Galianora Maddison

Galianora Maddison, new genus

Type species: Galianora sacha, new species

Etymology. This phylogenetically remarkable genus is named in honour of the late María Elena Galiano, the deserving heir to Eugène Simon as the leader of neotropical salticid taxonomy. Her work is the foundation for our knowledge of one of the world’s richest salticid faunas.

Diagnosis. Among neotropical salticids with a median apophysis and female palp claw, the round tegulum with peripheral embolus is distinctive (Figs. 9, 19).

Notes. With hesitation I include in this genus two species so different in body form. In the field, I did not realize they belonged to the same subfamily — G. s a c h a is elongate and pale with raptorial front legs; G. bryicola is compact and brown. However, the morphological synapomorphies and molecular data (Maddison and Needham, 2006) clearly suggest a close relationship between G. s a c h a and G. bryicola. An as­yet undescribed species from Venezuela is intermediate in body form and palpus. To avoid describing two monotypic sister genera, I have chosen to place G. bryicola in Galianora until lapsiine diversity and phylogeny are better understood.