Two fancy spines and a collar: a taxonomic review of the myrmecomorphic spider genus Mazax O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1898 (Araneae: Corinnidae: Castianeirinae) in South America

Abstract

The South American species of the myrmecomorphic spider genus Mazax O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1898 (Castianeirinae, Corinnidae) are revised for the first time, increasing the number of known species from South America from two to six and the number of species in the genus from seven to 11. Here, we reevaluate the identity of Apochinomma acanthaspis Simon, 1896, propose its transfer to Mazax, and consider M. akephaloi Perger & Pett, 2022 as a junior synonym of M. acanthaspis comb. nov. Additional documentation of M. ramirezi Rubio & Danişman, 2014 is provided. The species M. pax Reiskind, 1969 and M. spinosa (Simon, 1898) are recorded from South America for the first time. Three new species are proposed, all based on both sexes: Mazax mokana sp. nov. and M. leonidas sp. nov. from Colombia, and M. tembe sp. nov. from Brazil. Emended diagnoses of the genus and of all six known South American species, as well as a key to males and females for all 11 species in the genus, are provided.

Keywords

• ant-mimicry
• neotropical region
• new combination
• new synonym
• taxonomy