Family ACTINOPODIDAE Simon, 1892 [1889]

Eriodontidae C.L. Koch in Berendt, 1845, pp. 56 (table), 59; C.L. Koch in Anonymous, 1846, p. 872 (table); Koch & Berendt, 1854, pp. 3 [as Eriodontiden], 6 (table), 69; Menge in Koch & Berendt, 1854, p. 7 (table). Rejected name, based on generic synonym.

Pachyloscelinae Simon, 1889, p. 174. Rejected name, based on generic synonym.

Actinopodinae Simon, 1892, p. 78–79. Replacement name for Pachyloscelinae Simon, 1889.

Type genus of Eriodontidae. Eriodon Latreille, 1806.

Bonnet (1956) cited the earlier use of Eriodontidae in Berendt (1845), but considered this to be a nomen nudum, arguing that because the name Eriodontidae had been “created for” Sosybius Koch & Berendt, 1854 by Koch & Berendt (1854), it should be interpreted as a synonym of Clubionidae Wagner, 1887: “La famille des Eriodontidae ayant été créée pour le genre Sosibius qui, d’après Menge et Thorell est voisin de Clubiona, et non de Eridion, c’est à la fam. des Clubionidae qu’il faut rapporter ce terme et non à celle des Actinopodidae comme le fait Kaston” (Bonnet 1956, p. 1164, footnote) [N.B. Sosibius Thorell, 1870 is an unjustified emendation of Sosybius]. This interpretation is fallacious because Eriodontidae was validly proposed in Berendt (1845) and the genus Eriodon Latreille, 1806 was explicitly included: “Die Familie der Eriodontiden umfasst heute zwei Gattungen: Eriodon Latr. (Missulene Walck.) und Selenops Perty; beide sind in Neuholland einheimish; die Urwelt bringt eine dritte Gattung mit zwei Arten: ∗ Sosybius major Koch & Ber. und ∗ Sosybius minor Koch & Ber. ” (Berendt 1845, p. 59; asterisks in original denote extinct taxa). Thus, the position of Sosybius is irrelevant to the nomenclatural status of Eriodontidae. There is no doubt that Eriodon was being used in its correct sense in Berendt (1845) because the synonymy between Eriodon 2 and Missulena is explicitly recognized (see quote above, in which the vernacular form “Missulene” is used). It follows that Eriodontinae Ausserer, 1871 is a junior objective synonym of the coordinate name Eriodontinae C.L. Koch in Berendt, 1845, contrary to Bonnet’s (1956) treatment of them as different (homonymous) taxa.

Eriodontinae has been rejected as invalid due to synonymy of the type genus (Eriodon Latreille, 1806) with Missulena Walckenaer, 1805 (Kaston 1938; Bonnet 1956; Raven 1985, p. 143; Dunlop, Penney and Jekel 2012). The correct name for the family is now Actinopodidae Simon, 1892. Because Actinopodinae was proposed by Simon (1892) as a replacement for Pachyloscelinae Simon, 1889 due to the synonymy of Pachyloscelis Lucas, 1835 with Actinopus Perty, 1833, it takes the date of the name it replaces (1889) for the purposes of priority (Code, Article 40.2.1).

Although the genus Eriodon was included in Pachyloscelinae by Simon (1889) and Actinopodinae by Simon (1892), neither can be considered a replacement for the coordinate name Eriodontinae, because Simon (1889, 1892) made no mention of Eriodontidae.