Myrmarachne melanocephala MacLeay 1839

Myrmarachne melanocephala MacLeay, 1839 Figs 1–7 Myrmarachne melanocephala MacLeay, 1839: 11, pl. 1, fig. 4 (D ♂); Benjamin, 2015: 2625, figs 17A-D, 18A-D, 19A-D (♂); Caleb, 2016: 410, figs 20-30 (♂ ♀). Myrmarachne calcuttaensis Biswas, 1984: 126, figs 17-19 (D ♀); holotype ♀ in NZC-ZSI, examined; syn. n. TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED. Myrmarachne calcuttaensis Biswas, 1984: Holotype ♀ (NZC-ZSI-5119/18) from India: West Bengal, Kolkata (=Calcutta), Alipore, Zoological Garden, 04.I 1982, coll. Bijan Biswas. ADDITIONAL MATERIAL EXAMINED. India: Kerala, Alappuzha, Changaram near Ezhupunna, 9.7966 N, 76.2958 E, h=04 m, 20.VIII 2024, 1 ♀ (BMCAM2024014), coll. Anitha Abraham, from ground, by hand. COMMENTS. Biswas (1984) described Myrmarachne calcuttaensis from Alipore, Kolkata, West Bengal, India, based on a holotype female. The description was accompanied by schematic illustrations of the epigyne and internal genitalia (Biswas, 1984: figs 18 & 19). Upon re-examination of the holotype (Figs 1–3), we discovered that the dissected epigyne was missing. However, two additional female specimens (Fig. 4), collected from the same location and labelled as " paratypes " (Fig. 7), were found alongside the holotype. Notably, these specimens were not designated as paratypes in the original description. A detailed examination of these specimens revealed that their general morphology and genitalic structure are identical to those of M. melanocephala MacLeay, 1839: epigyne with a pair of oval copulatory openings, twisted copulatory ducts, and lateral pockets positioned above the epigastric furrow (cf. Figs 1–6 and figs 17–19 in Biswas (1984) with figs 3B–D & 5 in Edwards & Benjamin (2009) and figs 26–30 in Caleb (2016)), clearly indicate that M. calcuttaensis is a junior synonym of M. melanocephala. Furthermore, both M. melanocephala and M. calcuttaensis were originally described from Bengal, a region corresponding to present-day West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh, further substantiating their conspecificity. REMARK. For a complete list of taxonomic references see World Spider Catalog (2025). DISTRIBUTION. Pakistan to Indonesia (World Spider Catalog, 2025).