Melpomene (spider)

For other uses, see Melpomene (disambiguation).

Melpomene
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Agelenidae
Genus:	Melpomene O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1898[1]
Type species
M. elegans O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1898
Species
13, see text
Synonyms[1]
Ritalena

Melpomene is a genus of funnel weavers first described by O. Pickard-Cambridge in 1898.[2] They range from southwestern U.S. (southern Arizona to western Texas) to Panama and can grow up to 7 to 8.5 millimetres (0.28 to 0.33 in) long. Roth and Brame noted that, with many undescribed species, the genus appears to be a catchall or "wastebasket taxon" for several unrelated species that may represent several genera.[3]

Species

As of April 2019^[update] it contains thirteen species:[1]

• Melpomene bicavata (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902) – Mexico
• Melpomene chamela Maya-Morales & Jiménez, 2017 – Mexico
• Melpomene chiricana Chamberlin & Ivie, 1942 – Panama
• Melpomene coahuilana (Gertsch & Davis, 1940) – Mexico
• Melpomene elegans O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1898 – Mexico
• Melpomene panamana (Petrunkevitch, 1925) – Panama
• Melpomene penetralis (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902) – Costa Rica
• Melpomene plesia Chamberlin & Ivie, 1942 – Panama
• Melpomene quadrata (Kraus, 1955) – El Salvador
• Melpomene rita (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1941) – USA
• Melpomene singula (Gertsch & Ivie, 1936) – Mexico
• Melpomene solisi Maya-Morales & Jiménez, 2017 – Mexico
• Melpomene transversa (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1902) – Mexico

References

1. "Gen. Melpomene O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1898". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
2. Pickard-Cambridge, O. (1898). Arachnida. Araneida.
3. Roth, V. D.; Brame, P. L. (1972). "Nearctic genera of the spider family Agelenidae (Arachnida, Araneida)" (PDF). American Museum Novitates (2505): 1–51.