On the type species of the genus Aetius O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1896: The first description of male with notes on cymbial notch and mating plug (Araneae: Corinnidae: Castianeirinae).
The rare ant mimicking sac spider genus Aetius was erected by O. Pickard-Cambridge in 1896 based on an unspecified number of female specimen(s) collected from Sri Lanka. The type species of the genus, A. decollatus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1896, has been redescribed twice based on the holotype (Majumder & Tikader 1991; Deeleman-Reinhold 2001). Reimoser (1934) recorded the genus for the first time from India, who collected a male specimen from Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu State of southern India. This specimen was identified as A. decollatus, but it was never formally described and was later recognised to be a penultimate male (Dankittipakul & Singtripop 2013). Deeleman-Reinhold (2001) described the second representative of the genus, A. nocturnus, based on a single female specimen from Borneo, 105 years after the establishment of the genus. Dankittipakul & Singtripop (2013) described the male of A. nocturnus, thereby revealing the male genitalia of the genus, but the type species was still known only from the female sex.
Centre for Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Department of Zoology, Christ College, Irinjalakuda, Kerala, 680 125, India; Email: unknown.
Puthoor Pattammal
PP
Sudhin
Centre for Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Department of Zoology, Christ College, Irinjalakuda, Kerala, 680 125, India; Email: nafinks5@gmail.com.
Karunnappilli Shamsudheen
KS
Nafin
Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PW, United Kingdom; Email: unknown.
Zoë
Z
Simmons
Centre for Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Department of Zoology, Christ College, Irinjalakuda, Kerala, 680 125, India; Email: unknown.
Ambalaparambil Vasu
AV
Sudhikumar
D063147:Animal Distribution; D000825:Animal Structures / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D013112:Spiders / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development; D013188:Sri Lanka