DOI: 10.15468/tsgfvl
title: Comaroma is an anapid spider (Arachnidae, Araneae, Anapidae)

description: This dataset contains the digitized treatments in Plazi based on the original journal article Kropf, C. (1990): Comaroma is an anapid spider (Arachnidae, Araneae, Anapidae). Verh. naturwiss. Ver. Hamburg (NF) 31: 185-203, URL: http://antbase.org/ants/publications/Kropf1990Comaroma/Kropf1990Comaroma.pdfAbstract: Comaroma is regarded as a genus of the Anapidae, because it shows a well-developed labral sclerite of the same specific quality and in the same position as in Pseudanapis. A peculiar vulval structure - a single duct functionally divided into two ducts - was found in both Comaroma and Pseudanapis. The male palp of Comaroma shows plesiomorphic features in its construction and thus differs from more advanced conditions in other anapid and also theridiid palps. Tarsal comb setae in Theridiidae appear to be heterogenous and can hardly be compared with the serrated bristles in Comaroma. The labral spur of Anapidae is regarded as a homologon to the epistome, which is found in most Arachnida. The vulva of Anapidae shows what a transition from the semientelegyne to the entelegyne vulva could have looked like.A. IntroductionThe taxonomic position of the spider genus Comaroma Bertkau, 1889 has remained uncertain up to now. Bertkau (1889) suggested that it might be one of the Theridiidae, while Simon (1894) thought Comaroma made up a transition group between Pholcomma (Theridiidae) and Pelecopsis (Argiopidae, Erigoneae sensu Simon). Chyzer & Kulczynski (1891) and Boesenberg (1899, 1903) had a similar opinion, insofar as they placed Comaroma within the Theridioidae sensu Thorell as a borderline genus between Theridiidae s.str. and Linyphiidae s.l. Later workers assigned Comaroma to the Erigonidae (e.g. Chyzer & Kulczynski 1918; Roewer 1942; Wiehle 1960). Oi (1960) and Levi & Levi (1962) felt that Comaroma belonged within the Theridiidae. Most of the later authors agreed with this placement (e.g. Thaler 1978; Schuster & Moschitz 1984), but some uncertainties still persisted: Nicolic & Polenec (1981) assigned Comaroma to the Erigonidae, while others assumed that Comaroma might be connected with the symphytognathid complex (Forster 1959; Yaginuma 1959; Levi & Levi 1962; Palmgren 1980; Brignoli 1981). Wunderlich (1986) synonymized Symphytognathidae Hickman and Anapidae Simon and assigned Cornammo, to the Anapidae-Anapinae sensu Wunderlich. Platnick (1989) accepted Wunderlich's assignment.Forster & Platnick (1977) split off the Anapidae from the Symphytognathidae sensu Forster (1959) as a family of its own. In this paper the names "Anapidae" and "Symphytognathidae" are used in the same way as they are used by Forster & Platnick.The taxon Anapidae was characterized by Platnick & Shad ab (1978) by a labral spur projecting forward between the chelicerae. Platnick & Forster (1986: 3) described "a pair of pore-bearing, circular depressions found at the anterolateral corners of the carapace, just above the endites..and assumed that these structures represented a second synapomorphy of anapids.It has long been known that Theridiidae possess comb setae on the ventral side of tarsus IV. A further synapomorphy of Theridiidae could be a special internal arresting mechanism on the male palp (Heimer 1982), and a further synapomorphy of Theridiidae /Nesticidae might be the enlarged aggregate gland spigots on the posterior lateral spinnerets (Coddington 1989).To clarify the systematical position of Comaroma, it is necessary to investigate whether at least one of these synapomorphies is shown by Comaroma and, if possible, to find new structures of taxonomical significance. An attempt to do so is presented in this paper.