Phintellosa comosissima (Simon, 1886) Wiśniewski & Wesołowska, 2024

Wiśniewski, Konrad & Wesołowska, Wanda, 2024, Jumping spiders (Salticidae) of Uganda - revised list, new species and distributional data, European Journal of Taxonomy 952, pp. 1-171 : 98-100

Phintellosa comosissima (Simon, 1886) gen. et comb. nov.

Figs 62–64

Maevia comosissima Simon, 1886a: 387 .

Telamonia comosissima – Simon 1901b: 540, 547, fig. 656. — Giltay 1935: 4, figs 3–4.

Diagnosis

Colouration of body similar to that in Phintella bella sp. nov. The male is distinctive, in having a unique form of the palpal organ with an oval depression below the tibial apophysis. The female can be distinguished by the epigyne with copulatory openings placed laterally under delicate hoods.

Material examined

UGANDA • 1 ♂; Masindi distr., Budongo Forest ; 1°45′ N, 31°25′ E; dry season; 5–15 Jan. 1997; T. Wagner leg.; ZFMK 2891 • 1 ♀; Kibale Forest ; 0°30′ N, 30°24′ E; Jan. 1996; FSCA .

Redescription

Male

General appearance as in Fig. 62A.

MEASUREMENTS. Cephalothorax length 2.7, width 2.1, height 1.4. Eye field length 1.4, anterior width 1.9, posterior width 1.7. Abdomen length 3.3, width 1.3.

CARAPACE. Oval, brown, eyes surrounded by black rings, two oval blackish patches on eye field. Anterior median eyes large, with ‘awnings’ forming by dense long feather-like fawn hairs. Short brown and greyish hairs on carapace sides. Chelicerae unidentati, teeth small. Mouthparts brown, sternum slightly lighter.

ABDOMEN. Elongated, narrower than carapace. Abdominal dorsal pattern consists of three yellowish grey and two brown streaks. Thin brown lines on sides, venter grey. Both dorsal and ventral surfaces strongly shining. Spinnerets grey.

LEGS. Long. First pair longest and thickest, dark brown, only basal parts of tibia and metatarsus and tarsus yellow. Legs II–IV yellowish. Leg hairs brown, dense on first legs. Long basal spine on dorsum of femora of all legs.

PALP. Yellowish. Palpal structure as in Figs 62B–F , 63A–C . Tibia on dorsoretrolateral side with large oval cavity under short, triangular apophysis ( Figs 62D , 63B ). Small flag-like membrane accompanying embolus ( Fig. 63D ).

Female

General appearance as in Fig. 64A

MEASUREMENTS. Cephalothorax length 2.4, width 1.6, height 0.9. Eye field length 1.0, anterior and posterior width 1.5. Abdomen length 2.6, width 1.4.

CARAPACE. Oval, flat, light brown, eyes with black rings. Some bristles on anterior part of eye field, anterior eyes encircled by fawn scales. Clypeus with light hairs. Mouthparts light brown, sternum yellow. Chelicerae unidentati, teeth small.

ABDOMEN. Slightly elongated, yellowish brown with two longitudinal blackish streaks, dark lines along sides, venter yellowish with two lines composed of dark dots. Dorsum of abdomen shining, with sparse brown bristles. Spinnerets black.

LEGS. Yellow with brown hairs and spines. Long basal spine on dorsum of femora of all legs.

EPIGYNE. Weakly sclerotized with copulatory openings placed laterally, hidden under hoods ( Fig. 64B– C ). Internal structure as in Fig. 64D .

Distribution

Previously known from Angola only, this is the first record from Uganda. The type locality is Lãndana (Cacongo), which presently is a city of the Angolan exclave, in the Cabinda Province. The information in literature that this species occurs in Congo refers only to the historical administrative divisions.

Remarks

The species is unlike the type species of the genus Telamonia Thorell, 1887 . Moreover, the members of Telamonia are distributed in the Oriental region. The body shape of the male and the structure of the palp are somewhat similar to those of Phintella , but it has a unique tibia with an oval cavity below the apophysis and it differs in the presence of a membrane accompanying the embolus, so we have created a new genus for this species. The female is described here for the first time. The male and female are matched together based on body shape and colouration. Both sexes have a long proximal spine on the dorsum of the femora. This pairing needs to be confirmed in future studies when new material becomes available.

Figures

Fig. 62. Phintellosa comosissima (Simon, 1886) gen. et comb. nov., ♂ (ZFMK 2891). A. General appearance. B. Palpal organ, ventral view. C–D. Palpal organ, ventrolateral view. E. Palpal organ, lateral view. F. Palpal organ, dorsal view.

Fig. 63. Phintellosa comosissima (Simon, 1886) gen. et comb. nov., ♂ (ZFMK 2891). A. Palpal organ, ventral view. B. Palpal organ, lateral view. C. Palpal organ, dorsal view. D. Embolic division, retrolateral view.

Fig. 64. Phintellosa comosissima (Simon, 1886) gen. et comb. nov., ♀ (FSCA). A. General appearance. B–C. Epigyne. D. Internal structure of epigyne.