Simaetha albicoma (Szombathy, 1915), 2025

Simaetha albicoma (Szombathy, 1915) comb. nov.

Pilia albicoma Szombathy, 1915: 487 View in CoL (description of ♂).

Pilia albicoma Prószyński, 1983: 287 View in CoL , figs 11, 12 ( ♂).

Simaetha albicoma Prószyński, 2016 (transfer from Pilia View in CoL )

Comments. The species was originally described by Szombathy in 1915 and placed in the genus Pilia . Szombathy (1915) does not provide any supporting illustration in his original work, in contrast to most other species dealt with in his work wherein he provides illustrations of the general morphology and the copulatory organs. Sixty-eight years later, Prószyński (1983) redescribed the species and provided a detailed illustration of the male pedipalp based on the type material kept at the Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest. He noted uncertainty regarding its true congeneric status and mentioned that P. albicoma appears to share closer affinities with Stertinius nobilis and Ligurra latidens . However, recently Prószyński (2016) transferred the species to the genus Simaetha based on the similarity of the palpal morphology, but that has not yet been officially accepted. The palpal confirmation with oval tegulum; subtegulum protruding prolaterally from beneath tegular margin; straight and conical embolus resembles Simaetha thoracica Thorell, 1881 the type species of the genus (cf figs 11, 12 in Prószyński 1983 with fig. 2A in Żabka 1994). We therefore, agree with Prószyński and formally transfer the species to Simaetha .