Myrmarachne MacLeay, 1839

Wang, Cheng, Mi, Xiaoqi, Li, Shuqiang & Xu, Xiang, 2024, Taxonomic notes of jumping spiders (Araneae, Salticidae) from Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Xizang and Yunnan, China, ZooKeys 1221, pp. 205-277 : 205-277

Genus Myrmarachne MacLeay, 1839

Type species.

Myrmarachne melanocephala MacLeay, 1839 ; type locality India.

Comments.

Myrmarachne , the species-richest genus of the subtribe Myrmarachnina Simon, 1901 within the tribe Myrmarachnini Simon, 1901 ( Maddison and Szűts 2019), contains 192 nominal species widely distributed all over the globe ( WSC 2024). Myrmarachne is one of the most poorly studied genera among the Salticidae since ~ 48.95 % of its species are known only from a single sex or sub-adult specimen,> 50 species have not been illustrated or lack essential diagnostic drawings. Moreover, many of its species share similar copulatory organs and present several color patterns, making them difficult to identify. There is no doubt that a few of its species could be potential synonyms or the “ missing ” sex of another congener. In addition, Prószyński (2016) split and resurrected eleven genera from Myrmarachne according to morphological characters. However, this conclusion has not been supported by the subsequent molecular evidence ( Yamasaki et al. 2018; Maddison and Szűts 2019). Thus, the phylogenetic relationship between Myrmarachne and the mentioned eleven genera remains uncertain.