A SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF THE SPIDER GENUS CALYMMARIA (ARANEAE: AGELENIDAE)

Thirty-one species of Calymmaria are described or redescribed and illustrated. Twenty-two species are described as new. A key to these species is provided. Calymmaria quadrata (Exline) is synonymized with C. emertoni (Simon), and C. cavicola (Banks) and C. montavencis (Bishop and Crosby) are synonymized with C. persica (Hentz). The male palpus of C. lora (Chamberlin and Ivie) and C. emertoni (Simon) are illustrated for the first time along with the internal structure of the female epigynum of C. californica (Banks) and C. shastae (Chamberlin and Ivie). Information is provided on habitat and web structure in the genus.; A cladogram of the species of Calymmaria is presented based on a cladistic analysis of characters. The presence of a dorsal patellar fracture line is considered to be an apomorphic character state that relates Calymmaria to five other agelenid genera: Willisus, Balbomma, Yorima, Cybaeota, and Cybaeina. These genera are considered to form a monophyletic lineage. The distribution of the species of Calymmaria are plotted against the cladogram and vicariance events are presented to account for some cladistic events.