Phintella lajuma is a species of jumping spider in the genus Phintella that lives in South Africa. It was first described in 2013 by Charles Haddad and Wanda Wesołowska, and given a name to reflect the fact that it was first found in the forests around Lajuma Mountain in Soutpansberg. Only the female has so far been described. The spider is medium-sized and lighter in colour than its relative Phintella lucida. It has a light brown carapace and yellow beige abdomen that has a pattern of linesand patches. The epigyne is distinctively large and has a plate at the rear.
| Phintella lajuma | |
|---|---|
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| The related male Phintella versicolor | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Salticidae |
| Subfamily: | Salticinae |
| Genus: | Phintella |
| Species: | P. lajuma
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| Binomial name | |
| Phintella lajuma Haddad & Wesołowska, 2013
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Taxonomy
editPhintella lajuma is a species of jumping spider, a member of the family Salticidae, that was first identified in 2013 by Charles Haddad and Wanda Wesołowska, one of over 500 species described by the Polish arachnologist.[1][2] The spider's specific name is derived from the name of the mountain where it was first found.[3] The genus Phintella was raised in 1906 by Embrik Strand and W. Bösenberg. The genus name derives from the genus Phintia, which it resembles.[4] The genus Phintia was itself renamed Phintodes, which was subsequently absorbed into Tylogonus.[5] There are similarities between spiders within genus Phintella and those in Chira, Chrysilla, Euophrys, Icius, Jotus and Telamonia.[6] Genetic analysis confirms that it is related to the genera Helvetia and Menemerus and is classified in the tribe Chrysillini.[7][8]
Description
editOnly the female of the species has so far been identified.[1] The spider is medium-sized, with shape that is typical of the genus, particularly the shape of its epigyne, which resembles Phintella lucida.[3] However, the spider is distinctive in colour, as the other species is a darker brown.[9] The light brown carapace is oval, elongated, covered in short hairs. The clypeus is also light, while the oval abdomen is yellow beige with a pattern of darker lines and patches. The spinnerets are also yellow.[3] The abdomen is 3.1 mm (0.12 in) long and 2.4 mm (0.094 in) wide while the cephalothorax is 2.1 mm (0.083 in) in length and 1.7 mm (0.067 in) across.The female has a distinctive large epigyne, with a large sclerotized plate at the rear of the spider.[10]
Distribution
editPhintella lajuma has only been found in the Lajuma Mountain Retreat in the Soutpansberg Mountains of the Limpopo Province in South Africa.[3][1]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c World Spider Catalog (2017). "Phintella lajuma Haddad & Wesolowska, 2013". World Spider Catalog. 18.0. Bern: Natural History Museum. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ Wiśniewski 2020, p. 6.
- ^ a b c d Haddad & Wesołowska 2013, p. 492.
- ^ Bösenberg & Strand 1906, p. 333.
- ^ Cameron & Wijesinghe 1993, p. 16.
- ^ Prószyński 1983, p. 43.
- ^ Maddison & Hedin 2003, p. 541.
- ^ Maddison 2015, p. 231.
- ^ Wesołowska 2010, p. 114.
- ^ Haddad & Wesołowska 2013, p. 491.
Bibliography
edit- 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.
- Dawidowicz, Angelika; Wesołowska, Wanda (2016). "Jumping Spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) of Kenya Collected by Åke Holm". Annales Zoologici. 66 (3): 437–466. doi:10.3161/00034541ANZ2016.66.3.010. S2CID 89556915.
- 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.
- Prószyński, Jerzy (1983). "Position of genus Phintella (Araneae: Salticidae)". Acta Arachnologica. 31 (2): 43–48.
- Wesołowska, W. (2010). "A new species of Phintella from Angola (Araneae: Salticidae)" (PDF). Genus. 21: 111–114.
- Wiśniewski, Konrad (2020). "Over 40 years with jumping spiders: on the 70th birthday of Wanda Wesołowska". Zootaxa. 4899 (1): 5–14. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4899.1.3.