melanica group

Species included. Tullgrenella melanica (Mello-Leitão, 1941) and T. yungae Galiano, 1970 . Diagnosis. Males can be distinguished by the suboval cymbium (Figs 4C, 27C–D, 29C–D), the bifid RTA with dorsal prong larger than the ventral prong (Figs 27D, 29D). Females have copulatory opening C-shaped, located antero-medially at the anterior border of the epigynum (Figs 7I–J, 28C, 30C).

Distribution. Bolivia [Santa Cruz], Brazil (Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul), Paraguay [Ñeembucú], Uruguay (Canelones, Maldonado, Montevideo, Paysandú, Río Negro, and Rocha) and Argentina (Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Entre Ríos, Junín, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Mina Clavero, Misiones, and Tucumán) (Figs 52A–B).

Natural history. Collected in Uruguay on grassland and under rocks. These species can be found associated with soil and under rocks. They are sympatric in the Chacoan subregion, with T. yungae and T. melanica occurring in the South America Transitional Zone (Figs 52A–B). The variation in altitudinal occurrence of these species is 4–2088 m a. s. l. (Figs 52A–B).