Phlegra, Simon

Żabka, Marek, 2012, Phlegra Simon, 1876, Phintella Strand 1906 and Yamangalea Maddison, 2009 (Arachnida: Araneae: Salticidae) — new species and new generic records for Australia, Zootaxa 3176, pp. 61-68 : 61

Genus Phlegra Simon

The genus includes some 80 species known from Europe, Africa, the Near East (e.g. Israel), the Himalayas plus central, southern and eastern Asia ( Platnick 2011). It includes medium size unidentate salticids with flat body, low clypeus, longest fourth legs and distinctive genitalia (see Prószyński 2007). Complete diagnoses of Phlegra are given by Azarkina (2003), Logunov (1996) and Logunov & Azarkina (2006).

Up till now the localities of Phlegra in Vietnam have been the eastern most ( Żabka 1985), thus its occurrence on Lord Howe Island was rather surprising. The species described here shows fissidentate cheliceral dentition and has one-chambered spermathecae instead of multi-chambered ones present in other species, thus it would be important to see the characteristics of the other sex as well to confirm its placement.