Saraina WANLESS et CLARK, 1975

Szűts, T. & Scharff, N., 2005, Redescriptions Of Little Known Jumping Spider Genera (Araneae: Salticidae) From West Africa, Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 51 (4), pp. 357-378 : 366-368

Saraina WANLESS et CLARK, 1975

( Figs 5–6 )

Saraina WANLESS et CLARK, 1975: 288 , DIPPENAAR-SCHOEMAN et JOCQUÉ 1997: 264.

Type species – S. rubrofasciata WANLESS et CLARK, 1975 by monotypy.

Brief history – The genus Saraina was established by WANLESS and CLARK in 1975 for Saraina rubrofasciata . The description was based on five females from Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Cameroon. No further specimens of this genus has been reported until several other females were discovered in the Republic of the Congo. The specimens possess characteristic dense leg spination and colour pattern (see Figs 5A, C and WANLESS & CLARK 1975: fig. 23): abdomen light greyish-brown, with three orange longitudinal stripes. Several males with this abdominal pattern have been found in the same material suggesting their conspecifity with S. rubrofasciata .

Diagnosis and relationships – Representatives of the genus can be recognised by the dense spination of the legs ( Figs 5 A-B), and the unique copulatory organs ( Figs 5 E-G). Epigyne of females with two bent sclerotized structures ( Figs 6 A-B), male palp with tegulum much wider than high, embolus base at the prolateral side ( Fig. 5G ). Embolus originating on prolateral side of tegulum, curved upward between cymbium and tegulum, reemerging in front, then strongly curved into cymbial groove ( Fig. 5G ).

As WANLESS and CLARK (1975) and DIPPENAAR-SCHOEMAN and JOCQUÉ (1997) already pointed out, the relationships of this genus are unclear, because the copulatory organs are so unique and there isn’t another genus known with similar structures.

same, prolateral view. Scales 0.1 mm for palps, 1.0 mm for habitus drawings

Diagnosis – The genus includes only one species, the description is the same as type species description.

Copulatory organs – Male palp with a remarkable shape ( Figs 5 E-G). Tibia with three apophyses. Embolus long, thin, whip-like, originates the prolateral side, directed towards the inside of cymbium. Female epigyne ( Figs 6 A-B) with two central, bent, sclerotized structure. Sperm ducts coiled.

Species included – Saraina rubrofasciata WANLESS et CLARK, 1975

Distribution – West and Central Africa: Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Nigeria and Republic of the Congo.

Figures

Fig. 5. Saraina rubrofasciata. A = male habitus, dorsal view B = same, lateral view C = female habitus, dorsal view D = same, lateral view, E = palp, ventral view, F = same, retrolateral view, G =

Fig. 6. Saraina rubrofasciata. A = female epigyne, ventral view, B = vulva dorsal view, C = diagrammatic curse of sperm ducts. Scale 0.1 mm