Medmassa Simon, 1887

Medmassa Simon, 1887 View in CoL

Megaera Simon, 1877: 87 View in CoL . Type species by original designation: Megaera frenata Simon, 1877 .

Medmassa Simon, 1887 View in CoL : clvii, replacement name for Megaera Simon, 1877 View in CoL preoccupied in the Reptilia, Diptera View in CoL and Mammalia by Megaera Wagler, 1830 View in CoL ; Simon, 1898: 191, 195, 198; Brignoli, 1983: 557; Deeleman-Reinhold, 2001: 345; Haddad & Bosselaers, 2010: 3 View Cited Treatment .

Astratea Thorell, 1890: 364 ; Deeleman-Reinhold, 1995: 44. Type species Astratea insignis Thorell, 1890 . Genus first synonymised by Simon (1898: 191), restored by Deeleman-Reinhold, 1995 and synonymised by Deeleman-Reinhold, 2001.

Diagnosis. Differs from Australian Castianeirinae by the seven pairs of strong spines on tibiae I, II of males and females ( Fig. 11d View FIGURE 11 ). Males of other species of Medmassa (no males are known from the Australian species) have only one loop of the spermatic duct not two ( Deeleman-Reinhold, 2001; Haddad & Bosselaers, 2010), and so also differ from those of all Castianeirines; equally, females have a single central anterior epigynal ridge ( Figs 11b View FIGURE 11 , 135 View FIGURE 135 ).

Australian species included: Medmassa christae sp. nov.

Distribution. Northern Australia, Africa, New Guinea, and south-east Asia.

Remarks. Deeleman-Reinhold (2001) and Haddad & Bosselaers (2010) reviewed the history of the genus and gave a complete description. Haddad (2013b) rejected the inclusion of Medmassa in the Castianeirinae , but rather include it in the Corinninae which is followed here (but see Ramírez 2014 for an alternative opinion). The genus is also keyed in the Castianeirinae for pragmatic reasons.