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There is a secret pleasure in naming new species. Besides traditional etymologies recalling the sampling locality, habitat or morphology of the species, names may be tributes to some meaningful person, pop culture references and even exercises of enigmatography. Using a dataset of 48 464 spider etymologies, we tested the hypothesis that species names given by taxonomists are deeply influenced by their cultural background. Specifically, we asked whether naming practices change through space or have changed through time. In absolute terms, etymologies referring to morphology were the most frequently used. In relative terms, references to morphology peaked in 1850–1900 and then began to decline, with a parallel increase in etymologies dedicated to people and geography. We also observed a dramatic increase in etymologies referring to pop culture and other cultural aspects in 2000–2020, especially in Europe and the Americas. While such fashionable names often carry no biological information regarding the species itself, they help give visibility to taxonomy, a discipline currently facing a profound crisis in academia. Taxonomy is among the most unchanged disciplines across the last centuries in terms of tools, rules and writing style. Yet, our analysis suggests that taxonomists remain deeply influenced by their living time and space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enigmatic Cuban araneids Araneus bipunctatus Franganillo, 1931 and Araneus lineatus Franganillo, 1931, neither located nor redescribed since their original descriptions, are discussed. A. bipunctatus is considered a nomen dubium due to the very short and vague description and the absence of type material. A. lineatus is proposed as a junior synonym of Eriophora ravilla (C. L. Koch, 1844) syn. nov. based on examination of the recently rediscovered holotype. Other taxa described by Franganillo in other works are also addressed; 29 other taxa are thereby treated as nomina dubia: Anasaitis arcuata fulgida (Franganillo, 1930) nomen dubium, Araneus fistulosus Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Araneus excavatus Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Ceratinopsis ruberrimaFranganillo, 1926nomen dubium, Hasarius bisetatus Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Leucauge pulcherrima ochrerufa (Franganillo, 1930) nomen dubium, Lycosa anclata Franganillo, 1946 nomen dubium, Lycosa ovalata Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Lycosa rostrataFranganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Lyssomanes antillanus fasciatus Franganillo, 1935 nomen dubium, Mecaphesa celer olivacea (Franganillo, 1930) nomen dubium, Mecaphesa celer punctata (Franganillo, 1926) nomen dubium, Menemerus depressusFranganillo, 1930nomen dubium, Menemerus fascialatus Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Menemerus ochraceusFranganillo, 1930nomen dubium, Menemerus proximus Franganillo, 1935 nomen dubium, Meta serrana Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Misumena pictaFranganillo, 1926nomen dubium, Misumena quadrivulvataFranganillo, 1926nomen dubium, Nagaina olivacea Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Parasteatoda lunata serrata (Franganillo, 1930) nomen dubium, Pardosa bidentata Franganillo, 1936 nomen dubium, Pardosa maculata Franganillo, 1931 nomen dubium, Scytodes longipes simplexFranganillo, 1926nomen dubium, Spintharidius viridisFranganillo, 1926nomen dubium, Stethorrhagus mandibulatus Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Theridion fuscum Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Theridion triangulare Franganillo, 1936 nomen dubium, Witica alobatus (Franganillo, 1931) nomen dubium. Four subspecies, Zosis geniculata altissima (Franganillo, 1926), Zosis geniculata humilis (Franganillo, 1926), Zosis geniculata quadripunctata (Franganillo, 1926), and Zosis geniculata similis (Franganillo, 1926), all described from Havana, are confirmed to be conspecific with the nominate species Zosis geniculata (Olivier, 1789) as first proposed by Bonnet (1959) syns. conf., based on their congruent morphological descriptions. Four non-existent nomina purported to be authored by Franganillo per lapsus of Bryant (1940) and/or Roewer (1955) are also discussed: Ctenonima Franganillo, 1946, Ctenus rufibarbis Franganillo, 1930, Strotarchus striatus Franganillo, 1934 and Thalerothele striatipes Franganillo, 1936. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enigmatic Cuban araneids Araneus bipunctatus Franganillo, 1931 and Araneus lineatus Franganillo, 1931, neither located nor redescribed since their original descriptions, are discussed. A. bipunctatus is considered a nomen dubium due to the very short and vague description and the absence of type material. A. lineatus is proposed as a junior synonym of Eriophora ravilla (C. L. Koch, 1844) syn. nov. based on examination of the recently rediscovered holotype. Other taxa described by Franganillo in other works are also addressed; 29 other taxa are thereby treated as nomina dubia: Anasaitis arcuata fulgida (Franganillo, 1930) nomen dubium, Araneus fistulosus Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Araneus excavatus Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Ceratinopsis ruberrima Franganillo, 1926 nomen dubium, Hasarius bisetatus Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Leucauge pulcherrima ochrerufa (Franganillo, 1930) nomen dubium, Lycosa anclata Franganillo, 1946 nomen dubium, Lycosa ovalata Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Lycosa rostrata Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Lyssomanes antillanus fasciatus Franganillo, 1935 nomen dubium, Mecaphesa celer olivacea (Franganillo, 1930) nomen dubium, Mecaphesa celer punctata (Franganillo, 1926) nomen dubium, Menemerus depressus Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Menemerus fascialatus Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Menemerus ochraceus Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Menemerus proximus Franganillo, 1935 nomen dubium, Meta serrana Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Misumena picta Franganillo, 1926 nomen dubium, Misumena quadrivulvata Franganillo, 1926 nomen dubium, Nagaina olivacea Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Parasteatoda lunata serrata (Franganillo, 1930) nomen dubium, Pardosa bidentata Franganillo, 1936 nomen dubium, Pardosa maculata Franganillo, 1931 nomen dubium, Scytodes longipes simplex Franganillo, 1926 nomen dubium, Spintharidius viridis Franganillo, 1926 nomen dubium, Stethorrhagus mandibulatus Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Theridion fuscum Franganillo, 1930 nomen dubium, Theridion triangulare Franganillo, 1936 nomen dubium, Witica alobatus (Franganillo, 1931) nomen dubium. Four subspecies, Zosis geniculata altissima (Franganillo, 1926), Zosis geniculata humilis (Franganillo, 1926), Zosis geniculata quadripunctata (Franganillo, 1926), and Zosis geniculata similis (Franganillo, 1926), all described from Havana, are con- firmed to be conspecific with the nominate species Zosis geniculata (Olivier, 1789) as first proposed by Bonnet (1959) syns. conf., based on their congruent morphological descriptions. Four non-existent nomina purported to be authored by Franganillo per lapsus of Bryant (1940) and/or Roewer (1 are also discussed: Ctenonima Franganillo, 1946, Ctenus rufibarbis Franganillo, 1930, Strotarchus striatus Franganillo, 1934 and Thalerothele striatipes Franganillo, 1936. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spider taxa included by James Barbut in his work 'The genera insectorum of Linnæus exemplified in various specimens of English insects drawn from nature' from 1781 are discussed alongside some other early works of spider literature. Barbut discusses and depicts three previously described species, Araneus diadematus Clerck, 1757, Tegenaria domestica (Clerck, 1757) and Xysticus cristatus (Clerck, 1757). Four taxa are newly described by Barbut (1781) but are unavailable nomina per Article 11.4 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. The taxonomic acts of Bonnet, who failed to notice that Barbut's work was invalid for the purposes of zoological nomenclature, are discussed. Two nomina, Aranea subterranea Barbut in Meyer, 1794 and Aranea hortensis Barbut in Meyer, 1794 - both made available through the translation work by Meyer - are evaluated. Aranea subterranea Barbut in Meyer, 1794 is proposed as a nomen dubium. Aranea hortensis Barbut in Meyer, 1794 is proposed as a junior synonym of Araneus diadematus Clerck, 1757 syn. nov. and is thus an objective senior homonym of Araneus hortensis (Blackwall, 1859). The replacement name Araneus blackwalli nom. nov. is proposed for the latter taxon. Additionally, Aranea livido-rufa Panzer, 1804 is removed from synonymy with Metellina segmentata (Clerck, 1757) and is declared a nomen dubium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The erigonine genus Hypsocephalus Millidge, 1978 is a homonym of the genus Hypsocephalus Swift & Ellwood, 1972 (Lutjanidae, Perciformes, Pisces). The replacement name Staveleya nom. nov. is thus proposed for the preoccupied spider genus nomen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spelling of the specific name monticolus in the scientific name of a spider, Cybaeus monticolus Kobayashi, 2006, does not violate any relevant provisions of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. This spelling is, therefore, the "correct original spelling" of the specific name under Article 32.2 of the Code. Regardless of whether this name is deemed an adjective or a noun in apposition, it should be maintained unaltered when it is combined with the generic name Cybaeus L. Koch, 1868, the gender of which is masculine. The later spelling monticola, as presented in the combination Cybaeus monticola in a recent arachnological treatise and then in an important online taxonomic resource from which its use appears to be spreading, is an "incorrect subsequent spelling" under Article 33.3 of the Code. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The salticid genus AvaruaMarples, 1955 is a junior homonym of the conoidean subgenus AvaruaBaker, 1938 (Gastropoda). The replacement name Avaruarachnenom. nov. is thus proposed for the preoccupied spider nomen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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