose the new generic placement Anelosimus dianiphus (Rainbow, 1916), comb. n. within the spider family Theridiidae pending a generic revision of Australian comb-footed spiders.

Both male and female syntypes of A. dianiphus were recorded in the old, handwritten register of the Australian Museum. The male apparently had disappeared by the time the types were first registered on computer in the 1980s. The original label in the vial of the syntype female mentions only the female, so presumably both syntypes were originally in separate vials. The whereabouts of the male syntype is currently unknown (H. Smith, personal communication).

It is curious to note that Rainbow (1916a), in the same publication that he described Araneus dianiphus , also described a theridiid with the same specific epithet, Theridion dianiphum Rainbow, 1916. Should both species, after a revision of the Australia theridiid fauna, show to be congeneric, a replacement name for one of the species needs to be found.