Evarcha ignea

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Evarcha ignea
Vampire Spider Evarcha ignea.jpg
Evarcha ignea spotted in 2014 in South Africa
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: Evarcha
Species:
E. ignea
Binomial name
Evarcha ignea
Wesołowska & Cumming, 2008
Synonyms
  • Evawes ignea(Wesołowska & Cumming, 2008)

Evarcha ignea is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that is endemic to Africa. The male spider's face, or clypeus, is covered in bright scarlet scale-like hairs, which gives the spider its species name, which can be translated "fiery". It is ground-dwelling spider, living in leaf litter, but has also been observed living on the walls of houses. First discovered living in Zimbabwe, it has been found to have a wide distribution that also includes Nigeria and South Africa. A small spider, it has a rounded cephalothorax that is usually between 1.9 and 2.5 mm (0.07 and 0.10 in) long and an ovoid abdomen that is between 1.6 and 2.2 mm (0.06 and 0.09 in) long. The female is slightly larger than the male. The male has a mostly dark brown carapace and russet-brown abdomen, while the female's carapace is whitish-yellow and abdomen creamy. To distinguish this species from others in the genus, it is necessary to compare their copulatory organs. The male Evarcha ignea has a distinctive small notch on the spike, or apophysis on its reproductive organs. The female has shorter insemination ducts than other species, and spermathecae that have a large first chamber. The male of species was first described in 2008 by Wanda Wesołowska and Meg Cumming and the female described the year after.

Contents

Taxonomy

Evarcha ignea is a species of jumping spider that was first described by Wanda Wesołowska and Meg Cumming in 2008. Initially only the male was described; a description of the female was first published by Wesołowska and Charles Haddad in 2009. [1] [2] [3] They allocated it to the genus Evarcha , first circumscribed by Eugène Simon in 1902. [4] The genus is one of the largest, with members found on four continents. [5] The species is named for a Latin word that can be translated "fiery", and points to the spider's face, or clypeus. [6]

In 1976, Jerzy Prószyński placed the genus was placed in the subfamily Pelleninae, along with the genera Bianor and Pellenes . [7] In Wayne Maddison's 2015 study of spider phylogenetic classification, the genus Evarcha was moved to the subtribe Plexippina. [8] This is a member of the tribe Plexippini, in the subclade Simonida in the clade Saltafresia. [9] In the following year, Prószyński added the genus to a group of genera named Evarchines, named after the genus, along with Hasarinella and Nigorella based on similarities in the spiders' copulatory organs. [10]

Prószyński placed the spider in a new genus Evawes in 2018 based on its copulatory organs and the way that they differ from other Evarcha spiders. The new genus name is a combination of Evacha and "Wesołowska". [11] This designation is not widely accepted and the species remains in the Evarcha genus in the World Spider Catalog. [1] [12]

Description

Evarcha ignea is a small spider. [13] The spider's body is divided into two main parts: a rectangular, slightly rounded cephalothorax and larger ovoid abdomen that is narrower to the rear. [14] The male has a carapace, the hard upper part of the cephalothorax, [15] that is between 1.9 and 2.3 mm (0.07 and 0.09 in) long and 1.5 and 1.8 mm (0.06 and 0.07 in) wide. It is generally dark brown with a brown streak down the middle and a thin black line at the edges. The eye field is black. [13] There is a patch of white hairs at the back of the eye field, with more scattered on the carapace, and long brown hairs close to the eyes themselves. There are orange scales near some of the eyes. The underside of the cephalothorax, or sternum, is yellow, with a tint of grey. The clypeus is high and covered in bright scarlet scale-like hairs, the brightness of which give the spider its name. The spider's mouthparts, including the labium, are generally brown. The chelicerae have a single tooth. [16]

The male spider's abdomen is between 1.6 and 2.2 mm (0.06 and 0.09 in) long and 1.1 and 1.4 mm (0.04 and 0.06 in) wide. [13] It is russet-coloured on top with a yellowish pattern of pale chevrons at the back. A covering of long dark hairs adorns the surface, which are longer and denser to the front edge. On some individuals, the abdomen has a light patch, and in others it had a small delicate orange scutum. The underside is usually grey, but in some individuals it is yellow with a pattern of dark dots making three lines. The spinnerets are yellowish-grey. It has legs that are mainly brown, although the tarsi are yellow and there are lighter rings visible on some of the joints. [16] The front legs are longer than the others. The legs have brown hairs and long spines. The pedipalps, sensory organs near the mouth, are dark. [17]

The male's copulatory organs are distinctive. The palpal tibia has a wide protrusion, or tibial apophysis, that has an end with a small notch which accentuates its sharp tip. The palpal bulb is rhomboid with a large bulbous protrusion at its base. There is a very thin embolus emanating from near the top of the bulb that hugs the top of the bulb. The cymbium is rather large. [18] [19] It is the shape of the copulatory organs that help distinguish the spider from others in the genus. For example, the related Evarcha bakorensis has a similar clypeus, but its tibial apophysis is blunt and lacks the small notch that is characteristic of this species. Conversely, both Evarcha acuta and Evarcha amanzi have a larger notch. [6] [20]

The female is slightly larger in comparison to the male, with a cephalothorax that is typically 2.5 mm (0.10 in) long, and 1.9 mm (0.07 in) wide and an ovoid abdomen that is 2.2 mm (0.09 in) in length and 1.6 mm (0.06 in) in width. It is similar in proportion but generally paler than the male. The carapace is whitish-yellow and the eye field is grey. The pattern consists of a large light chevron on the rear of the eye field and a thin belt formed of brown hairs that follows the border around the top and the sides. There are black rings round the eyes themselves, some of which are surrounded by white hairs. The underside is light and without a pattern. The clypeus is low and yellow, less bright than the male's. The mouthparts, including the chelicerae, are also lighter than the male's. The abdomen is creamy with a covering of brown hairs. [21]

The female's epigyne has copulatory openings to the rear; it is similar to the related Evarcha arabica and Evarcha certa , particularly in its internal structure. However, the insemination ducts are small while spermathecae's first chamber is larger. [21]

Distribution and habitat

Evarcha spiders live across the world, although those found in North America may be accidental migrants. [22] Evarcha ignea is endemic to Africa. [23] It lives in Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe. [1] The male holotype was discovered in a house in Zimbabwe in 1999. [6] Retrospectively, it was also recognised as living in Nigeria, the first instance being in Cross River State in 1984, when two males were seen, one in the village of Akim Akim and another in Calabar. [24] The first example to be identified in South Africa was found in the Ndumo Game Reserve in 2005. [16] Up to this point, all the spiders discovered had been male. The first female was found in Tembe Elephant Park in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) east of the first South African find. A male was found at the same time, confirming their identity. [21] [25]

The spider lives in a range of environments. It is ground-dwelling, and often lives in leaf litter found on the floor of forests and savanna. [26] It seems to thrive in forests of Senegalia nigrescens trees. The spider has also been found living in the bark of Commiphora harveyi trees. [16] The species also seems to live in areas of human habitation. The holotype was found climbing a kitchen wall and may have lived on a farm. [17] Its conservation status is considered of least concern. [23]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "Evarcha ignea Wesolowska & Cumming, 2008". World Spider Catalog. 18.0. Bern: Natural History Museum. 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  2. Wesołowska & Cumming 2008, p. 167.
  3. Wesołowska & Haddad 2009, p. 13.
  4. Wesołowska & Haddad 2009, p. 28.
  5. Prószyński 2018, p. 132.
  6. 1 2 3 Wesołowska & Cumming 2008, p. 175.
  7. Maddison & Hedin 2003, p. 540.
  8. Maddison 2015, p. 250.
  9. Maddison 2015, pp. 246, 280.
  10. Prószyński 2017, p. 51.
  11. Prószyński 2018, p. 153.
  12. Kropf et al. 2019, p. 445.
  13. 1 2 3 Wesołowska & Haddad 2009, p. 30.
  14. Haddad & Wesołowska 2013, p. 498.
  15. Dippenaar-Schoeman 2014, p. 14.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Wesołowska & Haddad 2009, p. 32.
  17. 1 2 Wesołowska & Cumming 2008, p. 176.
  18. Wesołowska & Haddad 2009, p. 31.
  19. Prószyński 2018, p. 155.
  20. Wesołowska & Haddad 2018, p. 886.
  21. 1 2 3 Haddad & Wesołowska 2013, p. 471.
  22. Maddison & Hedin 2003, p. 543.
  23. 1 2 Dippenaar-Schoeman, Foord & Haddad 2021, p. 13.
  24. Wesołowska & Edwards 2012, p. 745.
  25. Haddad & Wesołowska 2013, p. 469.
  26. Haddad & Wesołowska 2013, p. 472.

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

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

Evarcha vittula, the White-banded Evarcha Jumping Spider, is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that lives in South Africa. The species was first described in 2011 by Charles Haddad and Wanda Wesołowska. The spider is small, with a carapace measuring between 2.4 and 3.2 mm long and an abdomen between 2.5 and 3.6 mm long. There is a delicate scutum on the abdomen. The spider is generally dark brown but there is an orange streak down the middle of the upper surface of both the abdomen and carapace. This streak helps distinguish the spider from others in the genus. It can also be identified by its copulatory organs. The male has a characteristic short straight embolus. The female has not been described.

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

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

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

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

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

Evarcha pinguis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that lives in Ethiopia. The species was first described in 2008 by Wanda Wesołowska and Beata Tomasiewicz. The spider is larger than others in the genus, with a cephalothorax measuring 3.4 mm (0.13 in) long and an abdomen between 4.7 mm (0.19 in) long. The spider is dark brown and hairy apart from a lighter streak on the back of the carapace and a pattern of light chevrons down the back of the abdomen. The legs are brown, the front four being thicker and shorter than the rest. The copulatory organs are distinctive. The female has marked sclerotization to the edge of its epigyne. The male has not been described.

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

Evarcha russellsmithi is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that lives in Ethiopia. The species was first described in 2008 by Wanda Wesołowska and Beata Tomasiewicz. The spider is small to medium-sized, with a cephalothorax measuring typically 2.2 mm (0.09 in) long and an abdomen 1.8 mm (0.07 in) long. The carapace is yellowish with dark rings around the spider's eyes. The abdomen is brown with an indistinct pattern of spots and lines. The legs are generally brown. The copulatory organs are distinctive. The male has a projection, or apophysis, from the palpal tibia that has a series of tooth-like features, and a very short embolus that is attached to another very small apophysis. The female has multi-chambered spermathecae and distinctive accessory glands.

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

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

Evarcha idanrensis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that lives in Nigeria. It is named after Idanre Hill in Ondo State, where it was first found. The species was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska and Anthony Russell-Smith. The spider is hard to distinguish from other spiders in the genus. It has a cephalothorax measuring between 2.1 and 2.5 mm long and an abdomen between 2.2 and 3.5 mm long. It has a yellow carapace with a black eye field and light brown legs. The abdomen is brownish-grey with an indistinct pattern on its back. Apart from the size of the epigyne, the female's copulatory organs are similar to other members of the genus. The male has not been described.

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

Evarcha arabica 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 2.1 and 2.7 mm long and an abdomen that is between 1.8 and 3.2 mm long. The female is generally larger and lighter than the male. The spider's eye field is darker. The top of the male abdomen is blackish-brown with a pattern of white dots and a large yellowish-orange belt. The top of the female abdomen has similar white dots but is mainly yellow with small darker dots. The male's legs are brown and yellow while the female's are orange to yellow. It has distinctive copulatory organs. The female has accessory glands near the copulatory openings and simple bean-like spermathecae. The male has a thin embolus and a tibial apophysis that has a forked tip.

<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>Evarcha seyun</i> Species of spider

Evarcha seyun is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that is endemic to the Arabian Peninsula. It seems to be common across many of the Emirates of the United Arab Emirates and the Al Mahrah and Hadramaut Governorates of Yemen. The species was first described in 2007 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. The spider is small, with a cephalothorax that measures between 2.2 and 2.6 mm long and an abdomen that is between 2 and 2.7 mm long. The female is hairier than the male. The female spider is generally brown with a darker eye field, while the male is dark brown with a black eye field. Both have legs that are black, orange and yellow. They can be distinguished from the closely-related Evarcha praeclara by the patterns on their body, including a semi-lunar marking in the middle of its carapace and a light stripe on its abdomen. The species also has distinctive copulatory organs. The female has a characteristic depression in the middle of its epigyne and narrow insemination ducts that lead to complex spermathecae. The male has a spade-like apophysis that accompanies its embolus and a short blunt tibial apophysis.

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

Evarcha prosimilis is a species of jumping spider that lives in Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. It is ground-dwelling spider, thriving in leaf litter, but has also been observed living on the walls of houses and on grassy tussocks. More commonly found between November and April, the spider builds a nest of tightly-woven silk and will hunt flies and spiders, some of which are larger than itself. It is a small spider, with a carapace that ranges in length between 2.1 and 2.4 mm and an abdomen that is between 1.7 and 3.2 mm long. The female has a larger abdomen than the male and has a mottled pattern on its top consisting of whitish and brown patches or greyish-brown patches on a yellowish background. The species was first described in 2008 by Wanda Wesołowska and Meg Cumming, although examples had been found as early as 1938.

Hasarinella distincta is a species of jumping spider in the genus Hasarinella that lives in South Africa. The species was first described in 2013 by Charles R. Haddad and Wanda Wesołowska. With a dark brown oval cephalothorax] that is between 3.4 and 3.8 mm long and a brown ovoid abdomen that has a length between 3.7 and 4.5 mm. The male has a marking of three white streaks, one in the middle and two along the edges, on the carapace. The female does not. It is the copulatory organs that enable the species to be differentiated from the related Hasarinella berlandi, particularly the wider seminal ducts in the female and the oval palpal bulb in the male. It lives in both grassland and woodland.

Evarcha denticulata is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that is endemic to South Africa. It is ground-dwelling spider, thriving in the fynbos found in the Eastern Cape. The spider is small, with a rounded cephalothorax that is usually between 2.1 and 2.5 mm long and an ovoid abdomen that is between 1.8 and 3.4 mm long. The female has a larger abdomen than the male. It is also lighter, with a pattern of grey patches visible on its yellow background. The male is generally blackish-brown. Both have three lines of white hairs on the spider's cheeks. The male Evarcha denticulata has a distinctive tooth on the spike, or apophysis, that emanates from its palpal tibia, which is recalled in the specific name. The species was first described in 2013 by Wanda Wesołowska and Charles Hadded.