Anaptomecus Simon 1903 b: 28 (description of genus). Simon 1903a: 1027. Petrunkevitch 1911: 444. Roewer 1954: 712. Bonnet 1955: 313. Lapinski et al. 2002: 4. Platnick 2009.

Note. Simon (1903a) listed genus name and species name with a cross reference to his publication (Simon 1903 b) in which he described the new genus and the new species. First of all there is a mistake in this reference, as Simon wrote “1893” instead of “1903”; all other data (journal name, volume number, page number) are correct. Secondly, it might be that he assumed that the genus description would be published first, and added the reference in advance. As the name of the type species (A. longiventris) proposed by Simon (1903a) was not available at the time of publication of the genus description (identification key for genera of Heteropodeae) (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1999: Article 68.2), and as the name of the type species was not nominal, i.e. available, it is not valid. Therefore the genus and species names were made available only in Simon (1903 b).

Type species by original designation: Anaptomecus longiventris Simon, 1903.

Diagnosis. Medium-sized Sparassidae with total length 8.6-14.1. Prosoma flat (Figs 87, 97). Opisthosoma elongated (Figs 98-99). Cheliceral teeth with 3 promarginal (median enlarged) and 6-7 retromarginal teeth and denticles in a patch. Eye arrangement similar to Heteropodinae (Jäger 1998) with lateral eyes larger than median eyes, and eye rows recurved. Posterior eye row narrower than that in Sparianthina, i.e. more space left between PLE and prosomal margin. Head part of prosoma extended with almost parallel margins, i.e. PLE distinctly anterior to the transition between head and thoracic part. Median hook of trilobate membrane extending beyond lateral projections. ♀ palpal claw with 5 barely elongated teeth (Figs 92, 112). Tibiae with 4 ventral spines, lacking two additional distal spines present in Heteropodinae. Males: Tegulum pear shaped, sperm duct with U-shaped bend in ventral view; embolus and hyaline conductor situated on a membranous base, thus being movable; massive embolus retrolaterally bent with small teeth at base and a soft lamina at the end, hyaline conductor, RTA simple. Females hardly diagnosable by their copulatory organs; median extension of posterior epigyne forming two indistinct lobes.

Redescription. Dorsal shield of prosoma slightly longer than wide (Figs 98, 107). Eye region slightly elevated (Figs 87, 97). Fovea conspicuous and short on posterior third of prosoma. Eyes arranged in two recurved rows (Figs 88, 108). Clypeus as high as diameter of anterior eyes. Chelicerae longer than wide, with middle anterior tooth larger than others and size of posterior teeth gradually decreasing from proximal to basal. Denticles in distinct patch (Figs 89, 109-110). Gnathocoxae almost parallel, slightly converging distally, longer than wide with dense scopula on internal margin (Fig. 90). Leg formula 1243 or 2143. Tarsi I–IV with pair of pectinate claws bearing 12-20 teeth. Female pedipalp with single pectinate claw with 5 larger teeth and 1-2 tiny teeth. Opisthosoma distinctly longer than wide. Tracheal spiracle contiguous to spinnerets. Anal tubercule small and triangular, covered by few long hairs. Six spinnerets.

Male palp. Tibia shorter than cymbium. Tibia with RTA arising subdistally. RTA simple, slightly twisted and not extending beyond distal tibia. Cymbium narrow, with dense prolatero-dorsal scopula along its entire length. Tegulum in basal half of alveolus, not extending beyond cymbial margin. Embolus and conductor arising at an 11 to 12:30-o’clock-position from tegulum. Embolus curved and slightly twisted. Sperm duct running centrally in tegulum as a U-turn. Conductor hyaline, may be reduced.

Female palpal spination with reduced number of dorsal spines on femur (usually 131 in Sparassidae): femur 121 (111), patella 101, tibia 2121, tarsus 1014. Internal duct system twisted, fertilisation ducts situated medially.

Distribution. Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia.

Composition. Anaptomecus longiventris Simon, 1903, A. temii sp. n., A. levyi sp. n.

Species transferred. Anaptomecus rufescens Mello-Leitão, 1940 (see Sparianthina, this paper)

Relationships. See discussion under Sparianthina. Characters of Anaptomecus such as presence of denticles at cheliceral furrow in combination with three anterior teeth, eye arrangement, female palpal claw with long teeth, and basally shifted tegulum may represent evidence of a closer relationship to Sparianthina. Differentiating characters between the genera are the conformation of denticles (patch vs. row), female palpal claw with primary tooth sensu Jäger (2004) shorter vs. longer than following secondary teeth, shape of opisthosoma (triangular to oval vs. elongated), and trilobate membrane with median hook longer vs. shorter than lateral projections.