Afraflacilla braunsi

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Afraflacilla braunsi
Afraflacilla-sp-nov-whyte-A-Field-Guide-to-Spiders-of-Australia.jpg
A spider of the genus Afraflacilla
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Salticidae
Subfamily: Salticinae
Genus: Afraflacilla
Species:
A. braunsi
Binomial name
Afraflacilla braunsi
Synonyms [1]
  • Afraflacilla tripunctatus(Prószyński, 1989)
  • Icius braunsi(G. W. Peckham & E. G. Peckham, 1903)
  • Pseudicius braunsiiG. W. Peckham & E. G. Peckham, 1903
  • Pseudicius braunsi(G. W. Peckham & E. G. Peckham, 1903)
  • Pseudicius tripunctatusPrószyński, 1989

Afraflacilla braunsi is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla . First found in South Africa, the spider was subsequently observed living in Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, although it is likely to have a wider distribution. First described in 1903 by George and Elizabeth Peckham, it was originally allocated to the genus Pseudicius with the name Pseudicius braunsii. After being renamed Icius braunsi in 1987, it was finally given its current name by Jerzy Prószyński in 2017. Pseudicius tripunctatus, now called Afraflacilla tripunctatus, is a synonym.

Contents

A small to medium-sized spider, Afraflacilla braunsi has a carapace that is between 1.7 and 1.9 mm (0.07 and 0.07 in) long and an abdomen 2.2 and 3.2 mm (0.09 and 0.13 in) long. The carapace is brown, sometimes with yellow sides. The abdomen is light brown or fawn with lighter yellow patches. It has large brown front legs, the remainder generally yellow and less robust. It makes noises by rubbing its forelegs against small hairs under its eyes. The copulatory organs are distinctive for the species. The male has a characteristically bulbous palpal bulb and a single long projection, or apophysis, extending from the palpal tibia. The female has very long and coiled insemination ducts that lead to large spermathecae.

Taxonomy

Afraflacilla braunsi is a jumping spider that was first described by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1903. [1] The holotype was found by Dr Brauns. [2] They allocated it to the genus Pseudicius with the name Pseudicius braunsii. First circumscribed by Eugène Simon in 1885, the genus Pseudicius has a name that is related to two Greek words that can be translated false and honest. [3] In the 1980s, it was noted that there were many similarities between species in Pseudicius and others in the genus Icius . Indeed, Ekaterina Andreeva, Stefania Hęciak and Prószyński had looked to combine the genera in 1984. [4] The two have similar spermathecal structure but work by Wayne Maddison in 1987 demonstrated that they have sufficiently different DNA to be considered different genera. [5] In the specific case of Pseudicius braunsii, however, there was sufficient similarity between the species and those in Icius that Jerzy Prószyński moved the species to that genus with the name Icius braunsi in that year. [5]

In 2016, Prószyński moved the species to the genus Afraflacilla on the basis of the shape of the copulatory organs, and the species finally gained the name by which it is now known. It was one of more than 40 species that were transferred between the two genera at the time. [6] Afraflacilla had in 1993 been reinstated by Marek Zabka, having been absorbed into the genus Pseudicius based on the similarity between the genera. Afraflacilla had originally been circumscribed by Lucien Betland and Jacques Millot in 1941. [7] The genus had been made a member of the tribe Heliophaninae, which is ubiquitous across most continents of the world. [8] Wayne Maddison renamed the monotypic tribe Chrysillini in 2015. [9] [10] The tribe is a member of the clade Saltafresia within the subfamily Salticoida. [10]

In 2017, Prószyński allocated the genus to the Pseudiciines group of genera, which he named after the genus Pseudicius. [11] They can be distinguished from other jumping spiders by their flattened and elongated body and characteristic colour patterns. [12]

Synonyms

Since it was first described, the spider has been synonymised with other species names. [13] In 1989, Prószyński described a new species that he named Pseudicius tripunctatus based on an example found in Saudi Arabia. [14] He noted that it had different copulatory organs to Pseudicius bipunctatus, Pseudicius tamaricis and Pseudicius wadis, but did not give a comparison to P. braunsi. [15] In 1996, Wanda Wesołowska identified an example of the species in Saudi Arabia. Based on similarities between this male and a study of the related Afraflacilla arabica , she named that species as a synonym of P. braunsi. [13] [16]

In 2005, Dmitri Logunov and Mehrdad Zamanpoore separated A. arabica from P. braunsi on the basis of the structure of the spiders' copulatory organs. While recognising difficulties with this, including the fact that they did not have access to a male and female found together, they saw sufficient difference between the examples they did have access to, particularly the female, to make A. arabica its own species again. They also proposed that P. tripunctatus be synonymised with Pseudicius spiniger. [17] Two years later, Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten rejected this relationship with P. spiniger and synonymised P. tripunctatus with P. braunsi on the basis of the male's copulatory organs. [18] In 2017, Prószyński moved P. tripunctatus to the new genus, renaming it Afraflacilla tripunctata respectively. [6] Afraflacilla tripunctatus is recognised as a synonym for Afraflacilla braunsi. [1]

Description

Afraflacilla braunsi is a small to medium-sized slender and long spider with unique physical features. The male of the species has a carapace that is between 1.8 and 1.9 mm (0.07 and 0.07 in) long and typically 1.3 mm (0.05 in) wide. [19] It is flat and elongated with a clearly visible fovea. There are two black patches, long brown bristles and thin grey hairs on the eye field and black rings and white scales around the eyes. [20] There is a white band that crosses the spiders' face, or clypeus. [21] The top is brown, occasionally with orange sides. [22] It has a white band that thins towards the back. The sides have white hairs and the underside of the carapace, or sternum, is light brown. The spider has mouthparts consisting of dark brown chelicerae, light brown labium and pale tips on the otherwise brown maxilae. The spider has stridulatory apparatus that include short hairs situated under the eyes. [23]

The male spider's abdomen is between 2.2 and 2.4 mm (0.09 and 0.09 in) long and 1.1 and 1.2 mm (0.04 and 0.05 in) wide. [19] It is a brown elongated oval. Some examples are light brown with a vague brownish line across the front and a large darker rear area. Others have a brownish pattern with four lighter patches in the middle and eight large lighter patches to the sides. It is covered in long brown and grey hairs. The underside is greyish-yellow. The spinnerets are brown. The legs are generally yellow apart from the first pair, which are larger, more robust and brown. They all have long brown hairs. The pedipalps are also brown. [23] A key feature of the male is the shape of the palpal bulb, which is very bulbous with a large prominent lobe. It has a very long thin embolus that curves out from the bottom of the bulb. The tibia has a single long and sharp projection, or apophysis. [24] [25]

The female is very similar to the male. The carapace is roughly the same size, between 1.7 and 1.9 mm (0.07 and 0.07 in) long and 1.1 and 1.3 mm (0.04 and 0.05 in) wide, and the abdomen is larger, between 2.7 and 3.2 mm (0.11 and 0.13 in) long and typically 1.5 mm (0.06 in) wide. [19] The female carapace looks externally like the male but lighter. In contrast, the abdomen is fawn with a pattern of yellowish patches that is more pronounced than the male. Like the male, the female spider rubs its front legs against a row of fine hairs located under the eyes to create sounds. [23] The rear, towards the spinnerets, is much darker. The pedipalps are yellow and have a dense covering of long white hairs. The copulatory organs are, again, distinctive. There are two pockets located close to each other to the front of the epigyne. The copulatory openings lead to long coiled insemination ducts and unusually large spermathecae, or receptacles. There are also long accessory glands. [26]

Similar spiders

The species is similar to others in the genus, many of which were also previously allocated to the genus Pseudicius. In fact, the similarity between this species, then termed Pseudicius braunsii, and Afraflacilla bamakoi was one of the reasons given for synonymising the two genera. [27] It can be distinguished by its copulatory organs. It differs from Afraflacilla altera in the shape of its palpal bulb and for morphology of its apophysis. [28] It is similar to Afraflacilla asorotica in having a triangular lateral protuberance on its palpal bulb, but it is larger in this species. [29] It differs from Afraflacilla bamakoi in its longer embolus, the structure of the tegular apophysis and the position of the bulge on the tegulum. [27]

Distribution and habitat

Afraflacilla braunsi lives in Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. [1] Although relatively rare, it is thought that the species is widely distributed. [30] The first example was found in Willowmore, which is now in Eastern Cape, South Africa. [2] The first example to be found outside South Africa was discovered in the Repetek Biosphere State Reserve in Turkmenistan in 1980. [22] Logunov, who identified the sample as an example of the species noted the huge gap between these finds and attributed it to the poor understanding of jumping spiders. [27] Other examples were also noted in Asia. The example from Saudi Arabia originally called Pseudisius tripunctatus was a female first found in Ash-Sharaʼiʽ in 1978. [14] The species has been seen across Yemen, thriving in the Dhamar, Sanaa, Taiz Governorates. [31] It has been discovered living near the cities of Sanaa and Taiz, and in the Al Manar District, near a village called Hammam 'Ali, the first example being found in 1997. [20] The first specimen to be seen in the United Arab Emirates was described in 2020. It had been found in Al Wathba Wetland Reserve in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. [30]

Related Research Articles

<i>Afraflacilla</i> Genus of spiders

Afraflacilla is a genus of the spider family Salticidae. Most species are distributed in Eastern to Northern Africa and Australia, with two species found in Europe. This genus was for a time included in the genus Pseudicius, and the boundaries between both genera are disputed. In 2016 Jerzy Prószyński erected the genus Psenuc for some borderline species. The name Afraflacilla is combined from Africa, where most earlier described species were found, and FlacillaSimon, 1901, an obsolete salticid genus now called FlacillulaStrand, 1932. This genus name is in turn derived from Aelia Flaccilla, wife of Roman Emperor Theodosius I. Afraflacilla, Pseudicius, Festucula and Marchena are close relatives and form a monophyletic group.

Mogrus mirabilis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Mogrus that has been found in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen. The spider was first defined in 1994 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius Van Harten. The female has a dark brown carapace that is typically 3.0 mm (0.12 in) and a greyish-white abdomen that is typically 4.7 mm (0.19 in) long. The male is significantly smaller and lighter, with a brownish-yellow carapace that is typically 2.38 mm (0.094 in) long and a yellow abdomen typically 2.5 mm (0.098 in) long. The male is similar to Mogrus antoninus, Mogrus frontosus and Mogrus logunovi, differing in the structure of its copulatory organs, particularly its bent tibial apophysis. The female is almost indistinguishable from Mogrus fulvovittatus, differing only in the structure of the epigyne. It is so similar to Mogrus sinaicus that Dmitri Logunov speculated that the two are the same species, although they have not been formally declared to be synonyms.

<i>Pseudicius gracilis</i> Species of spider

Pseudicius gracilis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Pseudicius that lives in South Africa. The spider was first defined in 2011 by Charles Haddad and Wanda Wesołowska. The spider is small, with an oval carapace between 1.9 and 2.2 mm long and an ovoid abdomen that measures between 2.7 and 3.0 mm long. The male and female are similar in size, shape and colouration. The carapace is dark brown with a black eye field and the abdomen is brown with a pattern of six patches that line the sides and two rounded spots to the back. It is almost indistinguishable from species in the genus Afraflacilla, particularly Afraflacilla elegans, Afraflacilla karinae and Afraflacilla zuluensis. It can be best differentiated by its copulatory organs, particularly the shape of the male tibial apo[apophyses, or appendages and the arrangement of pocket and openings on the female epigyne.

<i>Afraflacilla karinae</i> Species of spider

Afraflacilla karinae is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla that is found in South Africa. The spider was first defined in 2011 by Charles Haddad and Wanda Wesołowska. They originally placed the species in the genus Pseudicius, but Jerzy Prószyński moved it in 2017 to Afraflacilla on the basis of shape of its copulatory organs. Only the male has been described. The spider is brown and medium-sized, with a carapace typically 2.1 mm (0.083 in) long and an abdomen 2.7 mm (0.11 in) long. The spider has brown legs, with longer and thicker front legs. It stridulates using its legs and carapace. Afraflacilla karinae is superficially similar to many other spiders in both the genera Afraflacilla and Pseudicius. It is most like Afraflacilla zuluensis, particularly in its size, external appearance and distribution. The species is best identified by the short blunt dorsal apophysis, or appendage, on its palpal bulb.

<i>Pseudicius adustus</i> Species of spider

Pseudicius adustus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Pseudicius that is endemic to Namibia. The spider was first defined in 2016 by Wanda Wesołowska. The spider is small, with an oval carapace typically 1.8 mm (0.07 in) long and an abdomen 2.6 mm (0.10 in) long. The abdomen is elongated like other members of the genus, but with a yellowish with a pattern of eight brown patches. The female has an ovoid epigyne that has a large deep central depression and short wide insemination ducts. The design of the epigyne helps distinguish it from related species, like Pseudicius solitarius, which has larger receptacles and longer insemination ducts. It can also be most identified by the pattern on its abdomen. The male has not been described.

<i>Afraflacilla roberti</i> Species of spider

Afraflacilla roberti is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla that is found in Kenya. The spider was first defined in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska. She originally placed the species in the genus Pseudicius, but Jerzy Prószyński moved it in 2017 to Afraflacilla on the basis of shape of its copulatory organs. The species is named after Robert Jackson, the collector who found the first example. The spider is small, with a cephalothorax between 1.7 and 1.6 mm long and an abdomen between 1.7 and 2.4 mm long. The female is larger than the male. The carapace is a dark brown elongated oval with a black eye field covered in white hairs. The abdomen is blackish-brown and is marked by two pairs of white patches and a small number of faint chevrons at the very rear. Some female examples have a generally featureless dark abdomen and others have additional small rounded patches at the edge. Some have light stripes to the front of the abdomen. The spider has yellow legs, apart from the front pair, which are brown, longer and stouter. It stridulates using its legs and carapace. Afraflacilla roberti can be differentiated from other species in the genus by its copulatory organs. The male has a long thin tibial apophysis. The female has narrow coiled insemination ducts.

<i>Afraflacilla refulgens</i> Species of spider

Afraflacilla refulgens is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla that lives in Zimbabwe. It lives in loose conglomerations in nests of white papery silk and is particularly visible in September and October. The males will display to each other, but will retreat if they feel threatened. A small spider, it has a dark carapace that is between 1.7 and 2.2 mm long and an abdomen between 1.9 and 3.0 mm long. It has a very dark, nearly black, eye field, although the male has a very thin white line behind the first row of eyes. The legs are generally yellow, apart from the front pair on the male, which are brown, longer and stouter and used for stridulation. The male abdomen is black with a pattern of white spots. The female abdomen is very dark brown, nearly black at the front and yellow to the rear. Both have a distinctive iridescent patch at the back of the abdomen that is recalled in the name of the species, which is a Latin word that can be translated "brilliant". It is this iridescent patch that helps to distinguish the species, although a study of the copulatory organs is needed to confirm its identity. The spider was first described in 2008 by Wanda Wesołowska and Meg Cumming. Originally allocated to the genus Pseudicius, it was moved to its current name by Jerzy Prószyński in 2016.

<i>Afraflacilla altera</i> Species of spider

Afraflacilla altera is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla that lives in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The spider was first described in 2000 by Wanda Wesołowska and originally allocated to the genus Pseudicius. It was moved to its current name by Jerzy Prószyński in 2016. The spider is small, with an elongated carapace and abdomen that are between 1.6 and 17 mm and between 2.1 and 2.6 mm long respectively. The male and female are similar in size and shape, although the female is generally lighter. They have a similar pattern of three white dots on each side of the brown abdomen. The spider is superficially almost indistinguishable from other species in the genus, particularly Afraflacilla karinae and Afraflacilla venustula. It can be best differentiated by its copulatory organs, particularly the shape of the male tibial apophyses, or appendages, and the arrangement of pouches and openings on the female epigyne.

<i>Pseudicius mirus</i> Species of spider

Pseudicius mirus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Pseudicius that is endemic to South Africa. The spider was first defined in 2013 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. It has a genus name that is derived from two Greek words meaning false and honest and a species name that is a Latin word curious. The spider is small, with a brown carapace typically 2.2 mm (0.087 in) long and a greyish-yellow abdomen typically 2.3 mm (0.091 in) long. It has a wide brown band that stretches down the middle of the abdomen and yellow legs. The male has a distinctive hook-like spike on one of this tibial apophyses.The female has not been described.

<i>Mexcala monstrata</i> Species of spider

Mexcala monstrata is a species of jumping spider in the genus Mexcala that lives in Egypt and Yemen. The spider was first defined in 1994 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. It mimics ants, living alongside and preying upon them. It is a medium-sized spider, with a dark brown carapace that range between 2.8 and 3.6 mm long and an orange abdomen between 3.0 and 5.8 mm long. The female is larger than the male. Juveniles have also been found that have a carapace that measures between 2.46 and 2.82 mm in length and an abdomen that is between 2.13 and 2.4 mm in length. The abdomen in all cases has a dark stripe across the middle, although the male's is thinner. The spider is similar to the related Mexcala agilis and Mexcala elegans, but can be distinguished by the wider tibial apophysis on the male palpal bulb and the presence of two heavily sclerotised shallow depressions in the female epigyne.

<i>Evarcha picta</i> Species of spider

Evarcha picta is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that lives in Yemen. The species was first described in 2007 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. The spider is small, with a carapace that measures between 2.4 and 2.6 mm long and an abdomen that is between 2 and 2.4 mm long. It has a distinctive pattern on its abdomen that is recalled in its name, which can be translated "patterned", which includes a series of white dots and chevrons. The pattern is less clear on the female than the male. Otherwise, the spider is generally brown and yellow. The male's legs are brown and yellow while the female's are yellow. There is a characteristic fovea, or indentation, in the centre of the carapace. It has distinctive copulatory organs. The female has a large depression in the centre of its epigyne and narrow insemination ducts that lead to long accessory glands and small spermathecae. The male has a terminal apophysis that makes it look as if its embolus has two branches. The spider's brownish-orange clypeus is also an identifying trait.

<i>Afraflacilla fayda</i> Species of spider

The Fayda Jumper or Afraflacilla fayda is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla that lives in the United Arab Emirates. The spider was first described in 2010 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. The spider is small, with an cephalothorax that is typically 1.8 mm (0.07 in) and an abdomen typically 2.9 mm (0.11 in) long. The female has a distinctive design on its abdomen that includes a pattern of an indistinct light patch in the centre and two light patches to the rear on a greyish-beige background, darker to the end. In comparison, the carapace is a uniform brown with a darker brown eye field. The spider's legs are yellow, the first legs being larger and featuring stridulatory apparatus. It has distinctive copulatory organs. The female has long winding insemination ducts and large spermathecae. The male has not been described.

<i>Afraflacilla mushrif</i> Species of spider

Afraflacilla mushrif is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla that lives in the United Arab Emirates. The spider was first described in 2010 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. It is small, with a cephalothorax typically 2.0 mm (0.08 in) long and an abdomen that is typically 3.9 mm (0.15 in) long. The carapace is reddish-brown with a black eye field marked with two light lines. The abdomen is greyish-brown with a pattern of spots and stripes on top. The spider makes sounds by rubbing its yellow front legs against the area of its carapace under its eyes. It can be distinguished from the related Afraflacilla wadis by its copulatory organs. It has a shorter and wider epigyne, shorter insemination ducts and large unusually-shaped accessory glands than the other species.

<i>Afraflacilla eximia</i> Species of spider

Afraflacilla eximia is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla that lives in Zimbabwe. The spider was first described in 2000 by Wanda Wesołowska and Anthony Russell-Smith. Originally allocated to the genus Pseudicius, it was moved to its current name by Jerzy Prószyński in 2016. It has a specific name that is derived from the Latin word that means "unusual". The spider is small, with a brown carapace that is typically 2.1 mm (0.08 in) long and a russet-brown abdomen that is typically 2.8 mm (0.11 in) long. It has a black eye field and brown legs. It has distinctive copulatory organs that enables it to be distinguished from other species in the genus, particularly the related Afraflacilla braunsi and Afraflacilla roberti. The male has a particularly long tibial apophysis, or projection on its palpal tibia, and longer embolus. The female has not been described.

<i>Pseudicius squamatus</i> Species of spider

Pseudicius squamatus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Pseudicius that lives in South Africa. The spider was first defined in 2013 by Charles Haddad and Wanda Wesołowska. The spider is small, with a cephalothorax that is between 1.4 and 1.7 mm long and an abdomen that measures between 1.2 and 1.8 mm long. It has a dark brown carapace that has three narrow white stripes of hairs running down it and a pattern of a streak that terminates in a series of chevrons on the abdomen. It is the copulatory organs that most enable the spider to be distinguished. The female has a characteristic triangular depression in its epigyne. The male has a series of black scales on the side of the cymbium near to the tip of its embolus. The species is named in recognition of those scales.

<i>Pseudicius sengwaensis</i> Species of spider

Pseudicius sengwaensis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Pseudicius that lives in Zimbabwe. It is found in the Sengwa Wildlife Research Area, after which it is named. The spider was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska and Meg Cumming. The female has not been identified. The species is very similar to Afraflacilla venustula, including the pattern on the abdomen. It is a small spider, with a cephalothorax that is typically 1.8 mm (0.071 in) long and an abdomen typically 2.3 mm (0.091 in) long. It can be most easily distinguished from other members of the genus by its copulatory organs. The palpal bulb has a distinctive irregular shape, as is the embolus base.

<i>Pseudicius flabellus</i> Species of spider

Pseudicius flabellus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Pseudicius that is endemic to South Africa. The spider was first defined in 2013 by Wanda Wesołowska and Charles Haddad. It has a genus name that is derived from two Greek words meaning false and honest and a species name that is a Latin word for fan that recalls the shape of the male's palpal tibial apophysis. The spider is small, with a cephalothorax typically 2.0 mm (0.08 in) long and an abdomen typically 2.3 mm (0.09 in) long. It is generally brown in colour, with an indistinct lighter streak down the middle, and greyish-yellow legs. It is similar to the related Pseudicius dentatus, differing in the shape of its copulatory organs. The male has a distinctive fan-like tibial apophysis and an embolus that has a broad base and narrow tip.The female has not been described.

<i>Pseudicius dentatus</i> Species of spider

Pseudicius dentatus or the Opathe Pseudicius Jumping Spider is a species of jumping spider in the genus Pseudicius that is endemic to South Africa. The spider was first defined in 2013 by Wanda Wesołowska and Charles Haddad. The spider is small, with an oval carapace between 1.7 and 2.0 mm long and an abdomen between 1.7 and 2.9 mm long. The female is larger than the male. The abdomen has a pattern of white spots in pairs, the female having clearer and larger spots than the male. The spider has yellow legs, the front pair being longer and more robust. The spider's copulatory organs are distinctive. The female has two pockets lining the sides of the furrow in the epigyne. The male has a broader embolus than the otherwise similar Psenuc dependens. It can also be distinguished by its serrated tibial apophysis that is recalled in its specific name, which can be translated "toothed".

<i>Afraflacilla arabica</i> Species of spider

Afraflacilla arabica is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla that lives in Afghanistan, Iran and Yemen. The spider was first described in 1994 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. The spider is small to medium-sized, with an elongated brown carapace that is between 1.7 and 1.85 long and an oval greyish-brown abdomen between 2.25 and 3.0 mm long. The female and male are similar externally, differing mainly in the male's larger and thicker brown front legs that mount stridulatory apparatus. The remainder of the legs are smaller and yellow. The female is also slightly lighter. The spiders have distinctive copulatory organs. The male has a long embolus extending around the palpal bulb. The female has wide insemination ducts, small spermathecae and large accessory glands.

<i>Pseudicius africanus</i> Species of spider

Pseudicius africanus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Pseudicius that lives in Lesotho and South Africa. The spider was first defined in 1903 by George and Elizabeth Peckham. It is small, with an oval cephalothorax measuring between 2 and 2.5 mm in length and an ovoid abdomen that is between 2.2 and 2.5 mm in length. The female is smaller than the male. Otherwise, they are similar, generally dark brown but with white stripes, made of hairs, down the middle and the along the sides of the top of both the carapace and abdomen. The underside of the abdomen differs in being grey and marked by two lighter lines. The female's legs are also lighter, and the front legs on the male are stouter than all the others. The pattern on the abdomen helps distinguish the spider from the related Pseudicius maculatus. It also has distinctive copulatory organs. The male has a shorter curved embolus and a characteristic tooth near the base of the tibial apophysis, or spike on the palpal tibia. The female has copulatory openings are on the edges of its epigyne.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 World Spider Catalog (2017). "Afraflacilla braunsi (G. W. Peckham & E. G. Peckham, 1903)". World Spider Catalog. 23.0. Bern: Natural History Museum. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 Peckham & Peckham 1903, p. 212.
  3. ↑ Fernández-Rubio 2013, p. 129.
  4. ↑ Andreeva, Hęciak & Prószyński 1984, p. 349.
  5. 1 2 Maddison, Bodner & Needham 2008, p. 56.
  6. 1 2 Prószyński 2017, p. 43.
  7. ↑ Wesołowska & van Harten 1994, p. 7.
  8. ↑ Maddison & Hedin 2003, p. 541.
  9. ↑ Maddison 2015, pp. 247, 252.
  10. 1 2 Maddison 2015, p. 278.
  11. ↑ Prószyński 2017, p. 36.
  12. ↑ Prószyński 2017, p. 42.
  13. 1 2 Wesołowska & van Harten 2007, p. 190.
  14. 1 2 Prószyński 1989, p. 53.
  15. ↑ Prószyński 1989, p. 54.
  16. ↑ Wesołowska 1996, p. 38.
  17. ↑ Logunov & Zamanpoore 2005, p. 228.
  18. ↑ Wesołowska & van Harten 2007, p. 253.
  19. 1 2 3 Wesołowska & van Harten 2007, p. 252.
  20. 1 2 Wesołowska & van Harten 2007, p. 248.
  21. ↑ Peckham & Peckham 1903, p. 211.
  22. 1 2 Logunov 1995, p. 240.
  23. 1 2 3 Wesołowska & van Harten 2007, p. 250.
  24. ↑ Logunov 1995, p. 241.
  25. ↑ Prószyński 1987, p. 52.
  26. ↑ Wesołowska & van Harten 2007, p. 251.
  27. 1 2 3 Logunov 1995, p. 242.
  28. ↑ Wesołowska 2000, p. 169.
  29. ↑ Prószyński 1993, p. 51.
  30. 1 2 Wesołowska & van Harten 2020, p. 608.
  31. ↑ Wesołowska & van Harten 2007, p. 266.

Bibliography

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