Nilus curtus O. Pickard-Cambridge 1876

Figs 1–7, 18: 1

Nilus curtus O. Pickard-Cambridge 1876: 596, pl. 60, fig. 13 (description of juvenile; 4 juvenile syntypes, from Egypt, OUMNH, examined).

Ctenus spinosissimus Karsch 1879: 345, fig. 1 (description of female; female syntype from Gaboon, ZMB 2573, not examined, illustrated by Sierwald 1987: fig. 26). syn. nov.

Thalassius spinosissimus,— Simon 1891: 299 (transfer). Sierwald 1987: 78, figs 1, 5–12, 17–18, 21–34, 42–43, 46, 48, 50–53 (illustrations of male and female, various synonymies).

Note. The four juvenile syntypes (Figs 1–7) are clearly congeneric with Thalassius spp. (Sierwald, in litt.). Comparisons with juvenile Dolomedes, Thalassius and other Pisauridae during the present study supported this result. The eye arrangement, with the anterior eye row distinctly wider than posterior median eyes, and the colour pattern, especially with narrow lateral bands on dorsal prosoma, were congruent with other congenerics. The species identity cannot be resolved by morphology, but N. spinosissimus is the only species of the genus occurring in northern Africa and in Egypt (Sierwald 1987: 77 ff.) and therefore N. curtus is here proposed as senior synonym of N. spinosissimus .