Biology:Pseudicius flabellus

Short description: Species of spider

Pseudicius flabellus
An example of the related species Pseudicius kulczynskii
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Salticidae
Subfamily:	Salticinae
Genus:	Pseudicius
Species:	P. flabellus
Binomial name
Pseudicius flabellus Wesołowska & Haddad, 2013

Pseudicius flabellus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Pseudicius that is endemic to South Africa. The spider was first defined in 2013 by Wanda Wesołowska and Charles Haddad. It has a genus name that is derived from two Greek words meaning false and honest and a species name that is a Latin word for fan that recalls the shape of the male's palpal tibial apophysis. The spider is small, with a cephalothorax typically 2.0 mm (0.079 in) long and an abdomen typically 2.3 mm (0.091 in) long. It is generally brown in colour, with an indistinct lighter streak down the middle, and greyish-yellow legs. It is similar to the related Pseudicius dentatus, differing in the shape of its copulatory organs. The male has a distinctive fan-like tibial apophysis and an embolus that has a broad base and narrow tip.The female has not been described.

Taxonomy

Pseudicius flabellus is a jumping spider that was first described by Wanda Wesołowska and Charles Haddad in 2013. They allocated the species to the genus Pseudicius, first raised by Eugène Simon in 1885. The genus name is related to two Greek words that can be translated false and honest. The genus was provisionally placed alongside Icius that, despite looking superficially similar, has a different etymology. Indeed, Ekaterina Andreeva, Stefania Hęciak and Jerzy Prószyński looked to combine the genera in 1984. The two genera have similar spermathecal structure but work by Wayne Maddison in 1987 demonstrated that they have very different DNA. The two genera were placed in the tribe Heliophaninae alongside Afraflacilla and Marchena. The tribe is ubiquitous across most continents of the world. Maddison renamed the tribe Chrysillini in 2015. The tribe is a member of the clade Saltafresia within the subfamily Salticoida. A year later, in 2016, Jerzy Prószyński allocated the genus to the Pseudiciines group of genera, which was named after the genus. Marchena is a member of the group, while Icius is not. They have flattened and elongated body and a characteristic colour pattern. The species is named for a Latin word meaning fan.

Description

Pseudicius flabellus is a small spider with a shape typical for the genus. The male has a cephalothorax that is typically 2.0 mm (0.079 in) long and 1.4 mm (0.055 in) wide. The carapace is elongated, flat and brown with a covering of colourless hairs. It has a black eye field with a scattering of white hairs and long, brown bristles near the eyes. There is an indistinct paler streak visible on the top. The clypeus has white hairs. The chelicerae, labium and sternum, are brown. The abdomen is typically 2.3 mm (0.091 in) long and 1.4 mm (0.055 in) wide. It is elongated, brown with whites stripes on the sides and covered in colourless hairs, similar to the carapace. There is also an indistinct paler belt in the middle. The underside is dark. The spinnerets are brownish and the legs are greyish-yellow.

The species is similar to others in the genus and is most easily identified by its copulatory organs. For example, it is similar to the related Pseudicius dentatus but it lacks the outgrowth towards the middle of the cymbium of the other species. The embolus is unusual. It attaches prolaterally to the palpal bulb and has a distinctive shape, being broad at its base with a much smaller tip. The species also has a unique tibial apophysis, or appendage, that is reminiscent of a fan, with a blunt end and the majority of the surface dotted with small tooth-like features. The female has not been described.

Distribution and habitat

Pseudicius spiders can be found across Afro-Eurasia and the Eastern hemisphere. Pseudicius flabellus is endemic to South Africa. The holotype was found in Malmesbury, Rondeberg in Western Cape during 1987. The spider lives in the fynbos ecoregion.

References

Bibliography

• Andreeva, Ekaterina M.; Hęciak, Stefania; Prószyński, Jerzy (1984). "Remarks on Icius and Pseudicius (Araneae, Salticidae) mainly from Central Asia". Annales Zoologici, Warszawa 37 (13): 349–376. 
• Fernández-Rubio, Fidel (2013). "La etimología de los nombres de las arañas (Araneae)" (in ES). Revista ibérica de Aracnología (22): 125–130. ISSN 1576-9518. 
• Haddad, Charles R.; Wesołowska, Wanda (2011). "New species and new records of jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) from central South Africa". African Invertebrates 52 (1): 51–134. doi:10.5733/afin.052.0105. Bibcode: 2011AfrIn..52...51H. 
• 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. 
• Maddison, Wayne P.; Bodner, Melissa R.; Needham, Karen M. (2008). "Salticid spider phylogeny revisited, with the discovery of a large Australasian clade (Araneae: Salticidae)". Zootaxa 1893: 49–64. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1893.1.3. 
• Maddison, Wayne P.; Hedin, Marshal C. (2003). "Jumping spider phylogeny (Araneae: Salticidae)". Invertebrate Systematics 17 (4): 529–549. doi:10.1071/IS02044. 
• Prószyński, Jerzy (2017). "Pragmatic classification of the World's Salticidae (Araneae)". Ecologica Montenegrina 12: 1–133. doi:10.37828/em.2017.12.1. 
• Wesołowska, Wanda; Haddad, Charles R. (2013). "New data on the jumping spiders of South Africa (Araneae: Salticidae)". African Invertebrates 54 (1): 177–240. doi:10.5733/afin.054.0111. 

Wikidata ☰ Q27504999 entry