The Goblin Spider Genera Opopaea and Epectris (Araneae, Oonopidae) in the New World

Although the type species of the widespread, speciose, and abundant goblin spider genus Opopaea Simon was initially described from St. Vincent in the Lesser Antilles, and 15 additional New World taxa have since been assigned to the genus, we hypothesize that Opopaea is not native to the New World, and is represented in America only by introduced species that, although now pantropical in distribution, are of Old World origin. Myrmecoscaphiella Mello-Leitao is placed as a junior synonym of Opopaea, and its type species, M. borgmeyeri Mello-Leitao from Brazil, is newly synonymized with O. concolor (Blackwall), as are also O. devia Gertsch from Texas, O. guaraniana Biraben from Argentina, and O. bandina Chickering from Florida. Opopaea timida Chickering, from Panama, is placed as a junior synonym of the type species, O. deserticola Simon, which is newly recorded from Mexico, Costa Rica, Bermuda, the Bahama Islands, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Barbados, Trinidad, Colombia, and Brazil; O. concolor is newly recorded from Mexico, Costa Rica, the Bahama Islands, Cuba, Jamaica, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Peru, and Hawaii. A third widespread species has most commonly been cited as O. lena Suman, originally described from Hawaii and recently chosen as the type species of the monotypic genus Nale Saaristo and Marusik. Nale is here placed as a junior synonym of Epectris Simon, as its type species is placed as a junior synonym of E. apicalis Simon, described from the Philippines; E. apicalis is newly recorded from Florida, Mexico, Panama, Ecuador, Reunion, Singapore, Borneo, Micronesia, and New Caledonia. Opopaea cupida (Keyserling) is transferred to Marsupopaea Cooke; O. recondita Chickering is transferred to Brignolia Dumitresco and Georgesco. In a supplement, Pelicinus vernalis (Bryant), described from Florida, is also placed as a junior synonym of O. concolor.