Lathys

Marusik, Yuri M., Esyunin, Sergei L. & Tuneva, Tatyana K., 2015, A survey of Palaearctic Dictynidae (Araneae). 1. Taxonomic notes on Dictynomorpha Spassky, 1939, Brigittea Lehtinen, 1967 and Lathys Simon, 1884, Zootaxa 3925 (1), pp. 129-144 : 140-142

“ Lathys ” mussooriensis Biswas & Roy, 2008

Lathys mussooriensis Biswas & Roy 2008: 44 , figs 1–3 (♀).

Comments. This species was described from a holotype female and 2 immature females from Uttaranchal State (northern India). The description of the species, comments on the genus and its taxonomic placement is full of contradictions and confusions. Biswas & Roy (2008) report the distribution of the genus as New England, Canada and Asia, neglecting that the type species is from Europe. In the description of the species, the authors mentioned that L. mussooriensis is similar to Theridiidae and allied to Lycosidae : “These spiders are peculiar in their body shapes look like as Theridiid, having the elongated abdomen. Detailed study of different morphological features, clearly shows that they are allied to Lycosidae ” ( Biswas & Roy 2008: p. 44). The distribution of the species is given as “ India: Mussoorri, Uttaranchal (New record). Elsewhere: North America, Canada)” ( Biswas & Roy 2008: p. 46). A few lines below the authors state in their comments: “ Lathys is one of the important genus under the family Dictynidae which was only found in America and Europe”. In the diagnosis, Biswas & Roy (2008) compare their new species with the Nearctic L. foxii (Marx, 1891) . The authors mentioned that this is the first record of Lathys on the Indian sub-continent, neglecting Lathys balestrerii Caporiacco, 1934 (considered a synonym of L. stigmatisata ) described from British India (now Pakistan).

The description and figures provided for habitus and copulatory organs indicate that the species belongs not to the Dictynidae but to the Amaurobiidae . The body length of the Indian “ Lathys ” (15 mm) exceeds by 3–8 times size of other Lathys species and larger than any Dictynidae known. The epigyne and vulva of “L.” mussooriensis is similar to epigynes of Himalmartensus Wang & Zhu, 2008 , a genus known to include three species from Nepal. The epigyne of “L.” mussooriensis has long coiled insemination ducts forming a kind of column. Himalmartensus lacks a cribellum but has a colulus ( Wang & Zhu 2008). Although it is unknown if “L.” mussooriensis has a cribellum or not, “L.” mussooriensis differs from members of Himalmartensus by the number of cheliceral teeth (1 in promargin and 2 in retromargin [such state is unknown in any Amaurobiidae and Lathys , and authors very likely overlooked small teeth], and 6–7 promarginal and 5–8 retromarginal in Himalmartensus ). Therefore, we transfer this species from Dictynidae to Amaurobiidae and suggest the new combination Himalmartensus mussooriensis ( Biswas & Roy, 2008) , comb. n.

It is worth noting that H. mussooriensis is also similar to “ Titanoeca ” palpator Hu & Li, 1988, a cribellate species from Xizang (Tibet) which also is large, and has a similar epigyne. The species from Tibet appears also to be misplaced in Titanoecidae judging from the copulatory organs and large body length (up to 17.4 mm).