All creatures great and small: two new synonymies in the Saint Helenian endemic genus Tecution Benoit, 1977 (Araneae: Miturgidae)

Abstract

Abstract The type material of three species of the endemic genus Tecution Benoit, 1977 on Saint Helena are re-examined. Tecution helenicola Benoit, 1977 syn. nov. and Tecution mellissi (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1873) syn. nov. are synonymized with Tecution planum (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1873), based on identical palpal morphology and the discovery of a gradient of cheliceral size variation in a large amount of non-type material from Saint Helena Island. A brief discussion on the habitat and ecology of T. planum is provided.