The non-Amazonian species of the Brazilian wandering spiders of the genus Phoneutria Perty, 1833 (Araneae: Ctenidae), with the description of a new species

Abstract

The five non-Amazonian species of the medically important spider genus Phoneutria Perty, 1833 are taxonomically reviewed, including the description of a new species, P. eickstedtae sp. nov. from Brazil. Phoneutria keyserlingi (F.O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897) and P. pertyi (F.O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897), currently listed as junior synonyms of P. nigriventer (Keyserling, 1891), are revalidated and a modern redescription of P. pertyi is presented. Phoneutria luederwaldti Mello-Leitão, 1927, also currently listed as junior synonym of P. nigriventer, is considered nomen dubium as the faded condition of the juvenile holotype does not allow an accurate species identification. The non-Amazonian Phoneutria are mainly restricted to Atlantic rainforest and forest fragments in the Cerrado in Brazil. Phoneutria nigriventer also occurs in northern Argentina and was introduced to Uruguay. A modified taxonomic key allows an identification of all eight Phoneutria species.Key-words: armed spider, banana-spider, taxonomy, Neotropical, Brazil