Mexcala angolensis

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Mexcala angolensis
Mexcala quadrimaculata 1666646.jpg
A related species, Mexcala quadrimaculata
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: Mexcala
Species:
M. angolensis
Binomial name
Mexcala angolensis

Mexcala angolensis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Mexcala that is endemic to Angola, after which it is named. The spider was first defined in 2009 by Wanda Wesołowska, one of over 500 that the arachnologist described during her career. The spider is medium-sized, with a brownish carapace typically 3.4 mm (0.13 in) long and a light brown abdomen typically 3.0 mm (0.12 in) long that has an indistinct dark streak that runs down the middle. It mimics ants and ant-like wasps, living alongside and preying upon them. The male can be distinguished from other Mexcala species by the small teeth at the end of its tibial apophysis, or spike, and the lack of a bump on its palpal bulb. The female has not been described.

Taxonomy

Mexcala angolensis is a jumping spider that was first described by the Polish arachnologist Wanda Wesołowska in 2009, one of over 500 species she identified during her career. [1] [2] She allocated the species to the genus Mexcala , first raised by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1902 as part of a thorough revision of the genus. [2] [3] The genus was a member of the tribe Heliophaninae alongside Pseudicius and Cosmophasis , which was absorbed into Chrysillini by Wayne Maddison in 2015. [4] [5] The tribe is a member of the clade Saltafresia within the subfamily Salticoida. [6] A year later, in 2016, Jerzy Prószyński allocated the genus to the Heliophanines group of genera, which was named after the genus Heliophanus . The genera share characteristics, including having a rather uniform, mainly dark appearance. [7] The species itself has a name that is derived from the country where it was first found. [8]

Description

Like all Mexcala spiders, the species is slender and medium-sized. [9] The male is covered with short brown hairs. a brownish carapace that is typically 3.4 mm (0.13 in) long. It has a short eye field. The chelicerae have a single tooth. The abdomen is typically 3.0 mm (0.12 in) long and light brown with two lighter patches to the front and an indistinct dark streak down the middle. The underside has sets of yellowish dots forming four lines. The long thin legs are brown with black lines. The pedipalps are brown with white scales on the tibia and cymbium and a rounded palpal bulb. There is a single tibial apophysis, or spike, with small teeth on its tip. [10] This tip, along with the lack of a bump on the palpal bulb, help distinguish the species from others in the genus. [8] The embolus is fixed to the tegulum. [5] The female has not been described. [1]

Like many jumping spiders, Wesołowska and Tamás Szűts noted that Mexcala spiders mimic ants. [11] Some are particularly similar to members of the Camponotus genus. However, they mainly resemble Mutillidae, species of wasp that have ant-like characteristics. The species particularly resembles the female, which is wingless, in its body proportions. [9]

Behaviour

The spider is typical of the genus. [12] It lives amongst various different species of ant and ant-like insect that it mimics, and preys upon. [13] [14] Like other jumping spiders, it is a mainly diurnal hunter that uses its good eyesight to spot its prey. [15] It attacks from the front and captures its prey behind the head. [16] The chelicerae have short thick spines on them that may be used for digging holes to act as underground hiding places. [17] It uses visual displays during courtship and transmits vibratory signals through silk to communicate to other spiders. [18]

Distribution and habitat

Mexcala spiders can be found across Africa and the Arabian peninsula. [17] Mexcala angolensis is endemic to Angola in Southern Africa. [1] The holotype was found near Muconda in 1949. [8]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Microbianor globosus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Microbianor that lives in South Africa. It lives on the banks of the Orange River in Northern Cape. The species was first described in 2011 by Charles Haddad and Wanda Wesołowska. It is a very small spider, with a carapace typically 1.1 mm (0.043 in) long and an abdomen typically 1.2 millimetres (0.047 in) long. The carapace is high, broad, short and almost completely dark brown. The abdomen is oval with a white pattern of patches around a central line. The front pair of legs are longer and brown, the remainder being yellow. The male has a characteristic long embolus that curves around the palpal bulb. There is an unusually large spike or apophysis on the pedipalp tibia. This helps identify the species. The female has not been described.

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

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

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

Mexcala smaragdina is a species of jumping spider in the genus Mexcala that is endemic to Nigeria. The spider was first defined in 2012 by Wanda Wesołowska and G. B. Edwards. Spiders of the genus mimic ants and ant-like wasps, living alongside and preying upon them. The spider is medium-sized, with a cephalothorax typically 2.5 mm (0.098 in) long and an abdomen 2.7 mm (0.11 in) long. The male has a hooked embolus that is shorter than the related Mexcala caerulea but otherwise the male copulatory organs are similar. The female has not been identified. The spider is most easily distinguished by the green-metallic sheen on its body, which is referred to in the species name.

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

Mexcala macilenta is a species of jumping spider in the genus Mexcala that lives in Ethiopia and Tanzania. The spider was first defined in 2000 by Wanda Wesołowska and Anthony Russell-Smith. It mimics ants and ant-like wasps, living alongside and preying upon them. The spider is medium-sized to large, with a brown carapace between 3.2 and 3.4 mm long and a rusty-brown or greyish-russet abdomen between 3.2 and 5.5 mm long. The female is larger than the male. Both male and females have long thin brown legs and a distinctive pattern of a large triangular black marking in the middle of the abdomen. The male copulatory organs have a thin tibial apophysis and lack the triangular lobe on the palpal bulb that other species in the genus possess.

<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 Anthony 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.

Cembalea hirsuta is a species of jumping spider that lives in Namibia. It was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska. Only the male has been identified. The spider is small, with a brown cephalothorax that is between 2.5 and 2.6 mm long and an abdomen that is between 2.4 and 2.7 mm long and may either be grey or brown. The abdomen can have a range of different patterns, including white spots or a single brown stripe. The spider's large eye field is typical for the genus. It has very hairy pedipalps and a long embolus that curls around the palpal bulb, which enables it to be distinguished from other spiders.

<i>Stenaelurillus modestus</i> Species of spider

Stenaelurillus modestus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Stenaelurillus that lives in South Africa. It was first described in 2014 by Wanda Wesołowska. The species is a specialist that preys on Odontotermes termites, although its venom is also effective against other prey. The spider is medium-sized, with a brown cephalothorax between 2.0 and 2.7 mm in length and a black abdomen between 1.9 and 2.8 mm long. It is generally black in colour. The carapace has a border of white hairs and the abdomen is edged with bristles. It is distinguished from other members of the genus by the male's elongated palpal bulb and straight embolus, and the horseshoe-shaped depression in the female's epigyne.

<i>Stenaelurillus guttiger</i> Species of spider

Stenaelurillus guttiger is a species of jumping spider in the genus Stenaelurillus that is native to southern Africa. It was first described in 1901 by Eugène Simon based on examples found in South Africa, and subsequently also identified in Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Initially allocated to the genus Aelurillus, the species was moved to its current genus in 1974. The spider is medium-sized, with a carapace that is between 2.0 and 2.75 mm long and an abdomen that is between 1.8 and 2.9 mm long. It is dark brown or brown, and has a pattern of white hairs on both the abdomen and carapace and a pattern of two stripes on the carapace. The abdomen has a white pattern of straight and V-shaped stripes and spots which varies between specimens. The colouring of the clypeus and legs can also range from yellow to dark brown depending on the particular example. It is distinguished from other species in the genus by the design of its sexual organs. The male has an embolus that is short and crab like. The female has a flat plate epigyne with widely separated copulatory openings and insemination ducts and a deep narrow pocket. Stenaelurillusguttiger feeds on termites, particularly Macrotermes and Odontotermes.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 World Spider Catalog (2017). "Mexcala angolensis Wesolowska, 2009". World Spider Catalog. 18.0. Bern: Natural History Museum. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 Wiśniewski 2020, p. 6.
  3. Wesołowska 2009, p. 149.
  4. Maddison, Bodner & Needham 2008, p. 57.
  5. 1 2 Maddison 2015, p. 252.
  6. Maddison 2015, p. 278.
  7. Prószyński 2017, p. 29.
  8. 1 2 3 Wesołowska 2009, p. 155.
  9. 1 2 Wesołowska 2009, p. 152.
  10. Wesołowska 2009, pp. 155–157.
  11. Wesołowska & Szűts 2001, p. 523.
  12. Wesołowska 2009, p. 150–152.
  13. Pekár & Haddad 2011, p. 133.
  14. Pekár, Petráková Dušátková & Haddad 2020, p. 6.
  15. Richman & Jackson 1992, p. 33.
  16. Pekár, Petráková Dušátková & Haddad 2020, p. 5.
  17. 1 2 Wesołowska 2009, p. 153.
  18. Richman & Jackson 1992, p. 34.

Bibliography