Hermippus Simon, 1893

Sankaran, Pradeep M., Jobi, Malamel J., Joseph, Mathew M. & Sebastian, Pothalil A., 2014, On the genus Hermippus Simon, 1893 (Araneae: Zodariidae, Zodariinae) in India with the description of three new species from the Western Ghats and proposing a new biogeographical hypothesis for the distribution of the genus, Zootaxa 3893 (1), pp. 114-126 : 115

Hermippus Simon, 1893

Hermippus Simon, 1893a: 424, 1893d: 316 , 1905a: 172; Strand, 1906b: 668; Lessert, 1938: 432, 1938: 433; Lawrence, 1942: 146; Jocqué, 1986a: 10, 13, 15, 17, 18 & 19, Jocqué, 1987b: 110, Jocqué, 1989: 105. Hermippoides Gravely, 1921a: 407

The genus Hermippus , which is considered a senior synonym of Hermippoides Gravely, 1921 ( Jocqué 1991) , was erected by Simon in 1893. The genus was revised by Jocqué (1986) and is currently having nine valid species, seven African and two Oriental ones. Of these, three are known only from males, one is known only from female and the rest are known from both sexes ( Platnick 2014). The occurrence of the genus Hermippus in India was first noticed by Simon in 1905. In 1921, Gravely reported a second species for which he raised the genus Hermippoides , which is later synonymised with Hermippus by Jocqué (1991). Presently the genus has two representatives in India, H. cruciatus Simon, 1905 , which is reported from Sri Lanka also ( Jocqué 1989) and H. arjuna Gravely, 1921 .

Type species: Hermippus loricatus Simon, 1893 by original designation.

Redefinition and diagnosis. Medium to large sized spiders (6.5–15 mm) ( Jocqué 1986). Prosoma broad and dome-shaped without cervical groove and with a fine fovea; the lateral margins of both cephalic and thoracic regions lie more or less in a single plane so that the separation between cephalic and thoracic region is less prominent. Eyes in two rows, both procurved; laterals placed far away from medians; medians lie very close to each other. Chilum well developed. Tarsi laterally compressed, with paired rows of short ventral spines, with two claws and claw tufts; metatarsi and tarsi rebordered; fourth leg always the longest; leg formula 4213 or 4321. Opisthosoma oval with characteristic pattern; males with/ without dorsal scutum. Male palp with small membranous area supporting TA; palpal tibia with unusually modified apophysis/apophyses; cymbium with short ventro-lateral spines, with proximo-lateral flange or ‘wing’ for supporting the main tibial apophysis; embolus long, filiform; conductor long, well developed; TA short. Epigyne simple, with median septum, with wide, medially placed copulatory openings; internal duct system highly sclerotized without complex convolution. [For more details, see Jocqué 1986].

Distribution. Africa, India, Sri Lanka ( Platnick 2014).