Nukuhiva Berland, 1935 is a troglobitic wolf spider (Araneae: Lycosidae), not a nursery-web spider (Pisauridae)
Author
Framenau, Volker W.
Author
Lehtinen, Pekka T.
text
Zootaxa
2015
4028
1
129
135
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.4028.1.6
449c193c-d836-4706-9460-b076fc9ff908
1175-5326
239806
5D653C0B-187D-480C-8B4C-C1A2C76154D9
Genus
Nukuhiva
Berland, 1935
Dolomedes
Latreille, 1804
(in part).—
Berland, 1933
: 68
–69, figs 55–59.
Nukuhiva
Berland, 1935
: 62
–63.
Lehtinen, 1967
: 253
;
Brignoli, 1983
: 465
(in Dolomedidae).
Type
species
.
Dolomedes adamsoni
Berland, 1933
(original designation and monotypy). The gender of the genus group name was not determined by
Berland (Berland, 1935)
. It refers to Nuku Hiva, the largest of the Marquesas Islands in
French Polynesia
. It is here arbitrarily considered feminine, similar to and consistent with many wolf spider genera ending with an ‘-a’.
Diagnosis.
Berland (1935)
diagnosed
Nukuhiva
against the pisaurid genus
Dolomedes
Latreille, 1804
based on the eye pattern, cheliceral dentition, genital characters and the shape of the carapace. Within the context of the current study, a diagnosis of
Nukuhiva
against a genus from a different family is out of place. However, due to the lack of a phylogenetic framework of Pacific Lycosinae, in particular with reference to the subterranean inhabitants, it is not possible to diagnose the genus, in particular taking the cautionary remarks in our introduction into account not to use troglomorphic adaptations, such as the reduced eyes and pale colouration of
Nukuhiva
, as genus-level diagnostic characters. The female genitalia of
Nukuhiva
(
Fig. 2B
) are very similar to
Hogna
and
Trochosa
and related genera, and may represent a plesiomorphic state within the Lycosinae (
Murphy
et al.
2006
). We have therefore decided to maintain the current generic status quo of subterranean Pacific Lycosinae that are now placed in three different genera,
Adelocosa
,
Nukuhiva
and
Lycosa
, pending a comprehensive phylogenetic study, preferably based on both morphology and molecular characters. It is recognised, that in particular
Lycosa howarthi
bears little resemblance with the
type
species of the genus
Lycosa
,
L. tarantula
(Linnaeus, 1758)
, as illustrated in
Zyuzin and Logunov (2000)
.
Description.
As for species (see below).