Attus niger (usually attributed to Sundevall, but in fact described by Walckenaer) is often
regarded as a synonym of the present species, but this is doubtful and
most likely incorrect. Aranea nigra Walckenaer, 1802 has been described from the Paris area as a black jumping spider with gray
tarsi (note that the name is a junior primary homonym of Aranea nigra
Petagna, 1787 and therefore the name was much later replaced by the name
Sitticus walckenaeri Roewer, 1951). From the original description
Aranea nigra Walckenaer, 1802 (subsequently placed in Attus: Attus niger
(Walckenaer, 1802)) cannot be identified, the type material is lost,
and the taxon is therefore a nomen dubium. This, however, has not
prevented subsequent authors to use the name for any "blackish jumping
spider". Sundevall was only the first of a number of authors who
believed that they have found specimens of "Attus niger", and this led
to a mixed and confusing concept of "Attus niger". It has to be stressed
that the identity of the original Aranea nigra Walckenaer, 1802 is unclear and the name is a nomen dubium (see
Breitling et al. 2016),
and that all subsequent reports of Aranea nigra, Attus niger, Sitticus
niger or Sitticus walckenaeri refer to a variety of dark or melanistic
individuals of different species. Unfortunately, in the
World Spider Catalog
(accessed on September 30, 2016) the use of this name by Sundevall is
regarded as a separate taxon ("Attus niger Sundevall, 1833"): however,
this is incorrect, because Sundevall did not describe a new species, but
simply used the name by Walckenaer for what he believed to be true
Aranea nigra Walckenaer, 1802. Thus, Sundevall´s use of the name is a
likely misidentification, but not the description of a new species.
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