''Micromatta'' is a
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of Central American
araneomorph
The Araneomorphae (also called the Labidognatha) are an infraorder of spiders. They are distinguishable by chelicerae (fangs) that point diagonally forward and cross in a pinching action, in contrast to the Mygalomorphae (tarantulas and their cl ...
spiders in the family
Tetrablemmidae
Tetrablemmidae, sometimes called armored spiders, is a family of tropical araneomorph spiders first described by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1873. It contains 126 described species in 29 genera from southeast Asia, with a few that occur in Afric ...
found in
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
.
It contains the single species, ''Micromatta atoma'', first described by W. A. Shear in 1978.
Pekka T. Lehtinen
Pekka T. Lehtinen (born 1934) is a Finnish arachnology, arachnologist and taxonomy (biology), taxonomist. He is known for his works in systematics and for the many expeditions in which he has participated.
Biography
Lehtinen was born on 5 April ...
transferred it to ''Micromatta'' in 1981 because the shapes of the male embolus and conductor are quite different than those of ''
Matta'' and ''
Caraimatta''. Additionally, the
plesiomorphic
In phylogenetics, a plesiomorphy ("near form") and symplesiomorphy are synonyms for an ancestral character shared by all members of a clade, which does not distinguish the clade from other clades.
Plesiomorphy, symplesiomorphy, apomorphy, and ...
structure of pedipalp segments prove that the three genera aren't a
paraphyletic group
In taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...
.
See also
*
List of Tetrablemmidae species
This page lists all described species of the spider family Tetrablemmidae accepted by the World Spider Catalog :
A ''Ablemma''
'' Ablemma'' Roewer, 1963
* '' A. aiyura'' Shear, 1978 — New Guinea
* '' A. andriana'' Fardiansah & Dupérré, 2019 ...
*''
Matta''
*''
Tetrablemma''
References
Monotypic Araneomorphae genera
Spiders of Central America
Taxa named by Pekka T. Lehtinen
Tetrablemmidae
{{Tetrablemmidae-stub