Godumops, Crews, Sarah C. & Harvey, Mark S., 2011

Crews, Sarah C. & Harvey, Mark S., 2011, The spider family Selenopidae (Arachnida, Araneae) in Australasia and the Oriental Region, ZooKeys 99, pp. 1-104 : 13

Genus Godumops gen. n.

Type species:

Godumops caritus sp. n.

Etymology.

Godumops gen. n comes from a combination of words and honors the indigenous peoples of Papua New Guinea. Although there are many different indigenous groups and languages in Papua New Guinea, we chose the Nobonob language, as this language is spoken around the type locality. Nobonob: Godum = spider; Greek: ops = face, eye. We retain the traditional ending of selenopid genera of ops, which originally referred to the eye arrangement. The gender is masculine.

Diagnosis.

Godumops gen. n.can be separated from all other genera by a combination of characters. In males, MA is lacking (Figs 5-6) with no distinct fovea and no radiating lines on the cephalothorax (Fig. 107). The terminal portion of the labium is also m-shaped (Fig. 109), whereas it is rounded in all other genera. Females unknown.

Description.

Total length 4.50. Cephalothorax: Carapace slightly darker on edges, longer than wide, fovea indistinct, round, extremely shallow, lacking radiating lines. Setae variable, ranging from soft, to thick and coarse, short peg-like spines to long and thin; some are of medium length and thickness. Both AER and PER slightly recurved. PME smaller than AME. Chelicerae slightly geniculate, robust, with three prolateral and 2 retrolateral teeth. Legs: Leg II is the longest, followed by III, IV and I. Tibial and metatarsal ventral spination is 7-4. Tarsal scopulae absent. Male copulatory organs: Palpal tibia with 2 tibial apophyses. Dorsal apophysis much longer than ventral apophysis. MA absent.

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality (Map 2). It is very likely there are many more species in the region.

Composition.

The genus contains a single species, Godumops caritus sp. n., known from a single male.