A revision of the spider genus Selenops Latreille, 1819 (Arachnida, Araneae, Selenopidae) in North America, Central America and the Caribbean

The spider genus Selenops Latreille, 1819 occurs in both the Old World and New World tropics and sub- tropics and contains nearly half of the species in the family Selenopidae Simon, 1897. In this paper the members of the genus Selenops found in North America, Central America, and on islands of the Caribbean are revised, excluding Cuban endemics. No taxonomic changes are currently made to the species from the southwestern United States. In total, 21 new species are described, including S. arikok sp. n., S. chamela sp. n., S. amona sp. n., S. baweka sp. n., S. bocacanadensis sp. n., S. enriquillo sp. n, S. ixchel sp. n., S. huetocatl sp. n., S. kalinago sp. n., S. oviedo sp. n., S. morro sp. n., S. denia sp. n., S. duan sp. n., S. malinalxochitl sp. n., S. oricuajo sp. n., S. petenajtoy sp. n., S. guerrero sp. n., S. makimaki sp. n., S. souliga sp. n., S. wilmotorum sp. n., and S. wilsoni sp. n. Six species names were synonymized: Selenops lunatus Muma, 1953 syn. n. = S. candidus Muma, 1953; S. tehuacanus Muma 1953 syn. n., S. galapagoensis Banks, 1902 syn. n. and S. vagabundus Kraus, 1955 syn. n. = S. mexicanus Keyserling, 1880; S. santibanezi Valdez- Mondragón, 2010 syn. n. = S. nigromaculatus Keyserling, 1880; and S. salvadoranus Chamberlin, 1925 syn. n. = S. bifurcatus Banks, 1909. Lectotypes are designated for the following three species: S. marginalis F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1900 (♂), S. morosus Banks, 1898 (♂), and S. mexicanus Keyserling, 1880 (♀). The female neotype is designated for S. aissus Walckenaer, 1837. The males of S. bani Alayón-García, 1992 and S. marcanoi Alayón-García, 1992 are described for the first time, and the females of S. phaselus Muma, 1953 and S. geraldinae Corronca, 1996 are described for the first time. Almost all species are redescribed, barring Cuban endemics and a few species recently described. New illustrations are provided, including those of the internal female copulatory organs, many of which are illustrated for the first time. A key to species is also provided as are new distributional records.