Unraveling the monotypy of Vesubia Simon, 1909 and its relationships to Alopecosa Simon, 1885 (Araneae, Lycosidae)

The genus Vesubia Simon, 1909 currently comprises two species, Vesubia jugorum (Simon, 1881) from the French and Italian SW Alps and V. caduca (Karsch, 1880) from Maoui, Hawaii. The position of V. caduca has been previously questioned, but both species are still clssified in the genus. In this paper we redescribe V. jugorum, update the diagnosis of the genus after examination of the type specimens and propose the transference of V. caduca to Hogna Simon, 1885 leading to the genus Vesubia being solely represented by V. jugorum, thus monotypic. In addition, we explore the relationships of the genus within a broader phylogenetic context in which Vesubia emerges in a clade together with Alopecosa Simon, 1885 representatives.