Afraflacilla venustula ( Wesołowska & Haddad, 2009 )

Haddad, Charles Richard, Wiśniewski, Konrad & Wesołowska, Wanda, 2024, The jumping spiders of Mozambique (Araneae: Salticidae), Zootaxa 5560 (1), pp. 1-92 : 8-9

Afraflacilla venustula ( Wesołowska & Haddad, 2009)

Figs 2 , 3

Pseudicius venustulus Wesołowska & Haddad, 2009: 76 , figs 156–164 (♂ ♀).

Afraflacilla venustula (Wesołowska & Haddad) : Prószyński 2017: 43.

Diagnosis. The male has palpal organ similar to those in Afraflacilla sengwaensis ( Wesołowska & Cumming, 2011) comb. nov. from Zimbabwe and A. imitator ( Wesołowska & Haddad, 2013) from South Africa, but can be recognized by the shape of the bulb, which is rounded (vs oval in both other species). It also differs from A. sengwaensis by the shorter tibial apophysis (compare Fig. 3C with fig. 72 in Wesołowska & Cumming 2011) and from A. imitator by the clearly longer embolus (compare Fig. 3A with fig. 133 in Wesołowska & Haddad 2013).

Material examined. MOZAMBIQUE: Sofala: Gorongosa National Park , 18°55’S, 34°25’E, on bark of Vachellia xanthophloea , 16.V.2002, leg. D. Cumming, 1♂ ( NCA 2024 /1) .

Description. Male: Measurements: Cephalothorax length 1.7, width 1.2, height 0.4. Abdomen length 2.0, width 1.0. Eye field length 0.7, anterior width 0.9, posterior width 1.0. General appearance as in Fig. 2A . Very flat, elongated spider. Carapace oval, strongly flattened, dark brown, vicinity of eyes black, two black patches on eye field. Faint colourless hairs on carapace, anterior part of eye field with white hairs, some very long brown bristles at first row of eyes. White hairs on clypeus. Mouthparts and sternum brownish. Stridulatory apparatus present (type carapace-femur of first leg). Abdomen elongate, brown, darkening posteriorly, with three pairs of white spots, first pair at anterior abdominal margin. Venter light brown. Spinnerets blackish. Abdomen clothed in short brown hairs, longer at spinnerets, also present ventrally. First pair of legs brown, stout, with swollen tibiae, pair of short thick spines at distal end of tibia. Other legs light brown. Very long sparse thin brown hairs on legs. Palps with bifid retrolateral tibial apophysis and short dorsal one, bulb rounded, embolus long ( Figs 2B, C , 3A–E ).

Distribution. Known from several localities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Recorded from Mozambique for the first time.

Remarks. Although A. sengwaensis comb. nov. has not been recorded from Mozambique, it is clearly closely related to A. venustula . As the former species was not transferred to Afraflacilla when Prószyński (2016, 2017)

reevaluated some of the species of Pseudicius , we propose its transfer here to more accurately reflect the affiliation of this species with Afraflacilla .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Afraflacilla venustula (Wesołowska & Haddad, 2009), male. A. General appearance, dorsal view; B. Palpal organ, ventral view; C. Palpal organ, dorsal view.

FIGURE 3. Afraflacilla venustula (Wesołowska & Haddad, 2009), male, palpal organ. A. Ventral view; B. Ventrolateral view; C. Lateral view; D. Dorsolateral view; E. Dorsal view.