Spermophora: getting order into the chaos
Published in Zoologische Mededelingen, 2005; see Abstract, PDF

The genus Spermophora was created in 1841 for a pholcid that seemed unusual at the time for having only six eyes and for being tiny (in comparison to Pholcus). Subsequently, various authors assigned any small six-eyed pholcid to Spermophora, making it a huge waste-basket. In various publications, I have tried to get order into this chaos, starting with those taxa that were most clearly not related to the type species, like African 'Spermophora' (see Huber 2003a, 2003b, 2003c). The present publication finally treats true Spermophora, together with some similar small taxa that occur in the same region (SE Asia), like the extraordinary pholcid (Khorata jaegeri) from Laos shown above. The male chelicerae (below) are unbelievably extravagant.