Silhouettella Benoit 1979

Silhouettella Benoit, 1979

TYPE SPECIES: Silhouettella curieusei Benoit, 1979.

DIAGNOSIS: Silhouettella species are similar to those of Pelicinus, Lionneta Benoit, 1979, Tolegnaro Álvarez-Padilla et al., 2012, Farqua Saaristo, 2001, and some species of Noideattella by having eyes well developed occupying all or more than half of the cephalic area (figs. 1, 5, 17, 21) and the female receptaculum wider than long, associated to a globular apical process and lateral apodemes (A1, A2, A3 and GAp in figs. 7, 15, 8, 24). Silhouettella species differ from Pelecinus by having shorter legs, embolar lamellae without a sail-shaped expansion bordered proximally by a deep groove (Platnick et al., 2012: fig. 30; probably homologous to the dorsal lamella described here), and the female receptaculum rectangular instead of oval (figs. 16, 24, 31; Platnick et al., 2012: figs. 161, 196, 312). Silhouettella differs from Farqua by the absence of abdominal spots, abdomen completely covered by scuta, and the embolar lamellae bent 90° and subdivided at the apex (Saaristo, 2001: figs. 48A–B); from Lionneta by having the femora I and II prolateral surface without macrosetae and the embolus lamellae shorter (Saaristo, 2001: figs. 68–69). Silhouettella differs from Tolegnaro by the pedicel area without feathery scales (figs. 17, 77; Álvarez-Padilla et al., 2012: fig. 357) and from Noideattella by legs without macrosetae; except in S. loricatula (Roewer, 1942) (Simon, 1884: 345).

SPECIES INCLUDED: S. curieusei Benoit, 1979 (Seychelles), S. betalfa Saaristo, 2007 (Israel), S. loricatula (Roewer, 1942) (Europe to Central Asia, North Africa, Canary Islands), S. osmaniye Wunderlich, 2011 (Turkey), S. tomer Saaristo, 2007 (Israel), S. usgutra Saaristo and van Harten, 2002 (Socotra), S. perismontes, new species, and S. perisalma, new species (both from Madagacar).