Taxonomic reassessment and rejection of the spider family Fonteferreidae Wunderlich, 2023 (Araneae)

The taxonomic validity of the spider family Fonteferreidae Wunderlich, 2023 is re-evaluated in light of new morphological evidence. This araneoid family was originally established based on a single specimen, the male holotype, that lacked both distinctive somatic characters and reproductive structures. Upon re-examination, the holotype specimen was found to be a subadult male, and consequently the diagnostic traits previously cited to justify its familial status are found to be unsubstantiated.

In absence of the necessary empirical evidence, the erection of the family Fonteferreidae, the genus Fonteferrea Wunderlich, 2023, and F. minutissima Wunderlich, 2023 must be rejected. We recommend that Fonteferrea minutissima, the genus Fonteferrea, and the family Fonteferreidae be formally treated as a nomina dubia within Araneae.