Phintella caledoniensis

Phintella caledoniensis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Phintella that lives in New Caledonia. First described in 2009 by Barbara Patoleta, it was named after the island where it was found. The spider is small and has a brown cephalothorax with patches, the female being generally darker, and a grey or grey-brown abdomen. The female has distinctive bean-shaped spermatheca and the male a long and thin embolus.

Phintella caledoniensis
The related male Phintella versicolor
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Salticidae
Subfamily: Salticinae
Genus: Phintella
Species:
P. caledoniensis
Binomial name
Phintella caledoniensis
Patoleta, 2009

Taxonomy

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Phintella lajuma was first identified in 2009 by Barbara Patoleta.[1] The species is named after the island where it was first found.[2] The genus Phintella was raised in 1906 by Embrik Strand and W. Bösenberg. The genus name derives from the genus Phintia, which it resembles.[3] The genus Phintia was itself renamed Phintodes, which was subsequently absorbed into Tylogonus.[4] There are similarities between spiders within genus Phintella and those in Chira, Chrysilla, Euophrys, Icius, Jotus and Telamonia.[5] Genetic analysis confirms that it is related to the genera Helvetia and Menemerus and is classified in the tribe Chrysillini.[6][7]

Description

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The spider is medium-sized, with shape that is typical of the genus, with a broad cephalothorax with flat sides that is wider than the abdomen. It is most similar to Phintella volupe, found in Sri Lanka, but can be distinguished by its copulatory organs.[2][8] The female of the species has a dark brown cephalothorax, with white patches.[9] It has a grey oval abdomen and spinnerets that are also grey. The clypeus and chelicerae are brown.[10] The spider is small, with a abdomen that is 2.49 mm (0.098 in) long and 1.46 mm (0.057 in) wide while the cephalothorax is 2.34 mm (0.092 in) in length and 1.68 mm (0.066 in) across.[11] The female has a distinctive bean-shaped spermathecae.[2]

The male is slightly lighter in colour and larger than the female, and the male's abdomen and spinnerets are grey-brown.[2] The abdomen is 2.44 mm (0.096 in) long and 1.17 mm (0.046 in) wide and the cephalothorax 2.45 mm (0.096 in) long and 1.66 mm (0.065 in) wide.[10] The pedipalps are light brown and the embolus is long and thin.[9]

Distribution and habitat

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Phintella caledonia has only been discovered in the rainforest around Mont Panié on New Caldonia.[1][11]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b World Spider Catalog (2018). "Phintella caledoniensis Patoleta, 2009". World Spider Catalog. 19.0. Bern: Natural History Museum. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Patoleta 2009, p. 540.
  3. ^ Bösenberg & Strand 1906, p. 333.
  4. ^ Cameron & Wijesinghe 1993, p. 16.
  5. ^ Prószyński 1983, p. 43.
  6. ^ Maddison & Hedin 2003, p. 541.
  7. ^ Maddison 2015, p. 231.
  8. ^ Patoleta 2009, p. 539.
  9. ^ a b Patoleta 2009, p. 541.
  10. ^ a b Patoleta 2009, p. 542.
  11. ^ a b Patoleta 2009, p. 543.

Bibliography

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  • Bösenberg, W.; Strand, Embrik (1906). "Japanische Spinnen" [Japanese Spiders]. Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft. 30: 93–422.
  • Cameron, H. D.; Wijesinghe, D. P. (1993). "Simon's Keys to the Salticid Groups". Peckhamia. 3 (1): 1–26.
  • Haddad, Charles R.; Wesołowska, Wanda (2013). "Additions to the Jumping Spider Fauna of South Africa (Araneae: Salticidae)". Genus. 24 (3–4): 459–501.
  • Maddison, Wayne P.; Hedin, Marshal C. (2003). "Jumping spider phylogeny (Araneae: Salticidae)". Invertebrate Systematics. 17 (4): 529–549.
  • Maddison, Wayne P. (2015). "A phylogenetic classification of jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae)". The Journal of Arachnology. 43 (3): 231–292. doi:10.1636/arac-43-03-231-292. S2CID 85680279.
  • Patoleta, Barbara (2009). "Description of a new species of Phintella Strand in Bösenberg et Strand, 1906 from New Caledonia (Araneae: Salticidae)". Genus. 20 (3): 539. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  • Prószyński, Jerzy (1983). "Position of genus Phintella (Araneae: Salticidae)". Acta Arachnologica. 31 (2): 43–48.