Maddisonia, Zabka, 2014

Zabka, Marek, 2014, Maddisonia-A New Jumping Spider Genus from Australia (Arachnida: Araneae: Salticidae), Records of the Australian Museum 66 (4), pp. 217-223 : 218

Maddisonia gen. nov.

Etymology. The name is proposed for Prof. Wayne Maddison (UniversitY of British Columbia, Vancouver), the world authority in salticid taxonomy, biogeography and evolution. The name is feminine in gender.

Type species: Maddisonia richardsoni sp. nov.

Diagnosis. Small/tiny spiders. Embolus large, cork-screwlike. In some species a projection at the embolus’ base present. Seminal reservoir not meandering, tibial apophysis long, single or bifurcate, sometimes with a ventral protrusion. First legs stout, 4th legs longer than 3rd ones.

Description. Spiders below 3 mm long. Cephalothorax pear-shaped, widest at the fovea level, rather low, elongate, posterior thoracic slope starts at ⅔ of thorax’s length. Fovea well behind PLE, in the middle of cephalothorax. ClYpeus very narrow. Abdomen ovoid, spinnerets not distinctive. Chelicerae with single or two-cuspidate teeth on the posterior margin. First legs stout, with 3 and 2 pairs of ventrolateral spines on tibiae and metatarsi, respectively. Other legs rather delicate, not distinctive, legs 4 longer than legs 3. All legs, especially 2–4 with dark and light bands on particular segments. Palpal organ’s embolus large, cork-screw-like, sometimes with a small projection (p) at its base. Sperm duct (sd) not meandering, tegulum ovoid or with lobe (tl). Palpal tibial apophysis long, sometimes bifurcate, with or without additional protrusion. Females not known.

Relationships and distribution. Due to the unique male genitalic structure, the taxonomic position of this enigmatic genus is unclear—at least as long as females are known. The particular species are recorded from single localities (Fig. 5), thus the predictions of their potential distribution are not possible at this stage.