First Caribbean Floricomus (Araneae: Linyphiidae), a new fossil species in Miocene Dominican Republic amber: a new synonymy for the extant North American fauna

Abstract

The new species Floricomus fossilis (Araneae: Linyphiidae) is described from Miocene Dominican Republic amber. This is the first fossil record of Floricomus, extending its known geological range by 15-20 Ma, and is the first record of the genus outside North America and Canada. Extant species may exist on Hispaniola, given the similarities between the known fossil and extant faunas. Most extant Floricomus species were described during the first half of the twentieth century and have received little, or no further taxonomic attention. The extant F. ornatulus GERTSCH and IVIE, 1936 is a junior synonym of F. littoralis CHAMBERLIN and IVIE, 1935 n.syn. The high degree of variation in somatic and genitalic characters observed in species currently assigned to Floriomus indicate the genus requires revision.