Hyllus dotatus (Peckham & Peckham, 1903)

Fig. 32

Habrocestum dotatum Peckham & Peckham, 1903: 239, pl. 27 fig. 6.

Hyllus ventrilineatus Strand, 1906: 665 .

Hyllus corniger Wesołowska & van Harten, 1994: 43, figs 93–96.

Thyene damarensis Lawrence, 1927: 63, pl. 2 fig. 50.

Evarcha elegans Wesołowska & Russell-Smith, 2000: 26, figs 38–41, syn. nov. (removed from synonyms of Evarcha werneri).

Hyllus dotatum – Clark 1974: 17.

Evarcha dotata – Wesołowska & Russell-Smith 2000: 23, figs 29–36.

For full reference list see World Spider Catalog (2023).

Material examined

UGANDA • 1 ♂; Rubaga; 0°18′ N, 32°33′ E; compound walls; Jun.–Jul. 1994; D. Penney leg.; NHM • 1 ♂; Katwe, Kampala; Jan. 1996; FSCA • 1 ♀; Mt Elgon, Budadiri; shrubland; 4 Aug. 2015; K. Vanderhaegen leg.; MRAC 245 186 A .

Description

For description see Wesołowska & Russell-Smith (2000). General appearance of male as in Fig. 32A, palpal organ in Fig. 32B.

Distribution

The species is common in Africa, its presence was also noted from the Near East. It is the first record from Uganda.

Synonymization

Logunov & Azarkina (2018) synonymized Evarcha elegans Wesołowska & Russell-Smith, 2000 with Evarcha werneri (Simon, 1906) and designated the female as the lectotype of the latter species. Evarcha elegans was described from Tanzania based on wrongly matched sexes; the female in fact belongs to E. werneri . Since the holotype of E. elegans is male, so the name E. elegans is a synonym of H. dotatus . The male of E. werneri remains unknown.

Remarks

The male of this species is easily distinguished by the presence of a small cavity in its chelicera (see Wesołowska & Russell-Smith 2000: fig. 30). The typical colouration is as in Fig. 32A, but – exceptionally – much brighter specimens are also found.