Alycini

Tribe Alycini G. Canestrini & Fanzago, 1877

Type genus: Alycus C.L. Koch, 1842 .

Differential diagnosis. The tribe Alycini can be segregated from the rest of the Endeostigmata by having the prodorsal sensilla filamentous or slightly swollen (ve and sci in Fig. 1A; Uusitalo et al. 2020: fig. 27), chelate chelicera with one to twenty teeth ( Figs. 1C, 8F), and prodorsum with a rudimentary pair of posterolateral eyes ( Fig. 1A), with the exception of Odontoalycus exoculo sp. nov. ( Figs. 7A, 9A) and one undescribed species in Australia.

Genus Alycus C.L. Koch, 1842

Type species: Alycus roseus C.L. Koch, 1841 or 1844 from Germany; by monotypy .

Differential diagnosis. The genus can be segregated from the other genera of the family by the robust and non-elongated chelicerae with two or three teeth ( Fig. 3C) and three pairs of pseudacanthoid eupathidia with long cilia on the palpi ( Fig. 3C).

Remark. The genus Alycus was designated without etymology by C.L. Koch (1842). Berlese (1889) suggested that the name ” Alicus ” is traced from the Greek word ”άλιχός”, and refers to the Latin word ” maritimus ”. The way of writing the name of the genus varies from Alicus via Alycus and Alichus to Alychus between Berlese’s articles ( Uusitalo 2010: 38). It is also possible that the word behind the genus name were ”αλυχός” (alychόs) or a chain, referring to a connected and flexible series of links, which reminds us of the segmented body; or ”άλικος” (alikόs), meaning scarlet, both character states visible in the tiny original drawing of Alycus roseus , but one wonders why Berlese would repeat the colour twice, unless he meant very red.