Hidden treasures of the Caribbean: two new genera and one new species of Lesser Antillean ischnocoline spiders (Araneae: Theraphosidae)

 


Hidden treasures of the Caribbean: two new genera and one new species of Lesser Antillean ischnocoline spiders (Araneae: Theraphosidae)

Abstract
The new genus Caribothele gen. nov. is described to house its type species Caribothele culebrae (Petrunkevitch, 1929) comb. nov., from Puerto Rico, transferred from Holothele Karsch, 1879. Another new genus, Encantarana gen. nov. is described to house Encantarana hamiltoni gen. et sp. nov. based on both sexes, also from Puerto Rico, and is presently monotypic. Four other species misplaced in Holothele Karsch, 1879 are transferred to Caribothele gen. nov., creating the following new combinations: Caribothele denticu-lata (Franganillo, 1930) comb. nov., Caribothele maddeni (Esposito & Agnarsson, 2014) comb. nov., Caribothele shoemakeri (Petrunkevitch, 1926) comb. nov., and Caribothele sulfurensis (Maréchal, 2005) comb. nov.

Acknowledgement

My deepest and most heartfelt gratitude goes to Danni Sherwood for her generosity in sharing this and other forthcoming publications prior to their official release. Her consistent support and willingness to provide early access to such valuable materials are sincerely appreciated and continue to make a meaningful difference in advancing this work.

Sherwood, D., Gabriel, R., Peñaherrera-R., P., Rollard, C., Leguin, E.-A. & Privet, K. 2025: Hidden treasures of the Caribbean: two new genera and one new species of Lesser Antillean ischnocoline spiders (Araneae: Theraphosidae). - Natura Somogyienis 46: 99-116.