A review of the genus Sphingius Thorell, 1890 from India (Araneae: Liocranidae) Author Sankaran, Pradeep M. Division of Arachnology, Department of Zoology, Sacred Heart College, Thevara, Cochin, Kerala 682 013, India Author Caleb, John T. D. 0000-0002-9471-9467 Zoological Survey of India, Prani Vigyan Bhawan, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata, West Bengal 700 053, India caleb 87 woodgate @ gmail. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 9471 - 9467 caleb87woodgate@gmail.com Author Sebastian, Pothalil A. 0000-0002-4936-4310 Division of Arachnology, Department of Zoology, Sacred Heart College, Thevara, Cochin, Kerala 682 013, India & drpothalil @ rediffmail. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 4936 - 4310 drpothalil@rediffmail.com text Zootaxa 2020 2020-12-23 4896 4 505 522 journal article 9199 10.11646/zootaxa.4896.4.3 6592cf39-be44-44f4-842d-e0126d8640ad 1175-5326 4387671 0824AFA4-4E8B-419B-972C-0FA0A88538FF Sphingius sp. Figs 8–9 Sphingius caniceps Gravely, 1931: 271 , fig. 19E–F (misidentification); Majumder & Tikader, 1991: 150 , figs 315–319 (misidentification). Material examined. Ƌ and ♀ (NZC-ZSI 5751/H2) from INDIA : Tamil Nadu : Chennai (formerly Madras), 13°04’57.65’’N , 80°16’14.59’’E , 4 m a.s.l. , date unknown, leg. F.H. Gravely ( Fig. 8E ) . Remarks. Gravely (1931) misidentified these specimens as S. caniceps and they do in fact belong to an undescribed Sphingius species. The female epigynum seems unique among other known female congeners, as it possesses inverted triangular postero-lateral epigynal margins separated medially from the anterior circular atrium by a transverse M-shaped plate ( Fig. 9E ). At present, a description of these specimens as a new species is difficult, due to the very poor condition and the genitalia are bleached, losing relevant diagnostic details, particularly those of the male. We therefore treat this species as Sphingius sp. until fresh specimens are available from Chennai. The ZSI collection has two glass bottles for this species named as “ S. caniceps ”, collected from Chennai. The first bottle (5751/ H2) contains a male and a female specimen in bad condition. The second bottle (5752/H2) is empty; the specimen(s) in this bottle may either be lost or perhaps loaned and not returned or misplaced elsewhere in the collection. Natural history. Sphingius sp. live among leaf litter, stones and soil ( Gravely 1931 ).