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.
Pseudicius is a genus of the jumping spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1885. The name is combined of Greek pseudo "false" and the salticid genus name Icius. The small genus Wesolowskana should possibly be included in this genus. There is some dispute whether Afraflacilla is a distinct genus or should be included in Pseudicius. Festucula and Marchena are other close relatives, these genera form a monophyletic group.
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.
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.
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.
Afraflacilla refulgens is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla that lives in Zimbabwe. 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. The spider is small, with 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 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 legs are generally yellow, apart from the front pair on the male, which are brown, longer and stouter and used for stridulation.
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.
Afraflacilla venustula is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla that lives in South Africa. The spider was first described in 2009 by Wanda Wesołowska and Charles Haddad. Originally allocated to the genus Pseudicius, it was moved to its current name by Jerzy Prószyński in 2016. The spider is small, with a carapace that is between 1.7 and 2.0 mm long and an abdomen between 1.8 and 2.5 mm long. The male is larger than the female. The carapace is light brown, although some males are darker, with a black eye field. The male abdomen is black with a pattern of four pairs of white spots, like Pseudicius sengwaensis. The female abdomen is yellowish with four brown spots. The legs are generally yellow, apart from the front pair on the male, which are brown, longer and stouter. The male also has a distinctive bulbous shape to its palpal bulb and a longer embolus than related species.
Evarcha ignea is a jumping spider species in the genus Evarcha that lives in Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The male was first described in 2008 and the female in 2013.
Evarcha prosimilis is a jumping spider that lives in Zimbabwe.
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.
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.
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. 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.
Afraflacilla zuluensis is a jumping spider species in the genus Afraflacilla that lives in South Africa. It was first described in 2013.
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.
Afraflacilla imitator is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla that lives in South Africa. The spider was first described in 2013 by Wanda Wesołowska and Charles Haddad. Originally allocated to the genus Pseudicius, it was moved to its current name by Jerzy Prószyński in 2016. The spider is small to medjum-sized, with a carapace that is between 1.6 and 2.0 long and an abdomen between 1.9 and 3.6 mm long. The female is larger than the male, with a lighter carapace and an abdominal pattern that eight white spots in pairs on a brown background compared to the six paired white spots on a black background that identifies the male. Both have a black eye field. The legs are generally yellow, apart from the front pair on the male, which are brown, longer and stouter. The male has a long embolus that curves over its palpal bulb. The female has an oval epigyne that has wide insemination ducts and long accessory glands. The spiders are very similar to the related Afraflacilla venustula, from which they get their name, but may be distinguished by a study of their copulatory organs.
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.
Langelurillus ignorabilis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Langelurillus that lives in Zimbabwe. The female was first described in 2008 by Wanda Wesołowska and Meg Cumming based on an example discovered with ten spiderlings. The male has not been identified. The spider is small with a dark brown carapace 2.7 mm (0.11 in) long and a brownish-grey abdomen 3.0 mm (0.12 in) long. It has short yellow legs. The species is similar to others in its genus and also member of the genus Langona, but differs in the design of the copulatory organs. For example, the seminal ducts are longer and have more loops than Langona bethae.
Thyenula arcana is a jumping spider species that lives in Zimbabwe. The female was described in 2008. Originally named Tularosa arcana, it was moved to the genus Thyenula in 2014.
Phlegra procera is a jumping spider species in the genus Phlegra that lives in Zimbabwe.
