Biology:Mexcala

Mexcala is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by George and Elizabeth Peckham in 1902. The name is probably derived from the Nahuatl mezcal.

Distribution

Mexcala are found only in Africa, Yemen, and Iran.

Species

• 
  female M. elegans
• 
  female M. quadrimaculata
• 
  female M. rufa

As of October 2025, this genus includes 22 species:

• Mexcala agilis Lawrence, 1928 – DR Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Namibia
• Mexcala angolensis Wesołowska, 2009 – Angola
• Mexcala caerulea (Simon, 1901) – Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast
• Mexcala elegans G. W. Peckham & E. G. Peckham, 1903 – Ivory Coast, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa
• Mexcala farsensis Logunov, 2001 – Iran
• Mexcala fizi Wesołowska, 2009 – Congo, Tanzania
• Mexcala formosa Wesołowska & Tomasiewicz, 2008 – Ethiopia
• Mexcala inopinata Wiśniewski & Wesołowska, 2024 – Uganda
• Mexcala kabondo Wesołowska, 2009 – Congo, Malawi, Tanzania
• Mexcala macilenta Wesołowska & Russell-Smith, 2000 – Ethiopia, Tanzania
• Mexcala meridiana Wesołowska, 2009 – South Africa
• Mexcala monstrata Wesołowska & van Harten, 1994 – Egypt, Yemen
• Mexcala namibica Wesołowska, 2009 – Namibia
• Mexcala nigrocyanea (Simon, 1886) – Libya, Egypt, Ethiopia
• Mexcala ovambo Wesołowska, 2009 – Namibia
• Mexcala quadrimaculata (Lawrence, 1942) – Zimbabwe, South Africa
• Mexcala rufa G. W. Peckham & E. G. Peckham, 1902 – Namibia, Botswana, South Africa (type species)
• Mexcala signata Wesołowska, 2009 – Kenya, Tanzania
• Mexcala smaragdina Wesołowska & Edwards, 2012 – Nigeria
• Mexcala synagelese Wesołowska, 2009 – Sudan, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, DR Congo, Uganda, Angola
• Mexcala torquata Wesołowska, 2009 – Guinea, Ivory Coast
• Mexcala vicina Wesołowska, 2009 – Cameroon, Congo

External links

Wikidata ☰ Q1941990 entry