Platnickina


Platnickina is a genus of comb-footed spiders that was first described by A. Ö. Koçak & M. Kemal in 2008.

Distribution

Spiders in this genus are found worldwide.

Description

As comb-footed spiders, Platnickina have two body segments and eight legs. The tarsi of the final leg pair have rows of strong, serrated bristles ventrally.
Platnickina can be distinguished from other theridiid genera by the presence of trichobothria on the metatarsi of the third leg pair, the opisthosoma not being higher than it is long, and the absence of a colulus. Also, the European species at least are bright yellow with black mottling.

Species

, this genus includes fifteen species:Platnickina adamsoniUnited States, Caribbean, South America. Introduced to St. Helena, Ascension Is. Ghana, South Africa, Seychelles, China, Korea, Japan, Pacific Is.Platnickina alabamensisCanada, United StatesPlatnickina antoniUnited StatesPlatnickina fritilla Gao & Li, 2014ChinaPlatnickina kijabeiCape Verde, KenyaPlatnickina maculataJapan Platnickina nigropunctata – MediterraneanPlatnickina obscurata – ChinaPlatnickina punctosparsa – United StatesPlatnickina qionghaiensis – ChinaPlatnickina sterninotataRussia, China, Korea, JapanPlatnickina submaculata Hu & Liu, 2025 – ChinaPlatnickina tinctaEurope, Turkey, Caucasus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran. Introduced to North AmericaPlatnickina xianfengensis – China, TaiwanPlatnickina yoshidai Hu & Liu, 2025 – China
In synonymy:
  • P. adamsoni = Platnickina mneon
  • P. blatchleyi = Platnickina mneon
  • P. cinerascens = Platnickina alabamensis
  • P. hobbsi = Platnickina mneon
  • P. insulicola = Platnickina mneon
  • P. talmo = ''Platnickina alabamensis''