| Isela okuncana | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Mysmenidae |
| Genus: | Isela |
| Species: | I. okuncana |
| Binomial name | |
| Isela okuncana Griswold, 1985 | |
Isela okuncana is a species of true spider in the family Mysmenidae. The species was described in 1985 by Charles E. Griswold. [1] [2]
The species name is derived from the Zulu word okuncane, meaning something small. [2]
The species can be recognized by the general characteristics of the genus and by the form of the male and female genitalia. [2]
The male’s carapace is yellow-brown to grey, darker around the anterior eye row and along the lateral margin, with dark mottled lines radiating from the thoracic fovea. The abdomen is mottled dark grey with pale marks and spots, with additional pale streaks along the sides. The carapace has sparse setae, with a gently sloping thoracic declivity. The legs are yellow-brown with grey annuli, and the palpus features an elongate tibia and a circular palpal bulb. The male lacks any prominent leg ornamentation beyond a few clasping spines. [2]
The female is similar to the male. The carapace and abdomen have similar coloration and markings. The legs follow the same pattern as the male, though the female lacks clasping spines on leg I. The female's abdomen is slightly more rounded, and the epigynum is characterized by distinct central and lateral lobes. [2]
Isela okuncana was collected near the Tugela River in Natal, South Africa, in a hot, seasonally dry area known as Valley Bushveld. Specimens were taken from the webs of Allothele teretis , typically built in cool, shaded locations such as tree trunks and holes in stream banks. The spiders move freely within the host’s web and feed on prey fragments left by the host. They were observed in the webs of adult Allothele teretis with an average of about seven spiders per web. [2]
The holotype male was collected at Mhlopeni Nature Reserve, Natal, South Africa, at an elevation of 900 m (2,950 ft). Paratypes are held in the Natal Museum and other collections. [2]
Mating takes place in the host's web, with males and females hanging inverted and facing each other during copulation. Females carry their nearly spherical eggsac attached to their spinnerets within the host's web. [2]
This glossary describes the terms used in formal descriptions of spiders; where applicable these terms are used in describing other arachnids.
Progradungula otwayensis, commonly known as the odd-clawed spider, is a species of cribellate spider endemic to the Great Otway National Park of Victoria, Australia. It is one of only two species in the gradungulid genus Progradungula.
Ero cambridgei is a pirate spider species with Palearctic distribution. It is notably found in Lithuania.
Metaltella simoni is a species of spider, native to South America, and introduced into the United States and Canada.
Trochosa aquatica is a species of wolf spider found in eastern Asia which was first described in 1985.
Evarcha bakorensis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that lives in Guinea, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. It thrives in savanna grasslands. The species was first described in 2002 by Christine Rollard and Wanda Wesołowska. The spider is small, with a cephalothorax measuring between 1.6 and 1.8 mm long and an abdomen that is between 1.3 and 1.9 mm long. The female is larger than the male. The cephalothorax has a light brown topside, or carapace, yellow underside, or sternum, and darker sides. The abdomen is greyish-brown or brown and has a lighter pattern on it. The spider has generally brown legs. It has distinctive copulatory organs. The female has a large membrane in the centre of its epigyne while the male has a straight and blunt tibial apophysis, or projection on its palpal tibia.
Evarcha striolata is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that lives in South Africa. The species was first described in 2009 by Wanda Wesołowska and Charles Haddad. The spider lives in savanna and forests. Medium-sized, the spider has a dark orange or yellowish-orange carapace, the top side of its cephalothorax, measuring between 2.1 and 2.6 mm in length and an abdomen that is between 2 and 2.5 mm long. The male has a pattern of dark stripes on the top of its abdomen, which is recalled in the species name. The female is generally lighter and has indistinct lines formed of dots on both the top and bottom of its abdomen. The underside of cephalothorax, or sternum, is dark yellow in both the female and male. It can be distinguished from other species in the genus by its copulatory organs, particularly the shape of the male's palpal bulb and the female spermathecae. These are also more similar to Asian and Australian spiders in the genus, which has led Jerzy Prószyński to suggest that it should be a member of a different genus named Evacin.
Tanzania mkomaziensis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Tanzania that lives in Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania. First described in 2000 by Wanda Wesołowska and Anthony Russell-Smith, it is a very small spider with a carapace between 0.7 and 1.1 mm long and an abdomen between 0.8 and 1.4 mm long. The male spider's carapace is generally yellowish-orange while the female is brown. All have a darker eye field. The spider's abdomen varies, with some being a plain dark grey, greyish or olive-grey and others, particularly those found in Ethiopia, having a dark mosaic pattern. The spider's legs are often black, but some specimen have paler legs and others have yellow legs with black rings. Its pedipalps are yellow and its spinnerets are grey. The spider has distinctive copulatory organs, particularly the short coiled embolus on the male and the sclerotized fringes on the female epigyne.
Menemerus tropicus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Menemerus that lives in Kenya and Uganda near Lake Victoria. The spider lives in large nest complexes that can stretch between trees in mangrove savannas. The species was first described in 2007 by Wanda Wesołowska, one of over 500 descriptions she has written during her lifetime. It is a small spider, with a flattened cephalothorax that is between 1.7 and 2.1 mm and a rounded abdomen between 1.7 and 2.9 mm long. The female is larger than the male and has a darker abdomen and lighter carapace. The male abdomen has a pattern that includes a brown streak and silver spots. The female has a yellowish streak, in some examples, with yellow patches. The legs are brown and yellow. The copulatory organs help distinguish the species from others in the genus. The male has a very short double embolus and very large retrolateral apophysis. The female has a narrower pocket in its epigyne, narrow insemination ducts and small spherical spermathecae.
Menemerus cummingorum is a species of jumping spider in the genus Menemerus that lives in Zimbabwe. The species was first described in 2007 by Wanda Wesołowska, one of over 500 descriptions she has written during her lifetime. It is medium-sized spider, with a flattened cephalothorax that is between 2.2 and 2.4 mm and an oval abdomen between 2.3 and 2.9 mm long. The female has a larger abdomen than the male. It is also dark brown and marked with a large yellow leaf-shaped pattern compared to the yellowish-grey of the male. Both the male and female have a dark brown carapace, with a pattern of white streaks, a line and five patches, although the pattern is more pronounced on the male. It has yellow legs, the foremost pair being darker and having brown patches. It is similar to the related Menemerus minshullae, but larger.
Langelurillus furcatus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Langelurillus that lives in Kenya and Tanzania. It was first described in 2000 by Wanda Wesołowska and Anthony Russell-Smith. The spider is small, with a carapace that is between 1.8 and 2.4 mm long and an abdomen between 1.7 and 2.7 mm long. The male is smaller than the female. It has a dark brown carapace, although the female is lighter, that has no markings. The female abdomen is dark russet with a pattern of black and white patches and the male abdomen is dark fawn with an indistinct light pattern. It has orange legs with dark patches, the female also having dark rings on its legs. The spider is similar to other related species, particularly Langelurillus alboguttatus, but can be distinguished by its two tibial apophysis, which make a V-shape. The epigyne has a deep depression that is plugged with a waxy secretion.
Langelurillus manifestus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Langelurillus that lives in Tanzania. It was first described in 2000 by Wanda Wesołowska and Anthony Russell-Smith. The spider is small, with a carapace that is between 2.1 and 2.5 mm long and an abdomen between 2.0 and 2.2 mm long. The female carapace is lighter than the male and has a pattern of irregular patches, which may also be found in some examples of the female abdomen. The male abdomen is lighter and has a fawn streak down the middle. The legs are brown, the female having dark rings on its legs. It is similar to other related species, particularly Langelurillus rufus, but can be distinguished by the male's larger size and lighter coloration. The female has an oval epigyne that leads to seminal ducts that are shorter than Langelurillus rufus but longer than Langelurillus squamiger.
Langelurillus orbicularis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Langelurillus that lives in Zimbabwe. The species was first described in 2008 by Wanda Wesołowska and Meg Cumming. The spider is small with a distinctively rounded grey abdomen between 1.4 and 3.6 mm long and a dark brown carapace between 1.7 and 2.4 mm long. The species is named for the rounded abdomen. The female is larger than the male and has a mottled abdomen that has a ladder-like pattern made up of six spots. It is similar to others in its genus, but differs in the design of the copulatory organs. The male has a distinctive tibial apophysis made up of three horns and the female has wide seminal ducts that make a characteristic shape.
Euophrys cochlea is a species of jumping spider in the genus Euophrys that is endemic to South Africa. The species was first described in 2014 by Wanda Wesołowska, Galina Azarkina and Anthony Russell-Smith. It is a medium-sized brown spider, with a body that consists of a cephalothorax that is between 1.7 and 2.4 mm long and an abdomen between 1.7 and 2.9 mm (0.11 in) long. The cephalothorax has a dark brown carapace, or topside. The spider's eye field is darker, with black rings around the eyes but marked with a white patch. The female has a yellowish-brown abdomen while the male is a darker brown. While the female has light brown to yellow legs, the male's legs whitish-yellow or yellowish-orange. The spider is most easily differentiated from others species in the genus by its screw-like embolus, part of the male's copulatory organs. This is recalled in the species name, the Latin word for screw.
Arctosa perita, also known as the sand bear spider, is a species of wolf spider in the family Lycosidae. They are native to Europe, North Africa, Turkey, the Caucasus, and Russia, however they have also been introduced into Canada. They live on dry, sandy soils or coastal dunes, where they create their burrows.
Cladomelea akermani is a species of spider in the orb-weaver spider family Araneidae, found in South Africa. Cladomelea species, including C. akermani, are "bolas spiders" – adult females capture their prey by using a sticky drop on the end of a single line which they swing, usually catching male moths attracted by the release of an analogue of the attractant sex pheromone produced by the female moth. Juvenile and adult male bolas spiders do not use a bolas, catching prey with their legs alone.
Diphya wesolowskae is a species of long-jawed orb weaver in the genus Diphya that lives in South Africa. First described in 2020 by Mikhail Omelko, Yuri Marusik and Robin Lyle, the spider is small, with a typical length between 2.8 and 3.17 mm. The female is larger than the male. It has a brown to dark brown and patternless carapace, which distinguishes the species from the more common Diphya simoni. The male has an abdomen that is also brown to dark brown and has a pattern of two dark spots, although some examples have more complex, but indistinct, patterns of spots and stripes. The female has a light brown abdomen marked with large spots and stripes. The copulatory organs are distinctive to the species. The female has a epigyne that lacks pockets but has a thicker septal stem than Diphya foordi, and the male has a very long, thin projection that extends from the palpal bulb beyond the cymbium and a very short embolus.
Salsa fuliginata, commonly known as the sooty orbweaver, is a orb-weaver spider of Araneidae in the genus Salsa. The species is found throughout southeastern Australia and New Zealand.
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Isela inquilina, originally described as Kilifia inquilina, is a species of true spider in the family Mysmenidae. The species is endemic to Kenya and was first described by L. L. Baert and J. A. Murphy in 1985.