Phintella africana
Phintella africana is a species of jumping spider in the genus Phintella that lives in Ethiopia. The female of the species was first described in 2008 by Wanda Wesołowska and Beata Tomasiewicz. The spider, which is named after the continent where it was found, is small and brown, with a mottled brown and yellow abdomen 2.4 mm (0.094 in) long. It lives in grasslands.
| Phintella africana | |
|---|---|
 | |
| The related male Phintella versicolor | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Salticidae |
| Subfamily: | Salticinae |
| Genus: | Phintella |
| Species: | P. africana |
| Binomial name | |
| Phintella africana Wesołowska & Tomasiewicz, 2008 | |
Taxonomy
Phintella africana is a jumping spider that was first identified in 2008 by Wanda Wesołowska and Beata Tomasiewicz.[1] The spider was named after Africa, the continent in which it was first found.[2] It is one of over 500 species identified by Wesołowska during her career.[3] It was allocated to the genus Phintella, first raised in 1906 by Embrik Strand and W. Bösenberg. The genus name derives from the genus Phintia, which it resembles.[4] The genus Phintia was itself renamed Phintodes, which was subsequently absorbed into Tylogonus.[5] There are similarities between spiders within genus Phintella and those in Chira, Chrysilla, Euophrys, Icius, Jotus and Telamonia.[6] Genetic analysis confirms that it is related to the genera Helvetia and Menemerus and is classified in the tribe Chrysillini.[7][8]
Description
The spider was described based on a specimen found by Anthony Russell-Smith between 1982 and 1988.[9] Only the female has so far been described.[1] The species differs from other members of the genus by the fact that the copulatory openings are at the rear edge of the epigyne. Otherwise, it is typical of the genus. The spider has a brown carapace with black rings around its eyes. The clypeus is similarly brown. The abdomen is oval and mottled yellow and brown, and is 2.4 mm (0.094 in) long. The cephalothorax is smaller, measuring 1.5 mm (0.059 in) in length. The epigyne is rounded and has a single pocket.[2]
Distribution
The spider has been found in the Sidamo Province of Ethiopia, in grasslands.[2]
References
Citations
- World Spider Catalog (2017). "Phintella africana Wesolowska & Tomasiewicz, 2008". World Spider Catalog. 18.0. Bern: Natural History Museum. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
- Wesołowska & Tomasiewicz 2008, p. 37.
- Wiśniewski 2020, p. 6.
- Bösenberg & Strand 1906, p. 333.
- Cameron & Wijesinghe 1993, p. 16.
- Prószyński 1983, p. 43.
- Maddison & Hedin 2003, p. 541.
- Maddison 2015, p. 231.
- Wesołowska & Tomasiewicz 2008, p. 3.
Bibliography
- Bösenberg, W.; Strand, Embrik (1906). "Japanische Spinnen" [Japanese Spiders]. Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft. 30: 93–422.
- Cameron, H. D.; Wijesinghe, D. P. (1993). "Simon's Keys to the Salticid Groups". Peckhamia. 3 (1): 1–26.
- Maddison, Wayne P.; Hedin, Marshal C. (2003). "Jumping spider phylogeny (Araneae: Salticidae)". Invertebrate Systematics. 17 (4): 529–549.
- Maddison, Wayne P. (2015). "A phylogenetic classification of jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae)". The Journal of Arachnology. 43 (3): 231–292. doi:10.1636/arac-43-03-231-292. S2CID 85680279.
- Prószyński, Jerzy (1983). "Position of genus Phintella (Araneae: Salticidae)". Acta Arachnologica. 31 (2): 43–48.
- Wesołowska, Wanda; Tomasiewicz, B. (2008). "New species and records of Ethiopian jumping spiders (Araneae, Salticidae)". Journal of Afrotropical Zoology. 4: 3–59.
- Wiśniewski, Konrad (2020). "Over 40 years with jumping spiders: on the 70th birthday of Wanda Wesołowska". Zootaxa. 4899 (1): 5–14. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4899.1.3.