Festucula lineata Simon, 1901

Azarkina, Galina N. & Foord, Stefan H., 2014, A revision of the Afrotropical species of Festucula Simon, 1901 (Araneae: Salticidae), African Invertebrates 55 (2), pp. 351-351 : 369-370

Festucula lineata Simon, 1901 (sensu Fage 1923)

Figs 104–112

Festucula lineata Simon, 1901 a: 155 (♀, not examined)̹

F. lineata: Fage 1923: 299 , fig̹ 1̹

F. festuculaeformis : WesoΙowska & Edwards 2012: 746, figs 44—45 (misidentified)̹

Diagnosis: The male of this species resembles that of F. australis , but differs from it and other congeners by the bifurcated apical part of the VTA ( Figs 106—108 )̹ Description:

Male.

Measurements: Carapace: 1.90 long, 1.30 wide, 0.55 high. Abdomen: 3.20 long, 0.95 wide. Eye field: 0.80 long, anterior 1.00 wide, posterior 1.10 wide. Cheliceral length 0.60. Clypeal height 0.05. Diameter of AME 0.35. Length of leg segments:

I 1̹40+1̹00+1̹35+1̹00+0̹40; II 0̹90+0̹50+0̹55+0̹45+0̹35; III 0̹75+0̹30+0̹50+0̹60+ 0̹40; IV 1̹20+0̹60+0̹90+0̹80+0̹50̹

Leg spination: I: Tb v 0-1-1-1; Mt v 0-2-2ap. II: Mt v 1-2ap. III: Mt v 0-1ap. IV: Mt v 0-1ap.

Coloration ( Figs 109—112 ): Carapace low, flat, dark brown with median and two lateral yellow bands, covered with white adpressed hairs. Clypeus brown, very low, covered with white hairs (Fig̹ 112)̹ Chelicerae dark brown̹ Sternum brown̹Abdomen yellow-brown (Fig̹ 110), dorsum with two longitudinal brown stripes (Fig̹ 109)̹ Booklungs and spinnerets brown. Legs I long and robust, brown. The rest of legs yellow. All legs and palps covered with long thin bristles. Palps yellow-brown. Palpal structure as in Figs 104–108 .

Female: Not examined̹ See WesoΙowska and Edwards (2012) for description̹

Material examined: IVƟRY CƟAST: 1Ô Bouaké, WARDA H̹Q̹, 07°41'N 05°02'E, swept, upland rice, 7̹x̹1995, A̹ Russell-Smith (MRAC 225321)̹

Distribution: Western Africa from Senegal to Nigeria (Fig̹ 26)̹

Comments: F. lineata was described by Simon (1901 a) based on a single female from Dakar, Senegal ̹ Later, Fage (1923) described the male from Guinea ̹WesoΙowska (1992) treated this species name as nomen dubium, pointing out that ̒In the MNHN collection there are only two immature specimens. The brief and cursory original description is inadequate for certain identification of this species̹ Similarly the drawing of the syntype ̕s epigyne in Lessert (1933) is too schematic to be helpful in the species identification, and the syntype forming the base of this drawing has been lost̹̕ In 2012, WesoΙowska and Edwards illustrated and identified a female from Nigeria as F. festuculaeformis . The male from Ivory Coast examined in the present study is identical to that illustrated by Fage (1923) (cf̹ Fig̹ 1)̹ Given that F. festuculaeformis is restricted to eastern Africa and replaced by F. australis in the western part of southern Africa, it is very likely that the female identified by WesoΙowska and Edwards (2012) as F. festuculaeformis was a misidentification̹ However, it differs from the female of F. australis . Therefore, we have concluded that the aforementioned female from Nigeria (WesoΙowska & Edwards, 2012: sub F. festuculaeformis ) should belong to F. lineata .

Figures

Figs 104–108. Festucula lineata Simon, 1901 (sensu Fage, 1923): (104) male palp, ventral view; (105) ditto, retrolateral view; (106) tibial apophysis, dorsal view; (107) ditto, ventro-retrolateral view; (108) ditto, retrolateral-apical view̹ Scale bars: 0̹1 mm̹

Figs 109–112. Festucula lawrencei Lessert, 1933, general appearance: (109) male, dorsal view; (110) ditto, ventral view; (111) ditto, lateral view; (112) male “face”̹ Scale bars: (109—111) 1 mm, (112) 0̹2 mm.