Tekellina Levi, 1957

Ramírez, Martín J., Magalhaes, Ivan L. F., Pizarro-Araya, Jaime, Ballarin, Francesco, Marusik, Yuri M. & Eskov, Kirill Yu., 2022, A new species of the spider genus Tekellina Levi, 1957 from Chile, with a broadened definition of the family Synotaxidae (Arachnida, Araneae), Zoologischer Anzeiger 301, pp. 76-90 : 81-82

Tekellina Levi, 1957

Tekellina Levi, 1957: 107 .

Type species. T. archboldi Levi, 1957 , recorded from USA to Panama.

Diagnosis. Tekellina is similar to other Synotaxidae by having an integral paracymbium and a depression on the retrolateral cymbial margin, but can be distinguished from other synotaxids and all araneoids by having a row of bottle-like modified setae between the anal tubercle and the spinnerets. The following combination of characters is also diagnostic: size minute, chelicerae without teeth, paracymbium not articulated, a disc-shaped copulatory bulb with coiled conductor, weakly sclerotized epigyne with copulatory openings at its posterior edge and helicoid copulatory ducts. The absence of aggregate and cylindrical gland spigots may be a further diagnostic character.

Composition and distribution. Ten described species: T. archboldi Levi, 1957 (generotype) from USA to Panama; Tekellina helixicis Gao & Li ,

2014; T. sadamotoi Yoshida & Ogata, 2016 and T. yoshidai Marusik & Omelko, 2017 from East Asia ( China, Japan and Russian Far East); Tekellina bella Marques & Buckup, 1993 , Tekellina crica Marques & Buckup, 1993 ; Tekellina guaiba Marques & Buckup, 1993 ; Tekellina minor Marques & Buckup, 1993 and Tekellina pretiosa Marques & Buckup, 1993 from Brazil; and T. araucana sp. n. from Chile and Argentina.